New Order - Movement

This is New Order's debut in name only, with the ghost of Ian Curtis still hanging heavily over his grieving Joy Division bandmates. It would take them one more step, to the brilliant Power, Corruption and Lies, to really assert their own power. Movement, then, is the sound of guitarist Bernard Sumner, percussionist Stephen Morris, and innovative bassist Peter Hook building a bridge from JD's Sturm und Drang drone to New Order's considerably brighter dance pop. It's an interesting bridge to cross though, peppered with dark highlights like the almost poppy "Dreams Never End," the blip-blooping electro chaos of the Pere Ubu-influenced "ICB," and "The Him," with its rhythmic echoes of JD's "Atrocity Exhibition." --Michael Ruby Amazon.com essential recording

Ian lives in this sound

Fans of Joy Division and the darker side of New Order must have this. It's a treat to listen to. I always crave this sound, and overplay my Joy Division. So recently I've been listening to a ton of Clan of Xymox, Dead Can Dance, some old albums from The Cure, She Wants Revenge, but this is the first CD that has really found the exact place I was after - that certain dark comfort only music understands. Brilliant! March 2, 2008

Pre-New Order, and Post-Joy Division

I have to give this one 5 stars since I'm both a JD and a NO fan. And this album really seems to be the "between" point that is missing if you only heard "Love Will Tear Us Apart Again" and "Blue Monday". Of course, you really have to like both incarnations of the band to like this CD, but for those few, this is one to own.
November 26, 2007

A Must Have!

I don't know why people like to rag on this album. It's brilliant!
All the theoretical, intellectual and creative darkness of Joy Division was simply that, theoretical. This album is the reflection of real emotional torment. It's always surprised me that people criticize Movement for being dreary and unenergized when it's that aesthetic which Joy Division used and elaborated on. Once you listen to it with open ears you'll hear that it contains a great deal of power.

Movement is intense, the music is sonicly more dramatic and diverse than Unknown Pleasures or Closer. It has this great electronic aspect to it which upon listening closely is very lush and dynamic. The second track "Truth" is my favorite, those synths are so heavy and powerful...robotic Wagner, and Sumner's week and weary vocal is such a stark contrast to the might of this track.

The bass driven, dark dance grooves on much of the album are great interpretations of Disco, which makes it sound the way Techno does when you're in a K-hole. The whole sound of this album is like being in a hole, a very deep hole. For those who love the constructive darkness of Joy Division, you won't like this album, it's honestly too dark and it lacks all the posing, posturing and rowdiness of Punk which Joy Division definitely had to it's sound. This is the beginning of the anonymous construction called New Order and the end of the Rock band, Joy Division.

Being a fan of both Joy Division and New Order as well as a lover of artists such as Kraftwerk, Gary Numan and Brian Eno I truly enjoy the electronic experimentation on this album. The analog synths shine dark here. This is definitely an electronic album.

That's right, this is not a Rock album. If anything, it's a dub album with electro beats and layered synths. The guitar is used as a wash of atmospheric sound or as a treble background to the bass toned synths. Only in two tracks are the lead and rhythm guitars used as the primary melodic device. Everything else is synth, bass, drum machine, drums and electronic noise.

This is a must have album, a record of torment and an important piece in the sound progression from the boys who brought you Warsaw, Joy Division and New Order. June 18, 2007

From the ashes of Joy Division

O.K., I can certainly understand the criticism of "Movement," New Order's first album. Most of the songs sound like they're remnants from Joy Division, and both Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, sound like they're trying desperately to conjure up Ian Curtis vocals in the wake of his unfortunate suicide the year before (1980). Most of the songs have that kind of doom-and-gloom feel, with eerie lyrics, so typical of Joy Division (i.e. from "Denial": "Here I am in a house full of doors but no exits/ In a light that is grey like the stains on my windows"; from "Truth": "Oh it's a strange day/ in such a lonely way/ I saw some children dance/ I watched my life in a trance").

Although, perhaps, the band was still searching for its own voice, I still like New Order's "Movement" quite alot, as much, in fact, as any pre-"Republic" album. As other reviewers have noted, the first song "Dreams Never End," is the least representational song on the album, and foreshadows some of New Order's best work on future albums. Its main riff was also pretty much lifted by The Cure for the song "In Between Days." (That's O.K. -- New Order, on later albums, borrowed from the Cure's "A Forest" and "Just Like Heaven," for its songs "Sunrise" and "All the Way").

The break-out dance song on "Movement," is, of course, "Chosen Time," which really should have been included on the "Substance" album. With its infectious bass and guitar riff, "Chosen Time" rates as one of New Order's greatest obscure classics. I also like the last three songs ("The Him," "Doubts Even Here," and "Denial") which, again, though clearly evocative of Joy Division, provide the true flavor of this album. One criticism: some of the songs include extraneous sounds that are merely unnecessary distractions to the melody. Overall though, I personally enjoy "Movement," as much as the band's follow-up, "Power, Corruption and Lies," to which I also awarded four stars. Of course, PC&L marked New Order's clear break from its haunted past. June 2, 2006

Simply Brilliant

I have been a Joy Division (JD) and New Order (NO) fan since 1979. This CD contains the brilliant compositional transition from JD to NO; the music and the song composition are complex and go beyond JD achievement (sans Ian's great vocals, sadly missed)to centralize the synth role. A tad gothic in retrospective, I must admit; however i find of all the CD's from 79's Unknown Pleasure to 05's Sirens Call, Movement is still the one start to finish set that feels most intense, most unique and least dated. May 19, 2006

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