Over their 35-year career marked by sentimental losses – yeah that’s right, the Hacienda days took their toll – and many ups and downs, the band has always recovered. Hence the album transmits confidence, it sounds fresh, a bit eclectic perhaps, and without a doubt this is their strongest work the 21st century.

In `Music Complete, former Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris has been in charge of programming, and Tom Rowlands of the Chemical Brothers has produced a couple of songs together with Grammy-winner Stuart Price.

Most of the album’s songs are about six-minutes long, and the band seems to embrace the more electronic-oriented passages on stage, as does the audience. That helps to deliver a performance slightly more “rave-ish”. As matter of fact, New Order are confirmed for 2016 festivals such as Sónar and Roskilde.

Similar to the process in the studio, when watching them playing on stage, the result is honest. They are happy people, and you can tell they enjoy what they do, and they sound strong, as well. That says a lot for a frontman on the verge of turning 60 years old. Wearing a black shirt open, Sumner’s t-shirt with the `Unknown Pleasures´ cover stamped in silver is visible. He jumps, bites his lip, shakes his right arm, enjoys talking to the audience, and between songs he takes small sips from his wineglass.

When a band like this is on tour, it is hard to avoid doses of nostalgia. Furthermore, with Ian Curtis inevitably in the memory of both band and audience, nostalgia turns into homage. Hence the encore included two Joy Division’s covers `Atmosphere´, which has become some sort of funeral anthem and – you guessed it – `Love Will Tear Us Apart´, whilst projecting a picture of Curtis on the wall behind them – he well deserves it – and also projecting the message “Joy Division Forever”. “Blue Monday” – which is the biggest-selling twelve-inches of all time surpassing over a million copies – put the final touch of the evening.

NEW ORDER TOUR 2015-2016 in Stockholm
Date: November 8th, 2015
Place: Annexet Stockholm
Address: 121 77, Arenatorget 1, 121 77 Johanneshov, Stockholm
https://www.neworder.com