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New Order: Low-Life (Qwest)

Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, July 1985

AS JOY DIVISION, they ignited a trend of anguished confession that turned punk's Angry Young Men in Leather to post-punk's Sad Young Men in Analysis. As New Order, they assimilated Arthur Baker's beat-box blasts before Hall & Oates and Springsteen made rock remixes hip (hop). So if this English quartet's first album in two years disappoints, it's because it offers only masterful moods and textures, rather than big, new ideas.

Total word count of piece: 254

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