Closer

Post-punk is an automatic 1 at this point

Started really badly, then got a bit better, but still not a lot to like here.

I’ve never REALLY gotten into Joy Division and I have to say, this also did not do the trick. Sometimes you need someone really passionate about a band to guide you through a discography, but for right now, they’ll remain a bit lost in antiquity for me. This lacked in variation and interesting melodies for it to be great for me. I will give it another go, but let’s see…

This is a darker album than unknown pleasures. You could get a sense of where new wave got a lot of their style from off this album as it contained a bit of a more 80s synthesizer into it. Overall this isn’t as good as unknown pleasures but it’s still decent. Having Curtis kept the band in check with a cooler less poppy style. 7.3/10

No

Moeilijke om een rating te geven. Er staan 2 types nummers op deze plaat: die met opvallende synths, en die zonder. Ik vond die zonder iets beter

Timeless classic. Still vital, still relevant

First off, thanks for having me in the group. I did not enjoy this album. It felt like it dragged on. I listened to it twice and got nothing out of it either time.

Very solid. I’m still on the fence about the sound of the vocals, but still very solid.

-very excited to finally listen to joy division --favorites: a means to an end, twenty four hours -has a very cool sound -the darker sound makes sense for that genre at that time -i don’t hate it but i don’t Love it -i have a feeling joy divisons other album is better

Meh

Really good listen. I think I first peeped on YouTube, and this was when iTunes was still charging per song. I think you could buy a song for $0.99 or $1.29. Or buy the album for like $15. Ain’t no way I was paying for full albums back then so I only copped the song “heart and soul” which I listened to about a million times. But anyway this was basically a first listen all over again and it was awesome. Great way to start this thing. LFG!

Eh. Didn’t really feel the vocals. Heart and Soul was probably the only stand out. This was my first time listening to Joy Division. Definitely don't think I will be replaying the album, unfortunately. I can appreciate it, but it just doesn't do anything for me.

Dark, sombre, and moody - classic Joy Division. Love it!

Plaat die ik al in de kast heb staan. Erg goed.

3.5

I had the album on repeat for the week

At first I thought it's obvious that Joy Division is a 5-star band, but I'd never really listened to Closer as a whole. It turns out it's not really a 5-star album, even though it has Heart and Soul. Very good, but not quite as good as I expected.

I really like music on this album but unfortunately I cannot always say the same thing about vocals (however they fit) . Despite that it is still good. It could have been 5

The vocals are very “go on girl, give us nothing”.

I enjoyed this.

Did anyone else feel this album sucked? Like i don't know what was supposed to be good hear, most of the music felt very disjointed with the vocals. I don't know what the fuss was

I just don't like the repetitive electronic sounds....

J’aime po

Sad banger

When I consider this album at the time of its release, it's got some interesting approaches that I don't think were widely prevalent at the time. They are very skilled musicians and performers.

3,5

2.5

Very timely - saw Peter Hook & The Light playing Unknown Pleasures and Closer just last week! Musically more sophisticated, intricate and occasionally heavier than Unknown Pleasures. More synths, which I like, but I don’t think quite as entertaining as the debut. 3 out of 5.

Dark, dark album, feels like it's Ian Curtis writing with one foot in the grave. The feels are here on this one

Pretty good. Nothing crazy considering I don’t even remember it from the last list eh ben u pissed?

Tror sangstemmen på albumet er veldig elsk/hat. For meg er det elsk.

I listened to this album while cooking dinner, and I could not tell you when one song ended and another one began, save for perhaps one song. I can appreciate the album and its brooding aesthetic but it was not made for me. 2/5.

“Weary inside, now our heart's lost forever; can't replace the fear, or the thrill of the chase.” …just some of the closing lyrics on Joy Division’s second and final album, one of the most infamous posthumous releases in music history. If you’re reading this, you’ll likely already know that “Closer” has always been held up by listeners as a window into Ian Curtis’s final days before his suicide, capturing his fragile and tormented state of mind. It’s soaked in a no-way-out kind of despair which makes it difficult just to comprehend, let alone sit and write a few hundred words assessing its value or importance. Anything I say about “Closer”, particularly within days of first hearing it, is going to be reductive by nature, and it doesn’t help that it hasn’t completely struck me as something to revisit. Nonetheless, let’s have a look at the songs… Bleak as it is, “Closer” brings Joy Division more in line with New Order’s sonic palette than I’d realised before. Songs like “Isolation” and “Heart and Soul” seem to bridge the gap between Joy Division’s early guitar-based post-punk and the electronic, synth-friendly approach perfected by New Order. The production is great here, too: crisp, clear drums, crunchy and fuzzy guitars twisted into abrasive soundscapes, Peter Hook’s basslines in the foreground. The wonderful “A Means to an End” exemplifies it all. Elsewhere, there’s “Twenty Four Hours” laying bare the template for The Cure to take and run with for years afterwards, foreshadowing “Disintegration” by nine years… and the slow crawling dread of “The Eternal” and “Decades”. But most astounding of all is the opener, “Atrocity Exhibition”. The drumming pattern (allegedly an attempt to evoke Pink Floyd’s “A Saucerful of Secrets”) is engrossing, as is the abrasive guitar squalling left right and centre. Curtis fills the void by alluding to insecurities around his epilepsy, describing his own body twisting and writhing while an adoring public gawp on. It seems to hint at his deep discomfort with being romanticised, fetishised, trapped in a warped narrative by fans and the press. Forty-five years on, the background of “Closer” has sustained that narrative even more, immortalising the album as a source of morbid fascination. Uncomfortable, confrontational, unsettling… this is a hard album to stomach and not a personal preference, but it’s inarguably vital listening.

Did not like the vocals at all

Relentless and bleak. Hard to describe this any other way.

This album is depressing as hell, I just can’t get into this.

Kinda cool, but its just cock and ball torture. Not for me

classic JD's joye de vivre

Meh.

ok i will listen to it.

Not as good as Unknown Pleasures, but still damn good in its own right. 24 Hours and Decades are top tear Joy Division/New Order tracks. Looking forward to reviewing the New Order albums on this list

- not into it

What a painful listen right out the gate. Horrendous "singing", dark all around, and droning on and on. Not to mention boring ass instrumentals... next. 3/10.

Not as good as Unknown Pleasures, I find it grows a bit trite.

The rhythm and guitar parts are not bad. It’s the vocals that ruin it for me. The singer just sounds so tone deaf and uses the same tone in every song. Hearing he died shortly after this album from suicide is depressing. Learning where the name of this band comes from was just as depressing. Not a fan.

Closer on a Monday morning? Are you trying to thin the heard? Murky, moody, generally not as good as Unknown Pleasures. I imagine that album three with 'Dead Souls', 'Ceremony' and 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' on it would be a stormer, but this one is a downer.

Dystert men på ett bra sätt

Such a tough rate after the perfection of 'Unknown Pleasures.' The same driving energy and dark creativity are still at play but fail to coalesce into any kind of piercing image unlike its predecessor. Manages to pull a 3 based on strong tracks like 'Decades' and 'Means,' pillars which suggest a larger form the other tracks just can't sustain due to some poor choices in lyricism or repetitive instrumentation. This album still wows with its experimental verve, it just feels stuck in a weird space between the guitar-born darkness of Joy Division and the synth-happy splendor of New Order.

yeah alright

More light than usual.

I didn’t pay much attention to this album the first time I listened to it, so I’m glad I gave it a second chance here. This is a depressing album; sometimes I don’t like Ian Curtis’ vocals, but they seem very genuine. All the instruments are good, with lyrics to match. It’s sad what happened to the singer, and it wouldn’t have hit as hard was this not released posthumously.

I fucking hate Joy Division. I'm sorry. I don't think you're supposed to hate this band, but boy are they overhyped. Unknown Pleasures is up there with my least favorite "popular" albums of all time. I hadn't listened to Closer, and I came into it with an open mind, but it's just as grating as anything else I've heard by these guys. Maybe I didn't smoke enough cigarettes outside dive bars in the 90s.

Seminal sad boy music capturing, in ways both gorgeous and ghastly, a man’s final circlings down the drain.

Not a fan

Beginning to think that when a genre starts with "post-", you can mentally substitute that with "a worse version of " The instrumentals provide some interesting beats but they don't really go anywhere and the vocals/lyrics are very one-note throughout the album.

Amazing album

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.

Not my cup of tea

Pépite

Ambiance sombre et percussions très présentent avec les guitares dans le fond 4*

PREFS : TOUT MOINS PREF : RIEN

Not a fun listen and not for me at all. The vocals not in tune with the instruments is not for me. Very little melody to the instruments. At least the lyrics are interesting.

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!

Felt like a complete album with attitude and confidence. Would listen again.

The music was fine but the “singer” ruined it for me. Would not listen again.

I did not like this. Sounds like a band that is covering 80's songs even though this came out in 1980. Synth sounds suck and the lyrics did not connect with me at all. No thank you!

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.

this will be good. genres on wiki they are listed as post-punk and gothic rock it was a good album i enjoyed it, I love rock and post punk so it was very good 5/5 good album love the vibes

Joy Division? More like the Misery Division! I sort of went back and forth between hating this and being absolutely fascinated by it, and still haven't quite resolved myself into a satisfactory opinion.

As the first track started, I was so excited for the rest. The rhythm totally grabbed me!! I did enjoy much of the rest of the album, but it did not captivate me as much as that first track.

I'm very familiar with a few of these songs. I liked the album but definitely started to tune it out after a while. I respect a singer who's not afraid to sing off-key.

I liked the first half of this much better than the second half. After a while it seemed to get a bit dark and a little monotonous. But it was ok for me.

Some of the most self-tortured lyrics you will ever hear. I have no idea how nobody knew about Ian Curtis' mental state until he passed. Favorite track: Passover

Musical perfection

Dark, moody perfection, all the more so in the light of history

Bit sad and grumpy.

Enjoyed the dark and moody bass lines. I expect if I grew up with this album, I'd have more affection towards it, but it passed me by, only for me to discover it later on without the context of it's creation and subsequent loss.

I’ve never really been able to like this group

I had never listened to Joy Division before and I really liked this. I learned after listening that this album is basically Ian Curtis' suicide note. I feel a bit weird gushing about this album considering that fact. I listened to this album straight through twice and feel like it's a perfect album. Not sure how often I'd realistically listen to this in the future, but it deserves a perfect score.

This was nice, relaxing

It’s an Ian Curtis guided trip into the gothic mausoleum of Joy Division.

3.4/5 Best: Twenty Four Hours Worst: Heart and Soul Singing is a bit out of tune sometimes but still liked it

Ok, this guy definitely is a terrible singer. Wiki says this is post-punk. I think I just hate everything punk.

3.5

I enjoyed as much as one could enjoy a Joy Division album

7/10 vocals grating at times but overall cool

6/10. Not bad, not great.

More Joy Division, more depression. 7/10

Muito foda, Peter Hook é uma lenda. O disco começa caótico e vai se arrumando, genial.

Nope

fantastic

3.5

Sad banger, need to up the volume on the vocals tho

I’d never pin this as being from 1980. It doesn’t feel 40+ years old. It doesn’t have the same production values minus the drums. I like it. Not a constant but solid stuff. 82/100 4/5

Don't like Joy Division...at all

This is a weird kind of dark, mainly because of singer’s voice and the production, still pretty good

Solid New wave, good for occasional listens. Didn't compare it to Unknown Pleasures yet.

Over hyped bullshit

I don't understand this, in terms of the vocal quality.

About 14 years ago or so, I learned about the 1001 Albums book. I found a list of all the albums somewhere online, and decided to try and start branching out and listening to some of them. One of the first albums I decided to check out was Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures. I was instantly hooked. I loved the broody sound, the drums, the keyboards, and Ian Curtis's deep vocals and dark lyrics. Shortly afterwards, I checked out Closer, and I loved it as well. This was my first time listening to this album in several years, and I'm so glad I had an excuse to re-listen to it. I still love everything about it: the dark mood, the way the instrumentals manage to sound massive yet lonely, Ian Curtis's vocals, and the dark lyrics. This was my first time to really spend some time looking into the lyrics, and I love all the imagery in them: religion, family strife, failed relationships. Knowing how Ian Curtis's life ended adds another deep layer of sadness to all of these songs, and it just makes me wonder if suicide had been something he had obsessed over for the greater part of his life. I think this album is fantastic, and without it, some of my favorite albums of the eighties and onward probably wouldn't exist. I hate that Joy Division was only around for a short time, but I do love that New Order came about from Joy Division's end, building on the sound that they had established.

Very dark album. I like it though, not too experimental or different but enjoyable nonetheless. Definitely something to listen to on rainy days. Fave track(s): A Means to an End, The Eternal

Interesting and I can see why important but not enough distinct songs to get over three. Obvs huge influence on loads of other bands. Ian Curtis sounds like singer from Editors.

very good, new album

4.25

damn man what a melancholy and beautiful album, and to know he killed himself after this.. the signs were all there..

The singer is perpetually out of tune but exudes aesthetic. The songs are great at evoking emotions, the the voice of the lead singer makes it feel like its an actor filling in for the actual lead singer.

Was not a fan of this album. Repetitive tracks with the same horrible monotone vocals.

Nobody could ever mistake Joy Division for another band. They have a very unique, distinctive sound. There is a pulsating, hypnotic quality to the music so it almost feels like you’re being pulled into a whirlpool. This album is infused with a poetic pain and musical melancholy, a harbinger of imminent demise. It is full of smokey sweaty clubs, and grey English streets. I can hear each instrument so distinctly from the other, and yet it combines in a kind of witches’ cauldron to produce melodic magic. Ian Curtis’s lyrics drip with suffering and the repetition just enhances that anguish. Weirdly enough, I just found this quote from Bernard Sumner: “While we were working on Closer, Ian said to me that doing this album felt very strange, because he felt that all his words were writing themselves. He also said that he had this terrible claustrophobic feeling that he was in a whirlpool and being pulled down, drowning." So obviously I am really tuning in to what Ian Curtis was feeling. Never mind the fact that this came out when I was almost a teenager and the nostalgia is overwhelming. This is a perfect storm of emotion, memory, poetry and damn fine tunes. Sen-bloody-sational.

I love Peter Hook's bass playing. This is great punk album but I wasn't in the right head space. The overall album was rather depressing but I know I could enjoy it under the right circumstances. It's still not an album with a great "wow" factor but just raw underground night club music.

Is the title pronounced Closer or Closer? I think it is closer, as in end. The mausoleum on the cover was my clue. And the fact that the lead singer offed himself. This sounds like it should be played at a funeral after party in a loft in a warehouse down by the docks. Maybe it was. Ian’s voice paired well with the sterile post-punk/pre-industrial arrangements.

This rating is not exactly reflective of my enjoyment of this album. I didn't dislike it, exactly, but try as I might, I couldn't get to 3-stars. I suppose this music occupies territory I don't understand. I bet there are dozens — hundreds — of bands who sound very much like this that no one pays any attention to. They exist on the cutting floor of music history. I couldn't figure out what it is that makes this special, important, interesting, likable. I didn't find the lyrics particularly insightful or profound, the music was OK, but the vocal melodies — as such — were also not particularly inventive. So yeah. I miss the point of this band.

A little Joy Division goes a long way. I enjoy their first album. This one feels like a bunch of unfinished demos or something. The first song is killer, though. After listening to this, I popped on PiL's Second Edition and enjoyed that way more.

Brooding. British. I just love it. Joy Division’s Closer is certainly one to have listened to in your mental library

It’s not really my thing. I can see the appeal because I really like the singer’s voice and the guitar, but overall I couldn’t really get into it. It’s probably just a me thing, because I think it sounds pretty sick, I just wouldn’t want to put it into one of my playlists or listen to the album over again. Favorite track: Isolation

To me, this album is definitely worse than their first album. Unknown Pleasures was groundbreaking and paved the way for the goth 80s sound, but this seems to just rely on some of the tropes of that album and ends up sounding like a bunch of b-sides from Unknown Pleasures. Highlight: 2, and 9.

Monotonous instrumentals and monotone vocals. I really failed to see a point to this one, and I was ready for it to be over by the 3rd track

Closer is fucking miserable and crap too. 1.

This is really miserable, but really good. Hard work to listen to, definitely less approachable than their other album, but probably the better for it? Not a bad song on it, good changes of tempo, sounds, and style. Probably won't go back to it as a full album unless something really unpleasant happens to me and I need to misery out, but there are plenty of tracks that are worth having on a playlist. Isolation and 24 Hours probably the highlights, but not by a lot. 4/5.

Daniel

j'ai hésité sur ma future note tout du long la dernière track m'a décidée

Fine album

I listened to this 15 years ago when I was trying to be cool and I didn't like it. I listened to it again yesterday, caring slightly less about being cool, and I liked it more. Maybe there's a lesson there. Also, I used to not really understand how Joy Division became New Order and after this album, that transition makes a lot more sense. Standouts: Isolation, A Means to an End, Twenty Four Hours, Decades

If only they sounded more like New Order.

I don't really know how to classify this music, new wave probably best describes it, but it's not upbeat pop new wave. Slow, driving, the singers voice reminds me of talking heads.

The album is a masterpiece.. Ian is brilliant.. Perfection

Kinda emo LOL

this is the album that shows where they would have gone. it would have been good. they werent there yet. but im sure it inspired others. it lead to a couple good to okay new order albums. soooooo…. thats cool.

good album to put in the background and vibe to

Excited, but a bit nervous when this popped up. I have never heard this, but really like Unknown Pleasures. Unknown Pleasures is the kind of album that's really great, but could have easily gone wrong - now that I think about it, that could probably be said for most of the best music out there. Anyway, I wasn't completely sure if I wanted to hear where Joy Division went from there. All that said, this is fantastic and I'm glad this project forced me to listen through it. Each part of the ensemble is more precise, defined, but keeps the elements that makes this band cool and unique. I really like this band because their sound is so different, raw, emotional, but still carries a melody and simply put, sounds good. So many bands from this era try to be different and say something in a new way, but forget they are making music, and just end up making shit. Not Joy Division and I thank them for that. Interpol does too, sincerely.

Closer is the second & final album by English rock band Joy Division. This post-punk album was released 2 months after the suicide of the band's lead singer Ian Curtis and this caused the band to re-form as New Order. Closer is dark but danceable, as the bittersweet lyrics and bleak but breathtaking musical style create a hauntingly great album. It is highly rated and is often cited as Joy Division's finest work, as well as the "crown jewel of post-punk". I found myself really enjoying this album, and it even pulled me out of my "work mode" so I could focus on the music more.

I've haven't listened to much Joy Division, but what I've heard has been fine. I must admit the music didn't grab me and pull me in, instead it served as good background music that was enjoyable.

Didn't really stick for me. I like some Joy Division songs, but they aren't on this album.

The iconic Manchester quartet's second and final album before the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis, the latter's specter naturally looms large over almost all appraisals of this densely atmospheric work. The album would, however, be considered a classic under any circumstances and Curtis' lyrics, pregnant with poetic imagery and historical symbolism, set him apart as one of the best frontmen in contemporary music, irrespective of his untimely demise. The foreboding existential anguish of 'Passover', along with the Kafka-inspired proto-death rock of 'Colony' are two particular highlights of the A side before the album's triumphant denouement with tracks like 'Twenty-Four Hours' and 'The Eternal'. Martin Hannet's production expertly captures the ephemeral brilliance of one of the most enigmatic groups in history on Closer - an unparalleled parting shot.

Heavy listen. I’ve heard of Joy Division (obviously Unknown Pleasures) but admittedly never gave them a real listen. “Closer” is the record that was released after the death of their lead singer, and ultimately the last record the band would release before reforming under the name “New Order”. The lyrics are dark, but well written. The instrumentals are minimal, but also, you guessed it, dark. The lead singer definitely drew inspiration from Jim Morrison of The Doors. This record also obviously inspired many bands that would come later, such as Sonic Youth. Overall an enjoyable listen, and absolutely belongs on this list.

this is the way this is the way (Listening to Colony): reminded of that quote in GH3 that says if you can hear your bassist, they’re playing too loud Dk which is better: “Unknown Pleasures” or this one. The frenetic percussion of the opening “Atrocity Exhibition” makes one think it’ll be a punkier, more danceable record, but just like the outro in “Passover”, it slows down, going into the brooding, Gothic second half. HL: “Twenty-Four Hours”, “The Eternal”, “Isolation”, “Decades”

Liked this will probably listena again

Didn't get this album at all. Found it to be very depressing. I know there are some Joy Division songs out there I like, but they weren't on this album. Will not attempt to listen to again and would not recommend. Since this album was so depressing, I will take this space to reiterate how enjoyable it was to watch michigan shit the bed again. I wonder how many boogers hairball ate after getting embarrassed by TCU. 51 points on what he called his best defense ever. The guy is a clown

4 This has always been one of the bleakest albums I’ve ever heard. It’s the musical equivalent of Requiem for a Dream; the best album I never want to hear again. Released posthumously after Ian Curtis’ suicide, any optimism or whimsy that could be found on “Unknown Pleasures” is surely gone here. This album feels like a funeral march. It feels like listening to an actual ghost that’s walking the line between worlds - a sort of purgatory of music. However where one story ends another begins and like a Phoenix rising from its own ashes, New Order was born. It’s a good thing the remaining members reformed because the instrumentation on this album is superb. The album itself opens with a very slick drum pattern and at no point does it get any less creative. I know creative differences plagued this album but I think it’s one of the times when the back and forth created something great, it’s just a shame that it came with the cost of Ian’s life. Favorites: Atrocity Exhibition, Isolation, A Means to an End, Heart and Soul, Twenty-Four Hours, The Eternal, Decades

4 Haunting. Beautiful, but haunting - from front, to back, down to the cover art depicting a literal tomb. Ian Curtis was a brilliant lyricist and master of the style by his own merit, but it’s hard not to think of the context around this album and his life when listening. Every time I hear Isolation, I can’t help but think of a scene from Curtis’ biopic Control where he apathetically performs the vocal track alone in a recording booth while the rest of the band and producer mindlessly sit around the control board bickering, unaware they’re listening to cry for help. Great album, but know what you’re getting into. Folks, the world is a better place with you in it. Favorite songs: Isolation, Twenty Four Hours, A Means to an End

This just rolled right off me. Forgot I had it playing in the background. And I love Unknown Pleasures

Kinda blows

How fucking depressing was that...

Considering that this is one of my favorite bands, and one of my favorite albums, I have a bias. I love this album, no notes.

This album sounds great to me. I know some of the band hated it, I think it really captured them in great form. An incredibly important record I am glad to get to know better. Some of the grooves and vocals lull a bit for me at times, as jams tend to do, but the wake of influence on here is huge. 4.4444444444444

This album is really weird, because it hits three really problematic notes for me. First, it's dark. And I mean it feels really, really bleak. Second, the lead's voice isn't that great. And third, it's not what I would consider to be something I'd choose to listen to again. Normally, taking into consideration all three of these things, I'd give the album a low rating, but I can't bring myself to do that. Dark, haunting, hopeless, this album is hard to listen to, but it's also beautiful in a lot of ways. It felt like I was listening to poetry at times, not music. Ian Curtis was good with words, even if they were hard to take in. I don't know that this is an album I would want to spin regularly, but I might want to have it in my collection just for its artistry.

One of the greatest albums ever made

Meh, not remarkable

"A Means to an End" and "Heart and Soul" were okay. The rest of this album just didn't do anything for me.

meh, not a fan of the 80s as much, and dude can't really sing in tune

1. Terrible vocals. This ain't it, chief.

This feels like a more solid version of Unknown Pleasures. Again Joy Division music is not very diverse, but most songs felt high quality and had a unique bit or two to them. Isolation and Heart and Soul were the highlights for me, they're also the songs that I've heard the most times.

Closer is an excellent album and I feel that it's overshadowed by Unknown Pleasures. If you've only listened to their first album please give this one a listen. Closer is on the same level. Very dark and gloomy with a similar sound like the band Bauhaus.

What is there to say? This is the peak of Post Punk, the precursor for new wave and a brilliant album top to bottom. I adore the songwriting and the instrumentals. Ian Curtis is untouchable as a frontman. Just an excellent piece.

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.

Classic album

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.

This is likely a perfect album. Yet it's like a black hole, no light coming out. I'll leave it at 4.

Its a nice album, I don't have much to say

Love. Though a bit like sériel killer meditation music.

It's not you; it's me. As incredible as you might be - I just can't find any joy.

i dont really see the appeal tbh, long repetitive tracks with not much pretty stuff, but it ain’t bad euther

Downbeat beautiful

Joy Division sets a dark tone that would become synonymous with the New Wave genre. The blend of gothic themes with electronic beats, synths, and strumming guitars that would be their calling card stand out. While not their most complete album from a mainstream standpoint, this album has an artistic element that their other may be lacking. It is impressive how much they accomplished in two albums.

I've never been the biggest Joy Division fan, I actually prefer New Order. But they did some remarkable things to pioneer a post-punk scene of melancholic and brooding alternative rock, opening the doors for other amazing acts like The Cure and The Smiths. Ian Curtis considered this album the band's creative pinnacle before sadly taking his own life so we'll never know if that was true. This is a very atmospheric album, I feel like I'm on a walking tour of Curtis's depression. There's some truly beautiful poetry in the lyrics, The Eternal is particularly haunting. This isn't casual listening, it's for catharsis or wallowing, what you get depends on the condition of your soul on any given listen.

Never listened to a full album before, this is good stuff.

Close enough.

and yet farther away than ever

Eh... Nothing impressive for me. Maybe not my type.

Man, this was a struggle to get through. What a dark, bleak record. I know the circumstances surrounding the release of the record are terrible, with the lead singer committing suicide a few months before its release, but man was that a mournful album. Everything from the unenthusiastic, moaning lyric delivery, to the dark and somber themes. The album cover is even dark, showing a tomb. JOY Division is a poor name for a band this bleak. The instrument playing was simplistic and boring. At one point, during the song The Eternal, they decided a helicopter blade/static whirring was a musical instrument. Atrocity Exhibition contains not much musical stylings unless you are in to guitar screeches and scratches. The singer was hard to hear by times because it sounded like he was standing 20ft from the microphone. Needless to say this WAS NOT my favourite record. The first half of the album was much better than the second. They say that Joy Division can be traced to the beginnings of goth, and I can see that. Favourite song: I had to really search for one, but I think it will have to be Isolation (an injection of energy into an otherwise glum record) Least favourite songs: The Eternal, Decades, Atrocity Exhibition, A Means to an End, Heart and Soul 2/5

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.

interessante

It might be sacrilegious to say this, but I think I personally preferred this to Unknown Pleasures. Darker and heavier, but in some ways I found it more listenable than its predecessor. It's sad to hear the backstory surrounding this album though, and the theory that this album is a suicide note of sorts really checks out. Favourite: Twenty Four Hours

Maudlin, morose music for the perpetually sad.

Granted, there are only two, but does every Joy Division album need to be here? Had the singer not killed himself, would this album merit a listen? Still a good album from the time period. 3/5.

Pretty decebt

pretty good, but not the best album i’ve gotten.

Was ok

sad people music but just made me bored

live songs were best. other than that quite boring

Conor Lochrie once reviewed the 40th-anniversary version of Closer. Conor had a quote to summarize it all: "A terrible beauty is born." – Easter 1916, by W. B. Yeats.

really good, but not something I'd necessarily listen to all the time

Way too experimental on the A side. I did however enjoy the more "classic rocky" side B with my favorite track being The Eternal.

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.

Kind of like goth Devo.

I totally understand their influence and why they’re such a seminal band for so many people. I think I just missed my opportunity to get into Joy Division and have them have any meaningful impact on me. I also think I just like too many bands that took their whole thing and did it better.

Joy Division is a post-punk Cristiano Ronaldo making-off-from-the-top-of-the-key goal. (7/10) FT: Isolation

It's insane how no one bothered to listen to any of the lyrics until after Ian Curtis killed himself. Maybe the guilt of not recognizing dude was extremely depressed is why everyone is so quick to over praise it. This is still a good if not great listen. New Order was formed from the ashes of this band. And let's be honest: New Order's catalog is better.

So the Joy part is ironic, eh?

never heard of them, good to listen too.

Prima melodie, maar erg zeikerig

One of my favs.

Ahh yes, the division of joy. Meloncholy at it's best.

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!

I have never had such a mixed feelings after listening to a new album on this challenge. First of all, of course I have heard about Joy Division, but I've never heard even on their song in my entire life. "Closer" is my first experience, and straight out of gate I was disappointed. Wildly known as a post-punk genre, heavy on disco beats, synthesisers, instantly put me away. Songs were fitting into a wide set of 80s british punk rock music, which were gloomy by lyrics, but frustratingly upbeat by music. I was very close to not finishing this album at halfway, I was so sure I have heard everything that's interesting already. But then I was hit by an extremely positive surprise. Last three songs of the album: "24 hours", "The Eternal" and "Decades" shattered my previous idea of Closer. The trio of charts has changed the mood and musical climate quite suddenly and by quite a lot. Slower, positively repetitive melody, atmospheric tension of the song and sparsely used vocal of Ian Curtis worked perfectly on those songs. In general, I'm not a fan of his style of singing (although he had a great, deep voice). He was a little overexposed on previous records, but with short sentences, almost uttered as in conversation, he fitted perfectly into the shape of the song, adding another dimension to it. I can really see new favourite songs in style that I cherish. In the end I need to give two different notes: Side A - 2 stars, nothing exciting, constant struggle for listener. Side B - 5 stars, atmospheric post punk? Sign me in! Final note will be a generous 4 stars. One good song can easily outweigh two terrible ones.

wow, I didn't know Joy Division only put out 2 albums before their singer killed himself. This is interesting. I can't say I love it and at times the tin can production on the vocals just annoys me... but it's unique and somewhat peaceful

Stone cold classic.

I’ve never really got into Joy Division. From the problematic name to the aesthetic. Just not my jam. Would rather listen to The Cure.

Good album but Unknown Pleasures is much stronger.

Haunting, desperate, urgent,… But not something that hooked me (no pun intended).

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

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.

2* outdated stuff.

Ok

This monotone singing style that was big in the 80's is just NOT my cup of tea.

Het album begint met een leuk drum-riedeltje dat me aan het lokale Gilde doet denken. Als de zang er daarna bij komt, verlies ik een beetje interesse. Het is niet de beste zang die ik ooit gehoord heb. Vooral daarom een lagere score. De muziek is verder wel om aan te horen. **

Not their best, I’m usually a fan so maybe I wasn’t in the right mood

Electic alternative. Don’t love it

Depeche Mode vibes

Okay. Not bad but also nothing special

This album shows Joy Division at their full potential: sprawling, chaotic, energetic, neurotic. The band experiments with sound, mixing, melodies, rhythms, and vocals. If it's not better than Unknown Pleasures - and it probably is - it's a step forward and leaves you longing for what the band might have come up with next had they the chance.

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

Good, but not outstanding.

I just don't get it. I've heard of Joy Division before as something similar to other new wave bands that I enjoy, but hearing it now it doesn't sound good. I sort of thought that it was like Talking Heads, but without any of the things that made Talking Heads impressive. Oh well.

Not really my style. Very dark, post-punk. Interesting instrumentals at time but as a whole package just isn't for me.

Enjoyed my first listen. Will definitely revisit.

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.

J'apprécie toujours un bon album de Joy Division. La voix, le best post-rock, toujours formidable.

Yea this album ain't bad

Wasn't in the right mood for this. Still great though!

Stórgóð plata, þunglyndi og deyfð. Eyrun mín tóku kipp þegar Colony fór í gang. Bassalínan og tromman eru nánast alveg eins og í Ilty Ebni sem kom út tveimur árum seinna.

I get the appeal and like the playing, but the 80s disjointed singing ruined it for me. 2/5

A classic

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.

This album strangely passed me by. I've never listened to it before from start to finish. I held it up as some iconic recording, almost afraid to give it a try. It isn't, and I shouldn't have placed so much trust in it. There's a fresh European sound. But nothing that screams out CLASSIC to me. I wonder how would Joy Division would have developed if you know, hadn't have happened. I think I prefer the New Order outcome.

Not totally for me in the end but the talent and quality of the band is undeniable. Every instrument is performed at the highest level and so is the structure of the songs and order of them, specifically the transition. Strong 3.5 for me. I'll round up and go 4 stars cause I feel it's closer to a four than a lone 3.

Top 3 Songs: 1 - Heart and Soul (6) 2 - Twenty Four Hours (7) 3 - A Means to an End (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

nope

great!!!

22/08/2022 Joy Division – Closer 1/5 This is a nope for me. I don’t like the music, the production, the voice of Ian Curtis, the style... I was thinking of saving this for the future after a few listens (like Beck’s album I had a couple of days ago, that grew on me a little), but it’s not clicking with me at all. I can’t even finish the songs without forcing myself. I know that Joy Division is a remarkable band that for sure left their mark for the future of punk, but I don’t like them. Even their sound (without Ian Curtis) in New Order is better in my opinion. Not a fair review, but it is coming only from my perspective.

joy division has its own very distinctive sound and eventhough this album lacks a typical 'hit' its still a great album regardless

Pretty good

I can hear the obvious influences. But man, it is a bit of a downer. The singer suffered from depression? Couldn't tell at all from the songs. The singing reminds me of the tonality the Clash used for "The Guns of Brixton." It's ok, but as a whole it just didn't quite move me the way I thought it would. Kinda meh.

I guess they recorded this album at two different times and it definitely has two distinct sounds. I liked the more guitar-oriented songs (Atrocity Exhibition, Passover, Colony, A Mean's to an End, Twenty Four Hours) - heavy and scratchy sound, the skill is there, though you can see how shoe-gaze picked up that ball and ran with it in an even weirder way. And on second listen I really, really liked them. The synth-heavy songs (Isolation, Decades) are a bit too over the top for me. I was surprised that Heart and Soul and The Eternal were considered part of the latter songs (maybe the drum tracks?) because they felt real heavy and edgy like the former songs. I quite liked both. Rest his soul but I'm not a big fan of Ian Curtis' vocals. Even more rest his soul, but this album epitomizes the 80's "kill myself" music. The lyrics are quite sharp but man they are dark and gloomy. It's a real solid album despite the things I don't love; found myself unable to focus on anything else while listening. I was at around a 3 after the first couple tracks but moved to a 4 by the time I was two-thirds through the album; real strong from tracks 4 through 8. Almost went to 5 given how much its sound can be heard in various rock styles that came after it.

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.

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).

Just such an immense album from my youth.

While I understand why some feel strong emotions about this album, this isn’t something I enjoy listening to at all.

4th August 2022 Listened throughout the day while doing bits. Went to the pub with Johnny in the evening. Bit bleak for me Joy Division. Like the cure without the occasional bit of joy…

Best Song: Atrocity Exhibition. I like the bouncing drums, and that's about it. Worst Song: Isolation. The man is just talking over stock standard 80s sounding beats. Overall: This man cannot sing. Sometimes that's okay, and the song feels like an odd arthouse take on what is music, but mostly it just feels like someone snatched the microphone at the company Christmas party and is subjecting everyone to their talent.

Not for me

This album is a difficult listen, knowing what came after. It has a dark, despairing, defeated quality, which is ramped up from 'Unknown Pleasures', which was itself dark and brooding. 'The Eternal' in particular feels like a funeral march. Artistically this is tragically on point, but too unremittingly bleak for my tastes. Rating: 3/5 Playlist track: Twenty Four Hours Date listened: 01/08/22

Absolute classic! ❤️

Amazing.

Not an album I've ever heard before. In the past I've felt about Joy Division the way many people feel about Morrissey (I like most of Morrissey). I always hoped that Joy Division would contextualize for me and have their moment knowing how influential they are. While I'm not a huge fan of the sound of Curtis' vocals (like a less talented Ian Asbury), I discovered some bass-lines and guitar I enjoyed more than on prior forays into the Joy Division catalog. Occasionally, the guitar was as good as some of the best Cure songs (Twenty Four Hours).

Unknown Pleasures was unique and strange enough to be great, but a year later they released Closer and its safe to say that they fell off a cliff with this one. I'm assuming Ian's declining state had a huge effect on the album and his suicide during its release probably contributed to the way this was received. Aside from Twenty Four Hours, it's hard for me to see the magic here.

When I think of Joy Division, the lyric and music that pop into my head is "Let's Dance to Joy Division," by the Wombats, not by Joy Division. That's because before today, I couldn't name a Joy Division song. I had a vague idea of what I thought they sounded like, but that's about it. So I entered into "Closer" hoping to dance to Joy Division. But alas, I don't know how one dances to Joy Division. It's harsh and sharp and dark and... not what I want to dance to. Any moment where I started to get into it (the intro to "Twenty Four Hours" is rad), I get taken right back out by Ian Curtis' vocals. Joy Division was apparently very influential, and I can hear in their music how they impacted not just the 80s, but also 21st century post-punk. But I can't dance to Joy Division, and in fact just want to turn it off when Curtis starts singing (though I empathize with his tragic story).

The voice ruins this for me.

Ian Curtis can’t sing very well. His voice isn’t terrible, but when he’s isolated on sustained notes it’s obvious and uncomfortable. He’s more suited to talking his lyrics melodically. The problem is that he tries to sing. He should have just stuck to what suits him best. From Wikipedia: According to Colin Larkin, Closer has since been "deservedly regarded by many critics as the most brilliant rock album of the 80s" Pump the brakes, Colin. I recognize that the bass guitar and drum parts are high quality, but let’s slow down please. I wrote that before hearing the last three tracks for which the music is outstanding. And every one of them would be better as an instrumental piece.

Joy Division and New Order were bands that I was raised on. While it isn't the sound from my childhood that I latched onto the most, I do love their music. This album is not as good as Unknown Pleasures to me. It is also a tragedy that "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was never released on an album. All in all a good album that reminds me of childhood.

En tykänny, en sitten yhtään. Helvetin tylsä ja mitäänsanomaton setti ja varmaan tasan toiminut saariapinoiden keskuudessa...

Apaattinen, en saanu yhtään albumista kiinni, ei jatkoon

Am I the only person on earth that really can't stand Joy Division?

Not great

nothing special

I know it's more a vibe than an album bit for me, that's the problem.

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.

Creo que tienen cosas muy interesantes pero no es lo mío. Entiendo las raíces en el punk y luego post-punk pero me he dado cuenta con el primer tercio de la lista que estos géneros musicalmente no me llaman. Las letras pueden ser buenas y entiendo el aporte pero me costó mucho trabajo. 2.5 que sube a 3 porque sí encontré algunas cosas buenas.

Ok, lo jinxeaste… aunque sea un poco. Es que no me termina de pasar Joy Division. Sé que es de las bandas que más influencia tiene en lo que nos gusta hoy en día, pero en serio en serio me cuestan trabajo. La voz es difícil y la música, aunque no es mala, le faltan subidas y bajadas y todo el tiempo se mantiene en una tonalidad y melodía parecidas que terminan por hacerme querer ir a pedirles que por Dios cambien de acorde aunque sea. Se llevan de churro la 3a estrella.

Heart and soul é interessante. The Eternal tbm.

Background music 2.5

Not as good as 'Unknown Pleasures,' more slow/ambient stuff on this album

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!

Didnt care for it

2.7 - Dark, very 80s album. Post punk style without the Cure-like rhythm of some of their other stuff. Will likely not be revisiting soon.

A profoundly dreary and yet often beautiful final send-off from this short-lived but incredibly influential post-punk act. Ian Curtis's haunting vocals are the star here, giving so many of these songs such an emotional punch.

So great

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

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

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

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.

lacked gyle

I. Just. Don't. Care. I've tried. It doesn't work. New Order is better.

See previous review. I'm not sure one of their albums was worthy of the list. Two is definitely pushing it.

i very much disliked the majority of this album. there was some alright parts but i’m very unsatisfied with the entirety of the album.

Hmm. Both Joy Division albums within 8 days here. I suspect my feeling on this album is roughly similar to the first - it's something that I very much disliked or just wasn't ready for. Ian Curtis' voice yeah yeah it's tough to listen to and I don't know if it was that I just heard the debut album or it really is more grating on this one but I'm steering towards the latter. When I focus on the dark/sparse mood of the music which again - there's a bit of sloppy and repetitive playing here - it's that *mood* that's the selling point. I'm never going to listen to this in the same vein as I'll listen to a Beatles or Van Halen album :D However, this one didn't hit me the same way as the first one; it might need/have needed more time to sink in but this one sounded more like a demo than the first and although at times I liked the effect it just didn't connect much at all. 4/10 2 stars.

I've heard how brilliant this band is a million times but I've never really heard anything by them except "Love Will Tear Us Apart". After listening to this I'm glad I haven't. It really feels like an emperor's new clothes situation. This was terrible.

Nunca he sentido mucha afinidad por Joy Division, aunque sí me gustan varios grupos que se han inspiado fuertemente en ellos. Este disco no hizo mucho por mí.

Tried a few times with thos, determined that i liked it underneath, but no, it didnt work.

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

Not as bleak as I remembered, musically at least (apart from The Eternal, which is pretty bleak in every sense). Atrocity Exhibition is jarring but propelled by a funky drum beat. Isolation is legitimately danceable. Heart and Soul & Twenty Four Hours are ominous as hell but still have an energy and a groove to them - dirges they ain't. I've decided today that this album is a pretty impressive piece of music in its own right, but the tragic context around it only makes it more compelling. Not in the mood for fully immersing myself in the lyrics today but can see how it might be a profoundly unnerving experience. 3.5 / 4

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

Interesting to get to this, which had never attracted my attention before - given that it doesn't have their bigger songs. I found it atmospheric, and rewarding for multiple listenings

Ambiance intéressante, un peu linéaire.

This one sounds a little edgy. Juuust a liiittle. It actually sounds like it had a lot of potential to maybe even be great with some tweaks and definitely with big changes to mixing and production. But as it is, there's too much dissonance and unpleasant noise around the edges for me to able to enjoy this album.

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".

Had my fill of intense northern grimness

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.

The first album I got on this site was the first Joy Division album and almost 150 albums later I get their other album. In the time between my opinion on the band hasn't really changed. I think they are still quite mediocre and this album was perhaps worse than the first. I can't really remember anything about it after I just finished listening to it.

Nope nope nope. Here we are 5 years later & I still dislike Joy Division.

Solid choice for the list. Joy Division sure were influential.

Rock gótico leeeeento. Tostonazo. Un 2.

It's tough to describe why I enjoy this album. Listening to it, I realize that it's definitely not going to be for everyone, but it strikes a chord with me, having grown up on emo and screamo. I love the atmosphere, which the sparse instrumentation and Curtis' deep, macabre voice lends to. It's a downward spiral, it's depressing. I can understand where he's coming from, I think. Favorite tracks: "Heart and Soul", "Isolation"

I was weirdly disappointed by this, found it very sleepy and uninteresting

Creates such an evocative atmosphere

Not my jam

Not for me

Joy Division is a great example of how a band can be very important and wildly influential and still be a drag. As I listen to Closer I can hear the hallmarks that make them interesting, but they also re-implement those same tricks over and over again, so that every song on this album sounds the same and it all sounds the same as the album before it. No one else sounds quite like Joy Division, but Joy Division always sounds too much like themselves. Some of the things I like best about the album are the raw dynamics as instruments come up and down in the mix and the song Twenty Four Hours stood out as really great.

p462. 1980. 2 stars All sorts of echoes here - Kraftwerk, Moroder, Bowie from his Low period. Depressing lyrics, harsh on the ears, repetitive songs. Vocals sounds like Jim Morrison after a bottle of bourbon and downers. Bleak machine music for a country under the early days of Thatcherism. No wonder Ian Curtis topped himself.