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Joy Division - Closer
- Joy Division’s “Closer” was released only months after lead singer and lyricist Ian Curtis took his own life. Much of the songs reflect on the turbulence that perhaps led him to that fate. However, while the album features some truly sad lyrics, it also perfectly exemplifies all of the things that fans love about Joy Division: snare-heavy dance beats, catchy synthesizer lines, Curtis’s haunting voice, and a dark and mysterious charisma. It is this charisma that keeps interest in Joy Division’s music fervent today, despite the band’s break in 1980. Joy Division and this album in particular have become instrumental in defining the sub-genre now known as "post-punk."
“Atrocity Exhibition” features a “tribal” beat given direction by the punk style bassline. However, the ferocious, strained guitars force the song to straddle the line between structure and chaos. “Isolation” is a lament about self-doubt. However, these sad lyrics are juxtaposed with a synth-line so catchy it’s impossible not to feel like dancing. “Colony” features distinctive, choppy Joy Division guitar riffs and the album’s punchiest vocals. “Means to an End” is new wave perfection; descending bass riffs and layered guitars. “Heart and Soul” is perhaps the album’s best track and certainly Curtis’s finest performance with Joy Division. It is a low bass-driven track with sparse, distant guitars and vocals so haunting it sounds as if the song was recorded in a cavern. “Eternal” is a breathy song with an undercurrent of churning synthesizers and slow bass. The album ends with a synth heavy track, “Decades,” and guitar hooks reminiscent of Motown.
“Closer” is very much a product of Curtis’s depressive state. While it is tastefully constructed and often catchy, it reveals a psychology that listeners most likely won’t want to surround themselves in often. It has a very unique sound, as the album’s dark tinges were given priority over the songs’ potential punk energy. While extremely innovative and beautiful, these tracks are not to be taken lightly or with great frequency.
Reviewer: Kris Lorenz
new
Reviewer's Rating: 8.5
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
Added: 27-Jun-2009
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