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Closer

Joy Division

1980

Buy At Rough Trade
Closer
Album Summary

Closer is the second and final studio album by English rock band Joy Division, released on 18 July 1980 by Factory Records. Produced by Martin Hannett, it was released two months after the suicide of the band's lead singer and lyricist Ian Curtis. The album reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart and peaked at No. 3 in New Zealand in September 1981. Closer was also named NME Album of the Year. It was remastered and re-released in 2007.Today, Closer is widely recognised as a seminal release of the post-punk era. Following the release of the non-album single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" in June 1980, the remaining members re-formed as New Order.

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Rating

3.22

Votes

10720
Genres
Rock
Post Punk
Indie

Reviews

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Wed Feb 17 2021
2

I was never a Joy Division fan. Friends of mine would point out versions of the album art for Unknown Pleasures everywhere with a wry smile, but it meant nothing to me. Joy Division came too late in life to make a difference; I perceive them now how children do the work of Charles Dickens, groundbreaking when it came out but overanalyzed and overloved, trapped in the past, no longer relevant in the modern age. Despite this guide's insistence that Closer is "a quantum leap" musically compared to the Unknown Pleasures, you could shuffle them together and I wouldn't notice. It's not for me.

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Sun Mar 21 2021
5

This album is darker than vantablack. The opening track, when I first heard it, was one of the most emotive and dark things I had ever heard. When you know the story of Ian Curtis and read into the lyrics on this record, it is basically a cry for help. This is a perfect record for me. Favorite track: all Least favorite track: none

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Mon May 03 2021
5

I’ve never paid Closer as much attention as Unknown Pleasures and that’s totally my stupidity. Mind blown throughout, haven’t heard it in a long time and have had it on nearly solidly for a day now. The fact they moved to a real synth sound from Heart and Soul to the close just takes this to another level. The influence this album has clearly had on some of my favorite bands today is evident throughout. Decades is a quite spectacular finish - some say it’s about war and some say it’s about a man looking back on his life from heaven and the pressure on him - all the more apt when you remember it was released two months after his death. WHAT. A. RECORD.

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Mon Mar 22 2021
3

I can objectively appreciate what it is, but this is decidedly not for me.

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Fri Aug 13 2021
3

I was cutting an avocado while listening to this album and while “A Means to an End” came on, I felt like maybe I should be the avocado. Definitely sad boi shit. I also felt that Ian Curtis was standing 10 feet away from the mic and obnoxiously yelling the entire album trying to blend in with all the other instruments and not giving a fuck about any of it anymore. I learned later today that he took his own life shortly after the album was produced and then remembered the avocado.

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Thu May 06 2021
3

Released a few months after Ian Curtis hung himself. Impossible not to hear as a suicide note, although the grooves eventually worm their way to the surface.

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Mon Apr 12 2021
4

I like this kinda dreamt rock electronic. Like a song in a movie If u were trippin on drugs and spiraling from your show bizz celebrity life lmao.

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Sat Apr 10 2021
1

I thought I was listening to the same song until I was halfway through the album. The drummer uses the same fill for almost everything, and it's a aural barrage of repetitive riffs the whole way through. Also, the singer is truly terrible. I think Tool stole their vibe and made it actually listenable.

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Tue Aug 31 2021
5

I bought this album a day or so after its release. I was aware of the hype around the band and had been impressed by their performances on the radio. But this, this was on another level. A jagged soundscape along a narrow and foreboding route, punctuated with moments of sheer beauty. Altogether way more than the sum of its parts.

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Thu Jan 20 2022
2

Might have its importance in a context, but sounds boring today.

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Mon Feb 21 2022
2

My wife described this (before being told who it was) as "arty, pretentious shit with a vocalist who can't sing". Hard to argue, really. Dreadful dirges. It wasn't love that tore them apart. Occasional flashes of better to come, but this album doesn't belong on any list. Like the drumming, though - and Hooky's bass is clearly the driving melodic force.

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Tue Mar 14 2023
2

Ian Curtis's voice is really annoying on this album. Like, "immediately lose two stars, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars" annoying. I know that sounds petty but I just REALLY hate it. This album was released only a year after "Unknown Pleasures" but, in the intervening year, they stripped every last bit of punk from their sound and all that's left is a grumpy, depressed, mishmash of musical ideas overlaid with thick, tuneless vocal mumbling. Did I mention that I hate Ian Curtis's vocals on this album? Because I hate them. So much. Good grief.

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Sat Jan 22 2022
1

Nope. One of the most overrated bands of all time, with a tonedeaf singer. Listened to all of their albums before, and they're all total shite.

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Fri Apr 09 2021
5

Amazing album, post punk, different sounds. Cryptic, dark, cool sounds, basslines and guitar are interesting. Lyrics and vocals all unique and work well with the music

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Sun Feb 21 2021
5

Production: 17/20 Songwriting: 16/20 Innovation: 17/20 Bangers: 20/20 Emotional response: 16/20 =86 Yeeeessssss pleeeeeease

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Wed Jun 22 2022
5

Joy Division is a group that does both rock and art. Multiple small sonic details make the album incredibly fascinating. The percussions are powerful and original, the guitar and the bass so dark and well blend. All this crowned by the strong emotions released by the singer and his inimitable voice. The alignment of the last 3 songs is probably one of the strongest moments of post-punk. Ok, I'll admit it, I listened to the album twice in a row.

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Sat Jun 26 2021
3

En ce mercredi après-midi, synonyme d'un week end s'approchant à grand pas, un sacré épouvantail se dressait face a moi: Joy Division Bell, que je me languissais d'avance d'öcouter, et pour cause... Ayant eu la joie d'arpenter les montagnes helvète la semaine dernière, il se trouve que je dispose de quelques albums de retard sur mon compagnon d'écoute, le très inébranlable robpotter. Hors, ce dernier ne tarissait pas d'insultes envers cet album, lui accordant la note minimale (une etoile sur cinq pour ceux qui ne connaitraient pas bien le système en place). Seulement, il se trouve que j'ai personnellement apprécié cet album, malgré un chanteur il est vrai à côté de la plaque, mais peut-on lvraiment lui en vouloir étant donné sa petite forme de l'époque? Des mauvaises passes arrivent dans la carrière de chaque joueur, seul les plus grands arrivent à se maintenir au plus haut niveau, évitant les blessures. Rob nous targue une fois de plus d'une opinion musicale desastreuse, qui construit néammoins sa légende. Que nous reservera t'il la prochaine fois?

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Sat Jun 26 2021
1

C'est tout simplement horrible. La voix du chanteur est atroce. Je vais demander des explications à Robert, que je connais personnellement.

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Wed Feb 03 2021
5

For me; pretty close to perfect. A monster emotional person from all 4!

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Mon May 03 2021
5

Post punk perfection. While maybe a little more sprawling, less focused than its predecessor, it does not suffer at all because of it. The album is flawless even before we reach decade. A special album.

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Sat Jan 15 2022
5

My first time really listening to Joy Division and I absolutely love everything about it. Each track is unique and amazing, with innovative synths and techniques that sound like nothing else of the era. The afrobeat drumming of "Atrocity Exhibition" reminded me of Talking Heads, but is used nowhere else. Tracks like "Isolation" preview where New Order will take synth music in a more elaborate, operatic format. There's a wide range of emotions displayed in this album. Sure, a lot of it is very dark and cold, but "Isolation" is a perfect example of a brighter sound that made Ian Curtis's echoed vocals like an angel from above. I absolutely love Ian Curtis's vocals. His creepy tone and whiny finishes to his lines add to the overall gothic appeal. There really is something to like about each track. "Passover" has whispery back vocals and goopey synth noises that sound like a toxic waste factory. "Colony" is full of stress and anxiety with its repetitive and incredibly fast-paced bassline. "A Means to an End" is by far the catchiest, and has my favorite beat and solo; you can again hear the sound New Order will take. I like how "24 Hours" keeps swapping between fast and slow, and also it sounds the most like New Order. "Eternal" feels desolate and hopeless, like a void. "Decades" definitely has a "closer track" feel; it's synth-heavy and shoegazey, with dreamy and claustrophobic vocals, and some attractive bridges. New Order is for sure one of my favorite bands of the 80s, and everything I adore about their sound is represented here. Joy Division is able to perfectly encapsulate feelings of chaos, claustrophobia, and total dread, and it's honestly hard to believe they came up with all this on their own, with no one to base their music off except several contemporaries. I'm even more excited to explore the rest of their short-lived discography.

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Tue Mar 01 2022
5

I always found Closer much harder work than Unknown Pleasures, which I always preferred. Closer is an alienating, hostile listen, even if you approach it with no conscience of the "suicide note" factor. Its intimacy comes up as intimidating instead of welcoming, and despite the spare, minimal, subdued atmosphere that pervades the record, it does sound ominously heavy. All this made me always feel somehow disconnected from the listening experience. Until now. Today I was able to play it only twice (out of more than 20 records so far, I only listened once to two of them, and played several times during the 24 hour arc the rest of them), once in the morning and once in the evening; because it isn't one of those records you can play twice in a row, in my opinion. And still, since the first time this morning, Closer manifested itself in all of its splendor. Magnificent. Even for such a statement of existencial anguish, and also because of this very reason, there is no other word to describe it: Magnificent. This is much more than an album to listen before you die, this is an album to own. And for the rest of your life.

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Mon Mar 07 2022
5

Originally a punk band with songs that were hard on the ears by the time they recorded their first album they had found a unique bleak industrial synth sound and the songs were much improved. The inspiration behind the songs is well publicised which makes them even more haunting now. A brilliant album and for me the stand out tracks are Isolation, Means to an End and Decades.

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Wed Mar 23 2022
5

It is overcast outside. If it was sunny, it would immediately become overcast when I put this record on. I have never listened to this album with the sun remotely showing. And that's just how it is. A posthumous release two months after the death of Ian Curtis. A picture of a tomb on the cover. All this leading to what is a brilliant album. The start of Goth. OK. The best ever Post-Punk album. OK. What stands out for me is that this a great album as a whole as is each song in its own. You could argue whether each song is great the way it is , was it over-produced by Martin Hannett with weird noises and synthesizers, what if the guitar sounded like that, etc. The album as a whole has an eerie and haunting mood. It is danceable without being dance music. I always wondered how the heck New Order formed from this. There are nine songs with five being earlier-written guitar-based and the remaining four synthesizer-based. However, intertwined in the album, you can't really tell them apart. "Isolation" and "Colony" highlight the style of the album the best for me with the driving bass, danceable drum beats, Ian Curtis' unique voice with one song synthesizer-based and the other guitar. My two favorite songs are "A Means to an End" and "Twenty-Four Hours" and I believe the reason is that they are the closest songs to traditional guitar-based rock songs. I could go on about each song. This is an album that I do get a little bit more and different everytime I listen to it. A revered album worthy of all the praise.

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Thu Apr 21 2022
5

Finally! Joy Division has always been one of my blind spots - and multiple (admittedly half hearted) attempts in the past of trying to find an album representative of what I imagined to be their greatness while also appealing to me provided unfruitful. I had even across this particular album and snubbed it… But now hearing it in context almost every song is a memorable - Ian’s doom echoing over ethereal beats while sounding mystical and punk at the same time. From start to finish, even without some of their more poppy affairs - this is a brilliant album and finally I have seen the light.

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Wed May 18 2022
5

Less celebrated than Unknown Pleasures but arguably just as good. It's a shame about Ian Curtis. I've often wondered what would have happened if Joy Division had continued. Would they have had the success of New Order? Regardless this is a great album.

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Tue May 31 2022
5

It takes serious balls for a band to start their "difficult" sophomore album with a song like Attrocity Exhibition. Challenging, jarring even ugly at points both musically and especially in subject matter. But JD if nothing else, had balls. This album is as harrowing a personal statement as any in rock and roll. I just wish it had been cathartic enough to allow Ian Curtis to fend off his personal demons...to allow us the chance to hear what would have come next. Unknown Pleasures was JDs statement of arrival and it is visceral and immediate and raw. Closer is the magnum opus for me it holds up better today. Either way both are 5 🌟 albums

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Fri Jan 29 2021
4

If you asked me yesterday about joy division, I woulda guessed they were a late 90's hipster darling still making music. Turns out, That is WILDLY not the case haha! || This album is forcing me to more critically consider how I designate ratings. On a personal level I give this album a 3.5. But in terms of influence, creativity, and "need to hear before you die" it's an obvious 5+. I cannot deny how important this album is to such a wide swath of music being created today. || I'm curious to talk more about how each of our thought processes around ratings evolve as we continue listening - what criteria and feelings do we use to inform our decisions?

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Wed Jun 09 2021
4

Dark, moody, desperate, disturbing, hopelessness in the lyrics. Ian Curtis had such a voice. Like Jim Morrison or Iggy but more forlorn. I love the bass and the interplay with guitar and keyboards and drums to create a driving electro-post-punk sound (that got brightened up for New Order) I was only a distant listener in the 80s, but became an enthusiast after watching the movie "Control" a decade ago. Classic.

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Fri Jan 29 2021
4

You see someone wearing "The T-shirt." You ask them to name 3 songs. They can't. Neither can you. The average listener doesn't know much about JD other than, "Hey that's a neat shirt!" I was in the same boat until a just a couple months ago when my aforementioned fave punk history podcast did a series on them. I checked out the T-shirt album, "Unknown Pleasures," and really dug it, but I think I like Closer even more. It feels moodier to me, more intimate. You do feel as if someone suffering is pulling you closer and pulling you into their sadness with them. You already know I love full synth tones so they had me hooked pretty early on with this one. Their legacy lived on through New Order and all of the New Wave and Post Punk scenes, so its easy to see that the must listen factor of this album is pretty high. Like Emily I am not always big on Post Punk bands, but Joy Division make it work. Instead of getting too artsy with it, they made it cool for punk to be depressed and emotional as opposed to consistently antagonistic and aggressive.

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Sat May 08 2021
4

Hard to separate from the first Joy Division album

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Fri Feb 12 2021
4

"Immortalists with points to prove, I put my trust in you" (A means to an end) "Each ritual showed up the door for our wanderings Open, then shut, then slammed in our face" (Decades) Lo voy a escuchar una segunda vez y terminaré dando me gusta a todas las canciones, que ya sé yo cómo funciona esto.

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Mon May 03 2021
4

Dark, complicated and brilliant. Will certainly revisit.

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Thu Apr 01 2021
4

I've spent so much time listening to "Unknown Pleasures" this made me realize how much I'd forgotten about their other album. It's more art-rock, spare, and haunting, but high quality and worth exploring in-depth. You need to be in a mood for it, though. I'm glad I was pointed back to this album.

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Tue Sep 14 2021
4

There are moments that feel like you’re in the studio with the band. Not much sampling going on in 1980, which means most of this album is played pretty straight. That means those are real drums. Really great stuff.

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Fri Oct 15 2021
4

Closer is melancholic and austere. Given that it was released posthumously from Ian Curtis' suicide it feels more poignant. Coupled with the cover art image of the Appiani Family tomb from Genoa, you have a haunting album, of which in hindsight makes it seem that Ian's suicide was inevitable. A seminal album in post-punk/alternative with the introduction of the synths so prevalent of the 80s. Best: Isolation Worst: Passover

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Sun Oct 17 2021
4

This feels so contemporary, can’t believe I have focused on Unknown Pleasures and not given this the airtime it demands. Gentle in parts, aggressive in others, melodic, rhythmical, just a great example of the start of post punk. Top tracks: Colony, The Eternal, A Means To An End

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Fri Apr 02 2021
3

Closer is the second and final studio album by English rock band Joy Division, released on 18 July 1980 by Factory Records. It was released two months after the suicide of the band's lead singer and lyricist Ian Curtis. Closer was also named NME Album of the Year. It was remastered and re-released in 2007. Today, Closer is widely recognized as a seminal release of the post-punk era. Following the release of the non-album single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" in June 1980, the remaining members re-formed as New Order.

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Mon Sep 06 2021
3

Listening to this, I was struck by how kind of crazy it is that Ian Curtis has always been the focus of Joy Division in terms of the mythology of this band. If dude had just not died the way he did I wonder if there would not be an entirely different story altogether written about them. Because when you listen to the songs… it’s all about the rhythm section. They pick one riff that tends to start with the bass or drums, and they just ride that shit out! Was there even a chorus in any of these tunes? They’re almost anti-songs. And I kind of love that. But yeah. Ian Curtis. No way getting around the mythology. I guess he died so New Order could live? I have no idea what I’m saying and I’m going to bed.

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Fri Sep 10 2021
3

I'm really glad I finally took the time to listen to this record. That voice and everything behind it is so hauntingly beautiful.

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Tue Sep 14 2021
3

3.5 Props to bassist Peter Hook and the drummer for solid, steady state playing. The opening track (Atrocity Exhibition) and The Eternal (the slow track) are the most interesting. Predating Emo by 35 years, this alt-new-wave whining is the reason my high school friend began spiking his hair with Crest toothpaste and threading safety pins in his earlobes. Dynamically flaccid. The singer sounds like he wants to be Jim Morrison, but refused to listen to him on principle.

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Thu Mar 02 2023
3

Good repetitive grooves & depressing tones. I can appreciate when it came out, and the story behind it, but I’m personally not a fan. Keep getting Fred Schneider from B-52s vibes and get taken out of the sadness. Personal problem I guess. Rate 6/10.

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Tue Mar 07 2023
3

Another band I've long felt I should enjoy much more than I do but have just never clicked with. As I mentioned discussing an album in the other thread earlier today, when it comes to Joy Division I can appreciate what's going on far more than I enjoy it. I understand their importance and why people are so into and inspired by them, but I would only listen to them for a project like this, or if somebody else puts it on. I do enjoy the bass sound on this album quite a bit though!

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Wed Dec 29 2021
2

I’ve only heard songs off of unknown pleasures and I’ve never been that huge of a fan. The sound is very bare and empty feeling and I’ve never liked the vocals but I suppose I appreciate the impact joy division's and all that.

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Mon Aug 09 2021
1

The man has a very deep voice and I'm afraid it grates on me :(

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Fri Feb 26 2021
5

This is really good. Wow, this is really good. It reminds me of Molchat Doma (who are heavily influenced by this band, I believe).

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Thu Jun 03 2021
5

This album slaps, especially the guitar tracks.

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Mon Jul 05 2021
5

Aukko omassa sivistyksessäni, joka tuli nyt täytettyä kunnolla. Aiemmin olin tutustunut käytännössä ainoastaan Love Will Tear Us Apartiin ja bändin jäsenten myöhempiin projekteihin, mutta hienoa että tämän listan ansioista sain syyn tutustua bändin muuhunkin tuotantoon. Kuuntelin levyn läpi varmaan lähes kymmeneen kertaaan, ja jokaisella kuuntelulla levy kuulosti entistä paremmalta. Ian Curtisin ääni on varmasti monelle vähän liian "vaikea", mutta mielestäni se sopii hyvin maalailevan synkkään äänimaailmaan. Mitään yksittäistä biisiä ei noussut toisten ylitse, mutta laatu pysyi tasaisen kovana alusta loppuun. Erittäin positiivinen yllätys joka keikkuu nelosen ja vitosen välimaastossa.

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Thu Jan 28 2021
5

Not as much of a banger as Unknown Pleasures, but still a kickass album

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Thu Jan 14 2021
5

Considerado la joya de la corona del post-punk

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Thu Jul 01 2021
5

I love Joy Division so much and this is one of their finest hours. It's bleak, industrial, and emotional. Perfect!

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Wed Jul 28 2021
5

Este es mi disco favorito de la vida.

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Tue Aug 03 2021
5

Really cool sound. I think Joy Division still has a sound that no other band could come close. Not accesible at all, but that somehow makes it special.

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Wed Aug 04 2021
5

One of the all-time great albums. So much dark angst.

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Mon Sep 13 2021
5

Manc miserablist masterpiece.

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Tue Nov 02 2021
5

Saved Prior: None Not Saved: 9. Colony Off Rip: 8. Twenty Four Hours 7. Passover 6. Atrocity Exhibition 5. A Means To An End 4. The Eternal 3. Decades 2. Heart and Soul 1. Isolation Overall Notes: I go into this album as a big New Order fan who has heard a lot about Joy Division's place in rock history without feeling too compelled to check their stuff out beyond "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (adore) and "Distortion" (adore) because of my general distaste for post-punk. I read some global reviews that seem to be mostly split between people really getting it and people being bored out of their minds. After listening, I can see both sides but I side firmly with the former. There were still the discordant elements of post-punk that I typically abhor, but something about the way it mixes with Ian Curtis' lyrics and voice works for me. It's hard to put into words why this album worked so well for me where other similar albums failed. Maybe it's the mythos of Joy Division, maybe I'm more inclined to like this because of my love for New Order, maybe, regrettably, it's the tragedy of Ian Curtis' suicide that sells it. Whatever it is, I'm so so so glad I finally gave this album a go.

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Fri Feb 11 2022
5

Однозначно шедевр. Начиная с обложки. Одна из групп, которая довольно сильно повлияла на меня. Другой альбом - Unknown Pleasures тоже обязан быть в этом списке. Один из тех альбомов, которыми бы я смог описать жанр пост-панк.

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Mon Mar 07 2022
5

Ok, maybe I didn’t get it before, but this is an excellent album by a great band. More Joy Division moving forward.

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Fri Mar 18 2022
5

The first time listening to this album, I’m a big fan of unknown pleasures. Not sure why Iv not listened to this before now… This is another masterpiece so haunting still over 40 years later, it sounds as if it could of been released in 2022. The drums and Peter Hook’s bass line just send shivers down your spine, add in Ian’s vocals and lyrics and you have a tragic 5 star masterpiece.

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Thu Mar 31 2022
5

F ian curtis, teria adorado o batman do robert pattinson

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Thu Mar 31 2022
5

Um belo álbum, especialmente quando tomado escutando um vinho. 9/10

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Tue May 24 2022
5

Tengo este disco en vinilo. Es de los discos que más veces he escuchado y además lo he oído una y otra vez sin parar. Por un hecho personal me resulta especialmente triste oírlo, pero es lo que hay. Canciones con más ritmo en las primeras canciones como "Atrocity Exhibition", "Isolation", "Passover", "Colony", "A Means to an End" y cerrando ese parte "Heart and Soul" que puede que sea la mejor de este disco con un nivel muy alto para mi gusto. Luego vienen las más "etéreas" "Twenty Four Hours", "The Eternal" y "Decades".

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Tue Jun 07 2022
5

Dos discos, dues obres mestres. Difícil triar una per sobre de l'altra. Diferents de la resta, immortals, obscures però embriagadores

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Wed Jun 22 2022
5

I would listen to this album over & over again. It's a shame I still didnt have it in vinyl.

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Wed Jun 22 2022
5

Not as incredible as their first album, but still quite amazing. I'll never get enough of Joy Division.

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Wed Jun 22 2022
5

Decades might be the saddest song of all-time. Of course I'm giving it a 5.

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Mon Jun 27 2022
5

Such a good album. One where it really pays to use the earphones. Just brilliant. Dark, thrilling, mesmerizing, grungy; even more so when you know the background. There's a great documentary of the same name, well worth watching. Overall one of my favourite albums, even though I only discovered Joy Division v late!

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Tue Jul 12 2022
5

My favorite Joy Division album. The soundtrack to my teenage years. I still put it on when I’m feeling particularly depressed or moody. It was strange to listen to when I was in a good mood.

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Mon Aug 08 2022
5

Just such an immense album from my youth.

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Thu Aug 11 2022
5

The music is intensely cool, the lyrics dark. I read a lot about singer Ian Curtis and his suicide just before this album was released. The album hits a lot harder when you know what was going on at the time. I felt the album started only ok. I didn't like the noisy guitar in the background for Atrocity Exhibition and felt it went on too long without change. I felt Isolation had a good sound but was kind of the same thing over and over, a criticism that could be aimed at most of the songs on this album. However, starting with Passover through The Eternal the album was just one incredibly cool sounding song after another. You could also hear the influence they had on so many bands in the 80s (and even beyond). It ended just ok on Decades - a good track but not as good as the previous - it would have been better if they ended with The Eternal. So, basically 2/3 of the album is absolutely perfect and 1/3 is good. Favorite tracks: While I really like all the songs from Passover to The Eternal, my favorites were Colony (cool, hard edge), Heart and Soul (dark, brooding, and mysterious), Twenty Four Hours (cool bass line throughout), and The Eternal (like a beautiful funeral dirge. Really like the piano in this song).

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Thu Aug 11 2022
5

This may sound crazy, but I prefer this to Unknown Pleasures. Don’t get me wrong, Unknown Pleasures is a classic but there’s something about the dark edge of this album that appeals to me more. It’s haunting yet hypnotic at the same time. I heard this album long before I knew the story about Ian Curtis’ suicide and without connecting it with this album, I could feel the darkness that just permeates every track. I mean just listen to that guitar on “Heart and Soul” and tell me this album isn’t haunted. It’s tough to say whether or not I would give this album 4 or 5 stars. I love this album, but I can’t listen to it all the time. When I am in the mood for it I’ll usually listen to it more than once. I think that warrants a 5 also because this album has influenced so many others.

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Sun Aug 28 2022
5

Hauntingly beautiful. It's incredibly dark and gothic, it kind of made me really depressed but in a way that only music can. I completely understand why this record is considered one of the best of its era, it really does define a huge chunk of the post-punk era. The vocals are haunting and the lyrics are powerful. Simply put it was something else. The song writing is well crafted and very polished, it's sad to see Joy Division looked back upon as incel music. Favorite Track: Twenty Four Hours Least Favorite Track: The Eternal

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Fri Sep 02 2022
5

I love this album. Much preferred to Unknown Pleasures. This sounds much darker and more sombre because it lacks the heavy metal flourishes of the first album. The light amplifies the shade here. It feels more exploratory and inventive, whilst maintaining the mood throughout. For obvious reasons much closer to the broader influences and less rock-influenced stylings of New Order. Again, unlike it’s predecessor, not a duff track on here. It’s always a thrill to hear those haunting opening bass notes of Heart And Soul. A unique masterpiece which - to these ears - hasn’t dated.

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Fri Sep 09 2022
5

Drums on this are so clean and so good. Classic post punk album. Standout songs Isolation and Twenty Four Hours. The start of Twenty Four Hours actually made me think of Deftones-White Pony. Never put much time into Joy Division but I’ll definitely return to this album.

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Fri Sep 16 2022
5

Still haunting after so many listens. A chilling work of art for the ages. Can I give this one six stars?

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Fri Sep 23 2022
5

I agree that both Joy Division albums are amazing. Unknown Pleasures is better, but this one is also excellent. Curtis voice and lyrics are dark, and sound almost like his suicide note. It’s a challenging record, for sure, but it doesn’t make it any less brilliant.

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Fri Sep 23 2022
5

Both Joy Division albums are amazing. This one is a little slower and darker then the first one but still excellent.

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Tue Sep 27 2022
5

Oh yeah, this is exactly my jam! Apparently I've habitually ignored this album in favor of "Unknown Pleasures" as this felt like discovering it for the first time. Considering how influential Joy Division were on post-punk and gothic rock, this still sounds remarkably fresh. One of my all time fave albums, "Deathconsciousness" by Have A Nice Life, is evidently patterned on it, too... Fave track - "Atrocity Exhibition" is one hell of an opener, and "Decades" is one hell of a closer - both amazing tracks. Also fun to discover "Isolation" - I love the Therapy? version and didn't know it was a cover!

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Sun Oct 09 2022
5

Closer is possibly the most important post punk album of all time. Released a couple months after the death of Ian Curtis, Closer marks the end of one of the most influential bands of all time. Ian Curtis’s voice evokes a sort of gothic Jim Morrison when lends gravitas and charisma to his lyrics. The music itself is driving and very spacious. Each part feels larger than life giving the listener the sense that they are hearing something important.

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Wed Nov 09 2022
5

If I’m giving Pornography and The Downward Spiral 5 stars, then you bet your ass I’m giving this one 5 stars, too. It has all of the exhausted nihilistic rage you’d expect a goth masterpiece to have, but it’s also catchy dance music. What a cool magic trick. Bonus: Love Will Tear Us Apart wasn’t even good enough for the original album.

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Tue Nov 15 2022
5

and yet farther away than ever

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Tue Nov 29 2022
5

Great album with a very haunting sound, and the drumming in particular is quite interesting. Heart and Soul and Twenty Four Hours are my favourite tracks on this.

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Tue Nov 29 2022
5

Great album, great ambience and rhythm. Played it multiple times, gets better and better. No weak songs, colony stands out for me at this moment.

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