Barney Sumner has been writing songs for more than thirty years. Isn’t that a scary thought? From the early days of Warsaw, through the glorious Joy Division and New Order years, to Electronic then back to New Order again (slightly less gloriously), and now to Bad Lieutenant.

Barney's Changed

Teaming up with ex-Marion (remember them?) members Phil Cunningham and Jake Evans, Barney is back making the kind of effortlessly wonderful music that everyone from Broken Social Scene to Smashing Pumpkins have tried, with varying degrees of success, to replicate over the years. It’s great to have him back. I’ll write more about the new album “Never Cry Another Tear” once I’ve had a good listen, but if it’s anything like “Sink Or Swim”, we’re in for a right old treat.

As is usual in these things, there’s a Website, a Facebook bit, a Twitter and a MySpace page.

Have a look at the (unofficial) video above and a listen to the (official) single, “Sink Or Swim”, below. It’s nice to have him back.

On another note, today marks the one-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers death. Let’s all raise a glass to a company at which I spent eight years, and had a great time at. Happy times, and best of luck to everyone who’s still trying to get back on their feet.

MP3: Sink Or Swim by Bad Lieutenant