The much-maligned Republic. Republic is the New Order of New Order albums: a puzzling and questionable combination of choices and circumstances that against all odds not only worked but spectacularly so.
Republic has this ethereal, sort of jazzy quality that I don’t think is in any other New Order album. I think part of it is Hague’s production, maybe it’s trying too hard to capture trends of the era, maybe there’s something going on in the songwriting process (allegedly Bernard wielded even more power to the direction of the sound), maybe it’s just the fact that the band is at the point where they have churned out the best version of what is expected of them, and from then on, any attempt to recreate it will likely fall short of expectations, so they have to work around it somehow. This is not a flaw on the band’s part, this happens to most bands/artists with continuous creative process, especially as much as they did for such a short time (5 albums in a decade).
The making of this album has been extensively documented to be a very difficult time for pretty much everyone in the band, yet at the same time this is one of their most commercially successful albums. Accusations of selling out or defying their punk ethos aside or whatever, this is still pretty much a kind of “arty” album. Despite its poppier disposition it’s not a record that lends itself to easy listening, there are some dark and jarring moments in the album typical of a New Order album. I think one of the more “commercial” things they try to do here is to sell Bernard as someone who can actually sing. Not necessarily a bad thing but in doing that sort of changed the personality of the music which is why the emotional punches it delivers are usually different then what you’d expect in a typical New Order song.
Ruined in a Day and Everyone Everywhere are songs I keep coming back to for this exact mood that I don’t really find in any other New Order song. Funnily enough I actually don’t care much for Regret, it’s a tad too generic in my ears and I’ve never been much of a fan of straight up rock New Order. Avalanche is straight up one of the most beautiful moments in their discography. Times Change is a really funny one, Bernard got too cocky after getting away with 2 rap songs in Electronic he tries to pull off “In a manger like Christ I lay, yellow fever, yellow hay”. It otherwise has that certain ethereal mood, especially with the delicate bass solo in the middle.
Even though I don’t care for much else in the album (maybe World), the exceptional moments in Republic made this album special in its own way.
By: Cvantez
Republic (stylised as Republic©) is the sixth studio album by English rock band New Order. It was first released on 3 May 1993 in the United Kingdom by CentreDate Co Ltd in association with London Records and in the United States by Qwest and Warner Bros. Records. It was the band's first album following the demise of their former label Factory Records, and would be their last studio album for eight years until 2001's Get Ready.
This is their 'class A' album, recorded in Ibiza in the summer of 1989.
A1 Regret
A2 World
A3 Ruined In A Day
A4 Spooky
A5 Everyone Everywhere
B1 Young Offender
B2 Liar
B3 Chemical
B4 Times Change
B5 Special
B6 Avalanche
1 x LP Reissue on Warner Records.