“Technique” by New Order

By Evan Ferstl

New Order entered the 80s as a distraught post-punk band, but they were spat out the other end as progenitors of the club techno music scene. With this context in mind, 1989’s “Technique” is the logical conclusion to the band’s gradual transition to dance tracks that are beat-driven, imminently remixable, and divorced from rock music. As a result, the album sounds like a struggle between classic 80s synth-pop and a band trying desperately to keep their alternative roots intact.

The album’s first several tracks are decent enough, but the third track, “Love Less,” features a delicate guitar riff that is the album’s first great hook. With new momentum, the rest of the album flows together excellently and finishes with a thrilling set of songs. These include the album’s sonic climax, “Run,” with its own world-conquering guitar chorus, as well as its best song, “Dream Attack,” with an entrancing catchiness worthy of any closing track. The album is mysterious and hypnotic, obscuring its own inner turmoil in a cloud of hazy detachment.

New Order’s transition sparked some criticism, but undeservedly so, since “Technique” is as complete an album as can be found in the band’s extensive catalog, and better than the painfully overrated “Power, Corruption, and Lies,” which is often mistaken as the band’s finest work. Despite the lyrical content suggesting otherwise, the album gives off an air of relaxation and contentment, making it the ideal dance soundtrack for the neurotic and alienated—a perfect album for New Order’s fanbase.