Originally Posted by: Fotzepolitic The genius with Technique was how so utterly effortless it sounded.All The Way, Loveless, Run, Vanishing Point, Dream Attack... just effortless genius.The effortless was what made Technique the masterpiece.Every album since it sounded like New Order were trying and working and as good as Music Complete may turn out to be that effortless air will never be captured again.
Restless sounds effortless and that's why it's a grower. At first you hate how it sounds same-y compared to most of New Order's back catalogue, but then with every repeated listen you start to pick up on little bits here and there that make it a one-off and then it just clicks. The RAC Remix is meticulously crafted but I grew tired of it. The original, still fresh, still a wonderful sound to my ears every time I spin it.
Plastic, while it seems a bit more restrained and minimal compared to Restless, also has that air of effortlessness about it. It doesn't flow as seamlessy as Restless does, but I love it and very much look forward to the album. The great thing about both of the new songs we've heard up until now is that they have that sense of empty space in them, they're not maximalist in terms of being overly layered (which is my biggest gripe with Republic or any of the later albums, except Crystal, what a fu*king masterpiece) and they hark back to the New Order of the 80s, which we all admit is the best kind. Speaking of maximalist, that's exactly what, for me, the RAC Mix does to Restless. The original is like a guitar-driven Technique track with just the right amount of everything, whereas the RAC Mix, as great and sparkly and perfectly produced it is, slightly crosses the line in terms of cramming so many layers into a piece of music and it doesn't bring out the basic charm of the song as the original does.
A reviewer (not going to bother with linking the review, it's in one of the comments before) compared this album, respectively the songs on the album, as being very similar to The Perfect Kiss as in being great pieces of music and meticulously crafted, but with no soul or mystique like e.g. Blue Monday or any other iconic NO song (pfft...like The Perfect Kiss isn't). If his words are anything to go by, and the new album is 11 Perfect Kisses in a row, wow..what a masterpiece it has to be.