Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
We only ever witness the impact of a momentous event from a certain perspective, we may only realise there has been one long after the occurrence happened, so immersed in our own world, seeking out a path of the least resistance and the moment in which our own star shines, that we only see the glow of the night as it lights up the shadows that have already been experienced by others.
This phenomenon is nothing new, it is the reflection of how it goes, you either stand up and attend what could be the most celebrated point for quite some time, or you stay at home, looking out of your windows and wishing that you could be there, in the distance, standing in the full glare of passion…it is So It Goes, only two choices.
New Order for many is the reason why they fell in love with music, even before that, the fires that burned brightly in time before New Order was formed, there was something very special to be admired with Joy Division and the days of the Hacienda. Whilst a few may not have seen the attraction, preferring to stay out of arms reach from the exploding Manchester scene, there can be no doubt of the pivotal sense of history they were creating.
It is in that reflection of history, that the collision of artistic production captured as part of the Manchester International Festival in July 2017 that brought together New Order, Visual artist Liam Gillick and a 12-piece synthesiser orchestra in a way that nobody could have imagined. Whilst paying homage to New Order’s previous body of work that hasn’t been heard for over thirty years, and with a huge nod to the days in which the Old Granada Studios played host to Joy Division, this meeting of artist and canvas is more than a moment can buy, it is a gift that people can now have a second moment of reliving.
Such a musical masterstroke is rare, it is a collision that shakes stars, the land never quite the same after its impact, and regardless of whether the Manchester scene of the period did anything for you at the time, it feels impossible to shake the thought of history having been made.
Across tracks such as Who’s Joe, Dream Attack, Ultraviolence, Disorder, Decades, Guilt Is A Useless Emotion, Bizarre Love Triangle and Behind Closed Doors, New Order, the orchestra and Liam Gillick portray a sense of futuristic boundaries being pushed and smashed, whilst all the time lovingly showing that the past is never out of date, that it is very much a part of what urges us to seek out the next impact for ourselves, and not be left to wonder how history will unfold.
A rare insight for the unknowing to come to grips with a rich vein of musical history, and for the blessed to revel once more…it is how it should be…So It Goes.
New Order release New Order + Liam Gillick: So It Goes.. on July 12th.
Ian D. Hall