Peter Hook—or “Hooky” as he’s known by dear fans—ye olde ancient bassist for New Order (or as of late last spring, shall we say the “defunct New Order”) has been annoying old fans with a dispute over who gets to use the band name. Or more to the point, if his old mates can use the name after Hooky picked up his bass and decided to go play in another sandbox. Ho-hum.

Hooky’s a lot better off playing his bass and spearheading musical groups than he is with the social grace, apparently, because his new project, Freebass, is absolutely awesome. And where can you sneak a listen to the preview cut “I Envy Us?” His MySpace, natch, the same online outlet where he also threatened to sue the other New Order members if they continued on without him and kept the band name (yet also says at his MySpace that he’s “open to negotiation,” whatever that means).

The shy boy? Or the coy boy?
We love you either way.

At any rate, the core members of Freebass comprise Hook, ex-Smiths bassist Andy Rourke and ex-Stone Roses/Primal Scream bassist Mani. Get the name? Freebass. Caution: If you think it’s cool, don’t even try copping the name, because one would guess his attorneys are watching for that sort of thing.

Lead vocalists allegedly in the running include Charlatans’ Tim Burgess and the Stone Roses’ Ian Brown, says Pitchfork. Add that to an awesome post-Madchester garage-pop Big Beat retro sound, and at least on paper it looks pretty freakin’ awesome.