Just when we thought we were out, they pull us back in. Cpt Peter Hook - dogged bass renegade, part-time New Orderly and stubblesome leader of the indie-pop resistance - was never one for easy surrender. A lesser man would've crumbled under the weight of appalling circumstance that has plagued his 'pet' project Monaco. The sniffy reviews, the threat of mutiny (his singing/strumming foil David Potts auditioned for a role in the post-Guigsy Oasis) and the ultimate humiliation of being dropped by his record label never exactly bade well for the long-term. Yet against all odds, here they are again, brandishing the weapons of indignation and clinging like lichen to that stratum forever marked 'indie lite'. But things have changed round Monaco's way. Where their 1997 debut 'Music For Pleasure' revelled in its post-Britpop earnestness, 'Monaco' is simply an album of and about Pop. And, disengaged from the suffocatingly self-conscious 'indie' supply that rendered 'Music...' so trying, it's a truly lovely thing to behold; a pretence-free, summery shimmy through pop's enchanted garden, with tear-tugging Bacharachy bits and choruses of angels and everything. From the swaying, early Pulp-ish Cinemascope of 'End Of The World' to the Motown matinie heartbreak of 'Ballroom', there's little here we haven't heard before. Even breezy drum'n'bass (drum'n'bass!) closer 'Marine' sounds like Erasure. Yet, crucially, 'Monaco' is both immaculately conceived and perfectly, almost indecently sincere; an album that's happy - not gormlessly, but quietly and assuredly happy - with its lot. What's more, 'Monaco' harnesses brilliantly the universal power of the platitude - a force only operable in the very best pop music that renders lines like, "The only thing I care about/Never will come true" (from single 'I've Got A Feeling') sweet and sad and infinitely more affecting than any amount of pseudo-profound art-rock blubbery. And throughout it all, there's that bass, catching everything in its undulating undertow and sweeping us back to a time when all pop music was this heartfelt, this honest. It's not about progression, after all, it's about doing what you want to do. It's about taking a stand as they say,
With the status of England's New Order on an indefinite hiatus, and band members taking up other side projects such as Electronic and The Other Two, it's no shock that Peter Hook has pursued his own fortunes and formed the group Monaco. What may pleasantly surprise fans is that the Monaco debut disc, Music For Pleasure, could comfortably slide next to any established New Order on the shelf - and compete favorably for play in the disc changer. On the leadoff single, "What Do You Want From Me", fans of New Order will instantly recognize the hook as that of bassist Peter - pun intended. Surprisingly, Hook's vocals aren't too far removed from those of N.O.'s lead vocalist, Bernard Sumner. The "sha la la" backing chorus comes off as an updated male counterpart of Motown, vintage 1960s, while the bassline is vintage New Order, played to absolute perfection. Monaco is Peter Hook and David Potts; Hook found Potts while recording the Gun World Porn EP for Revenge, on which Potts contributed some guitar work. The seeds of a successful relationship were born, and the pair started to work together after New Order's Republic album was complete. Despite New Order's success, however, Hook was unable to parlay that quality work into his side project. "My last thing (Ed. note: Revenge - two non-descript albums with one good single, "Pineapple Face") played down the New Order and bass elements because I felt I should get away from them. I was very self-conscious, and the album suffered for that. I feel much happier and more comfortable doing this than I was before." And 'this', as he dubs Monaco, isn't too far removed from his New Order past. "Shine" and "Happy Jack" could have emanated from any New Order album, while "Tender" has a riff which seemingly comes straight out of "Love Vigilantes" - but unlike John Fogerty, Hook won't get sued for taking a peek at his past. And "Under The Stars" could easily become a football (soccer, for the American fans) anthem for some F.A. team - possibly Manchester United? - just as New Order paired up with a nation of football players for "World In Motion". Hook has perfected the pop trails he blazed in New Order, but he has a few tricks up his sleeve to show this isn't a one trick pony. "Buzz Gum" is a holy alliance incorporating the influences of the Beatles, circa Magical Mystery Tour (or Oasis with a horn intermission, if sick of every band being comparead to the Fab Four), and Ian Broudie (Lightning Seeds) and the alterna-techno dance enticement of the off-titled "Junk", already coming in at a DJ-ready mix 9 minutes long, shows Monaco could easily take their music away from the chic clubs and bring it to the underground - if Hook and Potts desired. The second UK single, "Sweet Lips" delves deeper and mixes the 70's disco scene, down the street from Gloria Gaynor, with the 80's digs which Hook frequented. Fulfulling the promise that was left untapped after Electronic's self-titled debut, Monaco's Music For Pleasure delivers a knockout punch as Peter Hook proves that the compelling force in a band isn't always *only* the lead vocalist.