It's disturbing to note that a couple of decades have skipped by since New Order's Low Life seeped so effectively into the Manchester psyche. Back then, with an eye on modernity, the band seemed to evoke the sights, feels and smells of a hopeful city in a state of pre-resurgence as New Order's sussed electronic edge borrowed so cleverly from the innovative dance floor of New York's Paradise Garage disco.

Following years of bickering and patchy back-to-guitars albums - 2003's Get Ready was an unusually sullen affair, lifted only by Peter Saville's striking cover image - the band resume, sans Gillian, and seem perfectly happy to grasp the very same edges of electronica that so effectively graced Low Life. However, on this album, they are accompanied by all manner of fun influences.

Sitting on his yacht, floating in an Antiguan harbour, Barney Sumner felt the need to produce an 'up' album, blessed with formulaic New Order. Hence, we rediscover the missing link between Metallica and Depeche Mode, as Hookey's bass drags the melody to unlikely levels and Barney's disturbingly whimsical lyrics add a surreal edge. Already, the single Krafty has become a stalwart on Radios One and Two, which is indicative of the band's current universal appeal.

It begins in unlikely fashion, with folksy strings topping a lush arrangement that tug Who's Joe? into existence, complete with its unexpected retro twist that hints at 1970. Following this welcome diversion, Hey Now What You Doing? blasts in with a riffing REM edge that sits delightfully opposite everything else on the album.

Krafty, of course, has already passed from the delightfully fresh to the irritating and just-cant-get-it-out-of-your-head stage. Personally, I welcome it, mainly because I enjoy a New Order who allow themselves to be guided by the general power of their natural melody.

As the haunting title track proves, this is a band who are at their best when they ignore prevailing trends and allow their songwriting to set a pure and natural course.

Mick Middles