Closer

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.

3.5

I used to think of Joy Division as a subclass of a wider organisation responsible for joy, thus increasing joy. Now I see that they are about dividing joy into smaller parts until far less joy remains. This album is heavy and sad and has a tale to tell. The live tracks at the end of the deluxe edition were a highlight.

This might be controversial... but I'm not a fan of Joy Division

I think I ended up liking it better than Unknown Pleasures. I'm not too into the melodies but kind of liking the darker tone. It's beautifully moody. Strong finish to the album.

Nyt on sillä lailla että en jaksa kuunnella enää levyjä bändeiltä, joille oon antanut aiemmin monta mahdollisuutta eikä oo koskaan kolahtanut. Liian synkkää, flegmaattista ja tunkkaista. Dnf.

It’s a slow burn for sure. I thought it was decent on the first listen, but I’m pretty sure after a few more it will grow on me. Looking forward to coming back to this, so I’m giving a preemptive 4 stars. 7/10

Not the Doors

I thought I knew this band, but now I realize I did not. They have, for lack of a better word, a minimalism, that I really admire. I like how the drums are often really prominent in the mix, and there's a lot of space that makes me focus on the words, and what's happening in each individual part of the music. New fan?

Definitely my preferred Joy Division album of the two. I like that they split the sound between guitar based songs and synth based songs. It all blends together quite smoothly since it is so tonally consistent. Certainly a dark and heavy album. I've always appreciated this sort of thing, but as I get older, I find myself much more attracted to this sound and feel a fairly strong "kinship" with it. I don't know what that says about me. It might just be the natural perspective of aging, or it might just be the dumpster fire of the past couple of years in the pandemic, who knows? I loved reading about their process of jamming and rehearsals to build the songs. Especially the bit about how they would "talk about banal subjects until they couldn't talk about banal subjects any longer" and at that point pick up their instruments and play. Interesting psychological state to put yourself in just before a creative exploration. I find Ian Curtis' vocal delivery to be hypnotizing and very "honest." I mean, he's not putting on an act here, it's not an affectation. He lived this.

I haven't ever given Joy Division a serious listen but I'm thinking I've made a big mistake. Atrocity Exhibition kicks off with that distorted guitar and possibly a synth in the background which has a freeform expressiveness that I find myself doing which is abrasive and only works with the other elements in lockstep (drums/bass). But man it works well. Total Krautrock energy. Unfortunately it peaks there for me. Twenty Four Hours is a good vibe but the others don't get there for me, I'm not sure I love the cadence of Ian Curtis. The Eternal sounds like something off Bowie's album Low side 2 but with vocals. Decades is nice with the synth. Maybe the last 3 are better than the first few. Still, I can recognize the greatness here even if it doesn't always tick the boxes for me.

Dreadful

I strongly dislike the vocal style and music. Not something that I can enjoy listening to. Even if I was in a bad/depressed mood, I would rather listen to anything but this.

Meh

I don't this kind of music. Sorry.

Ok

terrible singing, music is good at points

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

F ian curtis, teria adorado o batman do robert pattinson

Shite

Bom conhecer mais, curti bastante. Melhores músicas: Isolation, A means to an end e Heart and Soul

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.

Haunting, just haunting, with real depth, beauty and tunefulness within the darkness, which is enveloping. Powerful, too. You can hear the future of so much goth, gloom-pop, etc. to come.

Good background music while working. Not particularly memorable.

Not a fan. I think it's the monotonous drumming that follows the same Tyne in every song.

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.

Entire album feels like a huge downer. A lot of bands I've liked are influenced by Joy Division... but I find I like a lot of those bands more than I like actual Joy Division.

I like this album a lot. It’s a little dark….but the concept of a Joy Division is from the get go. I have a book about them on my dresser I need to get to!!

No major stand out songs, but that's not so much what this album is about, it's dark, electronic, evocative it's like listening through smoke.

Not really my thing. Maybe at the time this was pretty ground-breaking, but didn't hold up for me.

È distopico e opprimente.

Nice but I don’t care too much for this type of flat production, gimme some base!

Awful. Had to turn it off. I don’t get why this band is so loved.

Musically I find ‘Closer’ easier to digest than ‘Unknown Pleasures’. Lyrically however, it’s hard to separate this album from Ian Curtis’s death and to think of it as anything other than a suicide note.

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.

Lot of bangers! Fun painting music.

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

Pretty creative- I even got some industrial vibes off it

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.

I've only been listening to Joy Division over the past year or so when I started hearing a couple of their songs on the Alt Rock channel I listen to. They have a very unique sound. I think the song that stands out on this album is "The Eternal". "Both beautiful and deeply moving, it depicts his struggle to communicate with remarkable empathy" -Alexis Petridis. My next favorite is "Decades". 3/5

Definitely not my thing...

It was good, different vibe, especially the first couple songs 3/5

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.

Again this project pays off. I've seen the t-shirt. I know Love Will Tear Us Apart. I never checked out more but always meant to. Right off, the cover art is amazing (and poignant once I learned of the tragic circumstances around the release of the album). Atrocity Exhibition starts out strong and dark. Isolation turns a little more 80's, but still super dark. And the next song is great. And the next one. Really the whole album is an astonishing breathtaking heartbreaking haunting work of art. Heart and Soul. One will burn. As a teenager I was 0% goth but many of my friends were and I certainly see the appeal. This is a whole different planet than contemporary music like ABBA and Billy Joel. These guys aren't playing, if you know what I mean. I'm not going to want to listen to this on repeat. Especially not at this point in my life. I do think this was an album I needed to listen to before I die.

Good listen. Not the best Joy Division album, but good listen.

i like how easy listen it is even though it's not what i would call good. 3 for being easy? else 2.

Love this album

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.

Couldn't get into this at all

meh

Listened to on 2/6/22 1/5 Favorite song: Passover I’m sure this album is influential but wow was it not my vibe

One of the most depressing and miserable things I’ve ever listened to. Some of the songs sounded like animals were being strangled.

2/6/22 Not for me. I don’t like his voice. The guitar solos in some songs sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Only a few songs I didn’t totally hate or skip through. Favorite song: Passover

Good album. Very distinctive sound.

sounds like a joy division album.

What an atrocity of an album. Love the cover though. I honestly think most people are blinded by the story of the album. It's really not very good. 2 for the cover though, and "Twenty Four Hours" which was okay except the vocals that sound like a mix between a Peter Griffin and Hank Hill impression. "Decades" is ok too.

Uiteindelijk best vermoeiend

Nooit echt goed naar al het andere werk behalve de hitjes geluisterd, maar nu blijkt dat de plezier divisie niet overal lekker op gang komt.

Een klassieker van de topzware soort. 24 Hours is nog altijd een van mijn favoriete tracks, maar hier moet je wel echt voor in de stemming zijn. En om heel eerlijk te zijn vind ik Curtis niet zo'n beste zanger (refererend aan mijn vorige post)

Niet alles op dit album is even sterk, en echt opbeurend is het ook niet, maar ik blijf het een fascinerende band vinden.

Never spent any time with Joy Division before. I liked this pretty well, nothing really jumped out to kick my ass from a single listen, but I also never got bored with it at any point, which puts it above most of the rest of this week.

Pretty dire

Good stuff

Helt swag!

Very well realized post-punk gloom. Ian Curtis thought the synths were ”gay”, but what does he know?

Feel like i can talk to the bugs man

OK. Enjoyed the New Order sound better.

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.

Jedan od najboljih i najpoznatijih post-punk albuma, i defnitivno superiorni za mrčkicu od Unknown Pleasures - al opet to sve ovisi o mom raspoloženju.

Blizu petici ali closer četvorci hehe [FAINTED LAUGHTER]

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

Ian Curtis, what a great singer he was, died before this was released, some intense tunes here, I Like "Isolation" "Passover" "A Means To An End" "Twenty Four Hours" are all good, but not an album to listen alone too in a bedsit to be honest!

Epic!

This is awful. Truly.

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.

Have only really listened to Unknown Pleasures before but I enjoyed this. Certainly thanks to 'Rip it Up and Start Again.'

I get the buzz but like New Order better

Unfortunately not my favorite Joy Division record. I wanted to enjoy this much more than I did, but still found it pleasantly haunting and wouldn't mind giving it a re-visit somewhere down the line.

I much prefer Joy Division as a singles band, this much all at once gave me no joy

Drones on.

Great stuff lads

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.

This is a fave

Harsh but interesting. Essential listening.

I love their one song but it was a bit hard to listen to.

Still a disconcerting album - dark lyrics and experimental noises

I've not listened to Joy Division much in the past. Really enjoyed this.

Mag die Stimme nicht, Instrumente gefallen

Bien aimé l'album, mais ce n'est pas tant ma tasse de thé. On voit par contre la majeur influence que ça a eu sur les styles new wave, gothiques, post-punk, etc.

Well this is 45 minutes I'm never going to get back

Macclesfield's finest. Solid 3. Prob not as good as Unknown Pleasures. Never spent a great deal of time listening to their stuff but always found it really eerie and intriguing. Sounds experimental but ahead of its time. 3/5

3/5

The dial didn't move one way or the other on this. It is ok.

I just don't understand the intrigue of bands with lead singers that can't carry a tune. I'm giving this a three because musical arrangement was good. Vocals are abysmal.

Such an irritating voice and use of vocals throughout. Music is what balances it out to a 3, but nothing special.

Yet another post punk that disappoints. Really did not like the way the singer's voice sounds and how it's almost more spoken than sung

Sympa

I liked a few songs. "A Means to an End" stuck out as a good one. But overall it didn't really click with me and I found it a little difficult to get through. Maybe a bit too cold and electronic for me. Seems like a record I should have liked more. Still, an interesting record and maybe something that would grow on me if I gave it more time (which I probably won't...)

Ein gitarriger Bass, percussions, die durchaus aufm dancefloor funktionieren, starkes Cover. Alle Einzelheiten stimmen, doch stellt sich mir ihre Summe selten zu einem eindrücklichen Gesamtbild zusammen. „Atrocity Exhibition“ ist ein gutes Beispiel dafür. Klopfe ich die einzelnen Teile ab, hört sich alles solide an; zusammen jedoch leicht unausgegoren, jammig, improvisiert, nicht ganz zu Ende gespielt. Und dennoch (m)ein Liebling auf der Platte. Ausbuchstabierter und somit deutlich stärker als der Rest klingen die letzten 3 Songs und hieven alles mit ner guten Portion „Heart & Soul“ auf 3.5

Deutliche Weiterentwicklung zu Unknown Pleasures. Keyboards auch, tolle Flächen in meinem persönlichen Favourite "Heart and Soul". Trotzdem immer noch super düster (noch düsterer gar?) und bitterkalt. Ich habe Ian Curtis natürlich nie gekannt, aber beim Anhören stellt sich mir schon die Frage, ob das was da so in und zwischen den Zeilen steht auch zwischenmenschlich so deutlich spürbar war - oder ob er diese eine, komplett suiziale, isolierte Persönlichkeit nur um so stärker "auf Platte" ausgelebt hat? Produktion jedenfalls ist top und schon ein Kunstwerk für sich selbst. Die Band selbst war ja angeblich gar nicht so zufrieden damit, weil live viel roher und wilder klingend was hier klinisch, distanziert, vertrocknet und trotzdem fast schon magisch schimmernd klingt. Ich kann nicht anders als das Werk hier auch mit Teilen der Rezeptionsgeschichte zu beurteilen und gebe deshalb 4 Punkte dort, wo es mir aufgrund persönlichen Wohlfühlfaktors vielleicht nur zu 3 gereicht hätte. Aber klar: dieser wahnsinnig kraftvolle Monolith von Album und Werk, und alles was im Anschluss passiert ist: kann ich ja kaum hoch genug schätzen!

good

Not really my style but I didn't hate it.

Good instrumentals vocals ok

Boring. Male manipulator music.

Thought I’d flock to this like the US joins oil discovery, but was way too dreary for me to enjoy

Didn’t like this one

Very apt title for this album. Funny too, that their name is Joy Division yet when I was listening I felt nothing but monotone mediocrity. Oh right, the album title. A man walks into a bar and asks to hear some good music. The bartender says "I just got the new Joy Division album in, want me to open her up?" he asks. The customer says, "Nah, Closer"

I’ve heard some Joy Division before—the one album with the one cover that is like a bat signal for hipsters—and I don’t remember much of it sticking with me. The same could be said here. Pretty good listening, but didn’t make much of an impact. I like knowing that Danny Brown got the name of his album from this band. I’ll return to a few tracks, but not much here for me on a first listen. Favorite tracks: Atrocity Exhibition, Heart and Soul, Twenty Four Hours. Album art: What am I even looking at here? Reminds me of a few tarot cards. Not bad, but not great either. 3/5

How many Seminal Post Punk albums can there be? God these guys are over rated, I did find the instrumentals growing on me in the second half so one star would maybe be a little harsh.

Mein Gott, das ist ja furchtbar! New Order finde ich um Längen besser.

2.5/5. Very monotone and boring. I feel like I didn’t really listen to anything.

First album I get to review from listening on vinyl! Don't even really recall how I first came across this, because I don't know if I've even listened to Unknown Pleasures in full, but I do remember Closer hitting immediately. A really cold, suffocating album that entraps me like very few can (with the exception of like Disintegration ((oh boy I cannot wait for that))). Feels weird to listen to in July - this is an album you listen to in midwinter where it feels like nothing is ever going to get better Already Saved: Atrocity Exhibition; Passover; Colony; A Means to an End; Twenty Four Hours; The Eternal Saved After Listening: Isolation, Decades*

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.

Albumet hade en nära intill oavbruten störande ton. Det instrumentala var till och med vid vissa tillfällen smärtsamt att höra. Trots att det är en del i genren försämrar det upplevelsen. Jag fick intrycket av att de lade på för många lager av ljud och instrument vilket ledde till ett oväsen. Samtidigt är sången enligt mig inte det minsta angenäm. Det albumet däremot lyckas med är en rockig rytm trots att det oftast inte låter bra. Jag har ingen låt att utpeka.

All I know of Joy Division is Love will Tear Us Apart Again from Donnie Darko and I was surprised to find that they weren't The Cure. Now, having heard an entire album of theirs, I don't get that Cure vibe, but I am still confused by them. The music feels really well produced, and the vocals sound like the singer is in another room and doesn't necessarily have any idea what the music is? Was this album an experiment where a bad took a singer's recording and played to his vocals? There's definitely a lot of mood and emotion in here. Many bands that came after followed in their footsteps, and for my money improved the genre.

Oh hey another dull monotone 80s depression band. This list of one thousand and one albums is AT LEAST 30% THIS bullshit. If you don't love this exact sound then you may as well give up now.

8/10

Some of the music is interesting, but I have a hard time getting past the creepy sounding vocals. Just not a big fan of that style. 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3.

This is one of those where I struggle as to whether ratings should just be on a pure, instinctive emotional reaction or if I should be trying to inject some sort of qualification of its importance/worthiness of being on a list of truly essential albums … Significant, influential, all of that: yes. Did I massively enjoy it? Not really. Perhaps if I’d caught it on a different day.

One of the two albums of post-punk band Joy Division on this list. You can feel the tragedy and desolation of Ian Curtis and it hits so hard.

Hade igång som mysig bakgrundsmusik. Ingen låt jag kände igen sedan tidigare, men det distinkta soundet gör ingen besviken.

Repetitive in a bad way

Hard to appreciate. Just not my type of vibe. Melancholy 80’s synth with monotone vocals.

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

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

I was super excited that this was today's title and then I realised I'd never listened to it before. It even reached No.3 in New Zealand! But as much as I enjoy bits and pieces from Joy Division, Closer doesn't quite grab me as an album. It's good - the opening track is especially strong (the melody reminds me of "Kinky Afro" lmfao) but maybe its power is as the final testimony to Ian Curtis' genius. I don't have any memories locked into this music, no early 80s revelations or retro student discoveries of the 90s. Maybe this album is a conduit to the Ian Curtis memorial wall in Wellington and all that stands for.

Interesting composition, pretty weak monotone vocals don’t hold up to the music or lyrics.

It’s so sad to listen to this album

Ehhhh. Sad to say that I didn't really feel this one. I was looking forward to listening to it, since I'd heard good things about Joy Division, but I didn't really like it. Shame.

Rock suave, un tanto psicodélico y deprimente. No me ha llenado del todo. Falto de chispa. Sin arriesgar

leuke ontdekking, kende ze bij naam maar nog nooits iets van gehoord

Interesse in heel de discografie

Solid post punk album. Bummer Ian offed himself

Punk er bare ikke mig. For meget diskant og mærkelige melodier.

I don't get the hype for this band.

Enjoyed the trip down memory lane

Classic in the post-punk goth genre. Tough to listen to given the circumstances around its release but it's so powerful at the same time.

I was really surprised to hear an album with this kind of sound that was produced in 1980! Dark, haunting describe it well, but this is not why I listen to music. Overall, just not interesting to me.

Moins bien que unknown pleasures mais pas deg

Superb album.

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.

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.

Almost a 3. Maybe after another listen.

if i could give a 4.5 this would be it.

Footballer = Zlatan

Manc miserablist masterpiece.

Realmente não é pra mim. Nem achando que soa um pouco como Nick Cave, eu conseguir empolgar .

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

This doesn't spark joy. Best track: Decades

Did not enjoy. Songs seemed repetitive and was kind of a slog of a listen.

As Shawn was saying, these songs really settle into one groove and just go with it. Not a lot of variation and not really a turn off, but also the production or mixing or something here sounds pretty low end. It's not a great sounding record. But still, I don't want to turn it off!

This is better than the other Joy Division album, but the passage of time hasn't been entirely kind to it. In parts, this just sounds like a miserable Devo, but not as accomplished or creative. Ian Curtis sounds like a cross between Jim Morrison and Fred Schneider of the B-52s. Sorry folks, simply don't get the hullabaloo with this band.

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.

Less than 3 more than 2

Tendría que escucharlo más detenidamente, pero parece el típico disco de los 80 que es un ¿rock? un poco pesado.

Great album. Slightly prefer Unknown Pleasures. 7-8/10

This is a good album, though not particularly my taste. It feels too depressing without really touching on the pain of depression. Not sure if I will listen to it again.

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.

Meh...

I like Joy Division, but I'm not sure if I've heard anything from this album before. All of the music was good enough. It would be easy to put this album on again for another listen.

Unknown pleasures is much better!

A classic single away from a higher mark

It's the third time I have to endure Joy Division's drone here. On the positive side, I don't think they any had more albums

Like somebody took The Cure and made it more soggy

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.

This is a bit weird. The music is too disjointed for my taste. I think I can handle one or two songs, but not for the entire album.

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

Atrocity Exhibition did nothing to help set me up for the rest of the album. I read that Peter Hook was furious about his guitar treatment and I have to agree. It's just noise. The rest of the album, not bad. Twenty Four Hours easily my fave. Not really my style but it's easy to see why it's well regarded and the obvious influences it had on future acts.

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

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.

Este es mi disco favorito de la vida.

¿Cuanto punk y post-punk necesitaban meter en esta lista? Pero bueno... Ta bien. Me gustaron Atrocity Exhibition y Twenty Four hours que tiene un sonidito dark. Mood: voz del monstruo de Frankenstein

Sólo conocía "Isolation" de este disco, pero pues lo disfruté. Bastante, a veces la voz de Curtis no me encanta, pero acá todo suena chido. Me gustó sobre todo "Decades", otras de mi top: "Colony" y "Heart and Soul". Pues eso, a veces pienso que si Joy Division siguiera hasta nuestros días, ya no tendría tanto el culto que tienen. 8.5/10

don't know much about joy division. album is very average for this list. That being said the album released posthumously of Ian Curtis. It appears they had moved from there influences.

-Great Drums on "Atrocity Exhibition" -Great bass and drums on "Colony" -"Twenty Four Hours" is a jam

3/5. First listen. I enjoyed the last couple songs the most.

not bad

Grating.

so baby pull me closer JUST KIDDING but is this dark?? guess i am more darker than i thought :(((

Not good

WHACK

I really wanted to enjoy this one, and I did like the novelty of the experimental feel every song gave off, but it didn’t live up to my expectations.

Never really listened to Joy Division, but I really enjoyed this album

Sounds like a bad heroin album.

3/5

Love this album, a classic.

It's alright, I enjoy a good couple of the songs and the over sad vibe of the album. If love would tear us apart was on this it would make it a 4 out of 5.

Pretty weird. Not a fan.

Minimalist and cool

First time listening: 2/9 songs liked I couldn't get through this without sleeping...but I know the draw for Joy Division and the context behind their music, so perhaps I'm not the right demographic. No songs saved

Pretty average listening enjoyment

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.

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

very ahead of its time, will be revisiting it

Interestingly sounds a lot like the Editors. Not sure if I'm digging the dreary vocals very much. The music is good tho.

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

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.

Not my ideal genre or sound. A chore to listen to. Mostly forgettable although some tracks have decent moments. Favorite Track : Twenty Four Hours Least Favorite Track : Heart and Soul

Not an easy Saturday evening listen. I'm familiar with the band and the album, not exactly my stuff

Preppy

10/10

Not into it

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?

ok

This album is definitely gonna need some more chewing for me. I was kind of taken aback by how much I wasn’t into it at first, given joy divisions legacy. But by the end of the album I was vibing with it. I went back and listened to the earlier tracks and enjoyed them. It will get a 4 for now, subject to change.

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.

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.

Dark, complicated and brilliant. Will certainly revisit.

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.

This is the second album I've listened to by Joy Division and I just can't get into it. It's not bad per se its just so dull, I can't be the only person who thinks that..

Great listen. Some clever and funny lines

Joy Division are really good, who knew?! The rhythm section is so enjoyable to listen to, the drummer never misses a beat, it's wonderful. I think i will be returning to this album, there's so much to like about it. I never really got the Joy Division thing before, mainly because I hadn't explored them. Now I have reason to try.

I don‘t like it

All I can say is I made it through the whole album, and I'm not sure if my appreciation or understanding of music, life, or Interpol has changed in any way. C-

Got all the 80’s hallmarks in there. On a 40 minute album they threw a lot away on the first song. I prefer the rawness of Unknown Pleasures. Lots of repetitive baselines. The minimalism isn’t doing anything for me in this album—makes me think of Ed’s bass playing. They were trying to do something here, and I see the evolution of new wave happening, but it’s not working, seems almost amateur compared to previous album.

This is not the Joy Division of album-artwork-tshirt fame. This is a Joy Division without joy.

The best

I didn't get a full second listen to this so I will be brief and middle of the road. The album  gets off to a great start with excellent percussion and roaming avant garde guitars. I appreciate they kicked off the Manchester scene and were influential.  Truth be told,  I'm a bigger fan of New Order as they took the Joy Division sound and made it danceable. Songs like 24 hrs make me think I might have ranked higher if I gave it the time it deserves but, alas, my ranking is  my middle of the road

Serf

Joy Division is one of the GOAT bands, hands down. I don't think anyone did it like they did before or since. They were and still are the name synonymous with post-punk. Then why do I feel like I'm listening to a record so amateurish, so mediocre? I cannot enjoy the opening track at all, I feel it rarely finds its footing, and god rest his soul but Ian Curtis is not a good singer. It sucks because I genuinely enjoy a few of Joy Division's songs (Disorder, Transmission, and Warsaw are all classics), but I can't for the life of me give this album above a 3. Shame.

better than Unknown Pleasures but I really can't get over the vocals. Vaguely soporific. 2/5

Couple of good tracks but the rest were samey and not something I’d go back to **

Didn't expect to like it...

Hidastempoista musiikkia 80-luvun alusta. Tunnelmasta tuli mieleen jonkinlainen alakuloinen, hämyinen rituaali. Sinänsä kyllä jännittävän kuuloinen levy, mutta en minä tästä oikein tykännyt.

I can see why some folks like this but not for me. The "haunting" sound of the vocals were just not my cup of tea and if thats not for you neither is Joy Division.

Never really knew much about Joy Division until this album popped up. As a Midwestern kid with access to one top-40 radio station AND Mtv (starting in 1981) we took what we could get, and Joy Div wasn’t there. I really liked the album although nothing really hit me as standout track either. Odd that these songs have me feeling nostalgic when I’m hearing them for maybe the first time. That said, JD spawned New Order and influenced bands like The Cure and The Cult which were in regular rotation for me in the mid-late 80s.

Este disco sobrepasa el nivel de indie que mi cuerpo acepta. Unknown Pleasures es el único disco de Joy Division bueno

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.

"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.

Possibly not in the right mood for it today but it didn't grab me in anyway.

Hard to separate from the first Joy Division album

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.

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.

5

Now That's What I Call Goth Rock™️

Will never know why the band never lived up to their name (other than a deliberate oxymoron) totally depressing!

Really dark. Maybe once a year.

Just as gloomy as I remember it, but still a pretty seminal piece of goth/post punk music considering that it was released just after Ian Curtis committed suicide. Did I mention that it was gloomy? The graphics and photo on the album cover are one of my all time favourites though.

Grim and repetitive. Kept skipping tracks in the car but accidentally found some lovely Celtic harp music!

4.1* really good album but lots of similar sounding songs.

Ok

1980, Post-punk, gothic rock, stabiles Album aber mir fehlt der letzte kick, dass ich feiere, normale bis stabile 3, ich kann mir vorstellen, dass ich bei nochmal hören irgendwann mehr fühle

Indie, post punk. Aburrido, oscuro, sombrío.

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?

I thought this one was all right instrumentally, but I couldn't enjoy the vocals. Maybe it's just a preference thing, but it wasn't my style.

Considerado la joya de la corona del post-punk

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

joy division suck

i don’t think i’ve ever listened to joy division. welp, here we go... update: first impression, i’m definitely not into it. i usually love weird 80s synth shit too. not sure what it is about this that i don’t enjoy. actually, i get it now. it’s leaning more towards the cure, the smiths, new order, etc. i don’t really care for that sort of stuff. i can’t finish the album. not a fan.

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.

3.1 causal listen no saves, not bad just alternate sounding and no stand outs

Faves: Isolation, Heart and Soul Darker than I usually listen to but I can see myself maybe liking this if I was going thru it

I enjoyed the groove/power of Isolation and Means to an End, but there was just a little too much that was pretty uninteresting.

Was never really able to get into this, and ended up ignoring much of it

Not about it

After reading up on Ian Curtis I now understand why the album was the way it was. A complete look into his mind before committing suicide. Very depressing.

Way better than I remember.

This is well-made, classic 80s sadness that I also don't want to hear again anytime soon. Joy Division is the kind of band that I don't listen to often, and I can't say quite why. 3/5 because it's not really a 4.

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

i feel badly misled. you cannot dance to joy division. a bad version of interpol and the editors

Good psychadelic rock

More gloom and doom from another of the gloomy doomed. There doesn't seem to me to be that much there for all its lasting reach.

This is a classic

Joy Division is not for me. I like Love Will Tear Us Apart and not much more. I can't complain about the quality of music because it's rather good, but it just doesn't speak to me.

A bit too trippy for my taste

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

The first song was titled Atrocity. While I wouldn't go that far, I expected a lot more from this album.

Meh.

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

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.

Didn't get it.

Bit wacky but I liked it!

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

This album slaps, especially the guitar tracks.

Bof. Répétitif et déprimant.

Я даже не смог дослушать 3 трека. Просто невыносимо

Dudes voice is def an adjustment if you’re not ready for it. I’m not usually a post-punk fan but this wasn’t avant-garde enough for me to dislike it. As someone unfamiliar with post punk because of the aforementioned, it was interesting how I felt that all the songs were similar sounding but not in a bad/bleed together way. Album has warmed me up to JD more than I thought it would.

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.

In another life, I could see this being my type of music. But as it stands, not so much.

Anything Joy Division is a 4 or higher

8/10 FT: The Eternal

1980: Atrocity Exhibition, Isolation

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

Tying up loose ends before there was an appropriate enough time to do so feels like an accurate description of Closer. A premature posthumous obituary, one of Manchester's brightest lights was shattered with the end of the bat and Joy Division was now encased in amber. That didn't mean that they didn't leave something substantial, though, as icky as it may feel. Closer became a launching pad for many other bands that came in their wake and it leaves the listener with the belief that Joy Division would have refined it and gotten stronger alongside the material had things not ended the way it did. But alas...

overrated Joy Division record

Depressingly beautiful.

this is weirdness, i can't say i hate it but it's also too hard to say I like it. it's like if the sisters of mercy were offbeat to the point it seemed they didn't know what they were doing? it feels like something I could like if it was just a little less out there.

Not their best album

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

Hmm... such an innovative and important band. But you really have to be in the mood, and I usually find the bleakness too much to handle - the band are great, but I am not really an Ian Curtis fan.