I started Mental Jukebox nearly three years ago at the beginning of the pandemic. During this time, I’ve discovered new music, rediscovered old favorites and I’ve met passionate music fans around the world. And when things opened up, I kept on blogging. This month, the jukebox goes deeper. The term “deep cut” has multiple meanings. It can refer to lesser known album tracks from well-known artists. It can also refer to tracks from lesser known artists. This month, I’ll be featuring both types. #DeepCutsFeb
It is sobering, yet also somewhat disorienting to think that Movement came out just a year and a half after Ian Curtis’ suicide. In some ways, it seemed much too soon to be getting back to writing, playing and recording. But this was how Sumner, Hooky and Morris moved forward. Movement, in many ways, was a way to keep Ian Curtis’ legacy alive. Many of the songs unequivocally feel more like Joy Division than New Order, including “The Him” and the lesser heralded “Doubts Even Here”.
While Movement isn’t my favorite New Order album by any stretch, ”Doubts Even Here” has been captivating and, at times, it has possessed this magnetic quality. There’s something in the song that continually pulls me back into it. Before the changeover to a brighter, synth-driven sound, here New Order saluted the post-punk agenda of Joy Division. “Doubts Even Here” conjured up a complex melee of emotions, from sadness to despair, to fury. And they pulled it off magnificently here before the mold was set – with Stephen Morris writing all the lyrics and Hooky on lead vocals.
“Too much of heaven's eyes I saw through.”