Bad Lieutenant

When Bernard Sumner of '80s/'90s post-punk mainstays New Order put the moniker to rest and formed Bad Lieutenant with New Order guitarist Phil Cunningham in 2009, it would have been the logical time to explore different aesthetic avenues. Evidently that wasn't Sumner's plan, because Bad Lieutenant virtually picks up where late New Order left off on last year's debut, Never Cry Another Tear, a disc of lively tunes blanketed with studio sheen. While the music is surprisingly spunky, an influx of faux strings and jangly, processed guitars make it hard to distinguish Bad Lieutenant from a lot of other late-'80s alt-rock—and there's nothing wrong with that. 

Updated 04/06/2010