Monaco - Music For Pleasure [Expanded Edition]

When New Order went quiet after 1993's Republic, Peter Hook did not wait around for a reunion. He teamed up with guitarist and singer David Potts, called the project Monaco, and made a record that carried everything people loved about his old band into the middle of the Britpop decade. That bass, high and melodic and impossible to mistake for anyone else, does most of the talking. When "What Do You Want From Me?" hit radio in early 1997, plenty of listeners assumed they were hearing a new New Order single.

They were not far off in spirit. Music For Pleasure runs on the same collision of post-punk melancholy and shameless pop hooks, with Potts handling most of the vocals and bringing a warmth Hook's previous work rarely allowed. "Sweet Lips" and "Buzz Gum" chase the dancefloor, "Shine (Someone Who Needs Me)" and "Blue" go for the heart, and "Sedona" closes things out on a long, gorgeous drift.

The album reached number 11 on the UK chart and moved more than half a million copies worldwide, while "What Do You Want From Me?" matched it at number 11 on the UK singles chart and climbed into the top 25 on US alternative radio. Nearly thirty years later it plays like a lost chapter of the Factory story, a reminder that Hook's fingerprints were always half the reason those records worked.

This expanded 2LP edition adds six bonus tracks, including club remixes from Joey Negro and Farley & Heller. Limited to 2,000 copies on orange vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve with a four-page booklet. Long overdue on wax and unlikely to sit around.