When I first heard about New Order members Bernard Sumner and Phil Cunningham’s new band Bad Lieutenant, I thought, ‘Wow, are they going to sell any albums? Music is totally different today…’ This is probably because I wasn’t around in the 80s, (and I’m also not even old enough to remember Nirvana!) so the only New Order song I know is “Blue Monday,” which is pretty much Sumner talking to great music. Not hearing a synthesizer right away and actually hearing Bernard Sumner sing was a big and pleasant surprise.

“Sink or Swim”
This is probably the most pleasant opening on the album. It’s the catchiest song on the album, but of course it’s catchy, it’s Bernard Sumner and Phil Cunningham we’re talking about here. It’s obviously the single for a reason and a great choice for the first track. It’s energetic and immediately grabs your attention and doesn’t let it go.

“Twist of Fate”
The bass and guitar lines of this song make for an energetic song that will probably be the easiest to translate live. “Twist of Fate” has the pleasure of having some of the heaviest drums on the album, giving it a little bit more energy than the rest of the songs.

“Summer Days”
Bad Lieutenant’s great mix of throwbacks to great music and new influences really shows in this song for me. The bass is prominent and funky, and the guitar is loud without overpowering everything else that is great about the song. It’s definitely Sumner’s best vocal performance on the album other than the chorus of “This is H0me.”

“This is Home”
This is a runner up for best song on the album. The opening sounds a lot like something The Cure would have written and the bass line definitely reminds me of a softer Elastica, who were pretty much the gods of bass lines. If I am not mistaken, Jake Evans sings this song. His voice is a lot deeper than I would have imagined! I would have liked hearing more of Jake on the album, but maybe on the next album. Not only are the chorus lyrics beautiful, so is the vocal melody. (“I want you by my side, girl I’m doing it for you, gonna open your eyes, I’m gonna take you higher than a bird can fly, girl, I’m so in love with you.”) I like how this song manages to be soft and upbeat at the same time. From the words that I can decipher, this has sappy love song potential, but Bad Lieutenant have avoided that with the happy sounding guitar and high harmonies. Synthesizer strings and pad were the perfect touch to the ending of this song. So far, this is a great album to sing to, something very important to me because I don’t just listen to music, I want to experience it.

“Running Out of Luck”
A nice and steady bass line keeps this ultra-soft song going strong.

“Dynamo”
The keyboards definitely sound like The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” but since when is that a bad thing? It’s poppy and simple, with soaring vocals and simple, almost deep lyrics. “Life is a precious thing,” is repeated throughout the song, and of course I’m won over by the ‘doo doo doos’ that I love so much!

“Poisonous Intent”
This song is sort of hard to take seriously because its lyrics are sort of like I am watching a COPS re-run. (“Hey bad man, where are you gonna go” vs. COPS theme song “bad boys, whatcha gonna do.”) Otherwise, this is a great song. The bass line sounds very electronic and it supports the song quite nicely. It’s so far the heaviest use of electronics on the album. While this band is pretty much defined as being ‘not New Order,’ and not using synthesizers, they do, but because this band is guitar based, the synth is eased in slowly.

“These Changes”
The vocals of the chorus sound like a 90s alt-rock song which, with me being a 90s child and all, wins me over.

“Walk on Silver Water”
The lyrics of this song are very sweet and humble, “I can’t walk on water or still the raging sea. I can’t move a mountain.” Who doesn’t love harmonizing guitars?

“Shine Like the Sun”
There’s that synth we’ve been waiting for. It opens with a heavy focus on a fun synth part.

“Runaway”
I love the deep piano that comes in mid-verse. A nice blend of traditional instruments and electronics is seen in this song. A beautiful acoustic guitar, a classic piano sound, and a synthesizer all blend to make this song fit in with the album as well as stand out on its own. All the different instruments help keep your attention, as there is always something intricate to listen to.

“Head Into Tomorrow”
This song is definitely the most simple on the album, starting with a nice folky guitar riff. Add in some light piano here and there, Jake Evans’ smooth voice, and Bernard Sumner’s harmonies, and you’ve got a great transition into what you think will be the even softer side of the album.

“Falling Tree”
This track sounds like it was meant for the beginning half of the album. It’s upbeat once again, probably to give “Split the Atom” more impact as the closing song.

“Split the Atom”
A great, uplifting and inspiring opening. This immediately became my favourite song on the album. “You say your heart was in his hands, while he was busy making other plans,” “I would do anything for you; split the atom until it’s two, stand in front of a speeding train,” are just a few of the lyrics that make this song beautiful and easy to relate to for everyone. Not to break out the cheesy writing, but this song just sounds like a summer day in a vast, open field with sunshine and butterflies and gigantic puffy clouds [preferably in the shape of something doubly cheesy.] I feel like I need to hear this song as the ending of a movie, the conclusion of a movie where everything is working out perfectly and you leave knowing there wont be a sequel because the ending was perfect. Or, it could even be the inspiring movie trailer song [sometimes, they're better than the dang movie!] Jake Evans’ deep, soft vocals complement the higher pitched albums. If I had to remember Bad Lieutenant in one way, it would be that they were great at writing beautiful lyrics to soft but upbeat tracks, a formula that Bad Lieutenant seems to have mastered. Never a boring moment during this song, this was the perfect closing track.

(forgive me if any of the lyrics I typed up are wrong!)

Bottom Line: I don’t exactly understand the cover art, but we’re lucky it even says the band’s name on it, trust me. A total surprise when you look at it going in as a product of New Order. My one and only gripe is that the production could have used a bit of work, because some of the vocals tend to get muddied in the mix and when you have such great singers, why the vocal filters? However, taking into account that this was recorded in home studios and produced by Bad Lieutenant themselves, that gripe goes out the window because I would never guess that this wasn’t a completely professional job.