The Cars Reform While Preserving Bassist’s Memory

New Wave rockers The Cars have reformed to record new material for the first time since their split in 1988, though the group will be missing bassist/vocalist Benjamin Orr, who died of cancer in 2000.

Co-founder Ric Ocasek told Rolling Stone that, “This is not a reunion – it’s more like a conjunction. I never thought I’d make another Cars record [because of] the past, personalities, and Ben’s passing away.”

The group agreed Orr could not be replaced, settling on having existing band members take over his roles. Keyboardist Greg Hawkes filled in the bottom for the new album, even using one of Orr’s own basses to record.

“Ben would have been there if he had been alive,” Hawkes says. “That’s the only way we could think about it.”

Ocasek says that he is wary of touring, but some shows will be added to the calendar. He takes up the void left by Orr’s signature vocals on the new album, but is still missing Ben.

“I was aware that on half of the new songs, Ben would have done better than I did,” he explains. “But we never wanted anybody from the outside.”

The Cars will be releasing their new album, Move Like This, in May, and have released a video to their single, “Blue Tip.”