Joy Division – ‘Closer’ Album Review

Today on Logan Sounds Off, I am going to be sharing an album review of ‘Closer’ by the post-punk band Joy Division.

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Darkness and beauty intertwine…

Joy Division were a pioneering band as they were proof that people could make music that had a different sound to the rest of the music on the scene, but on Closer, this is evident and taken to another level as Joy Division bring thoughts, emotion, and technique to the table that is unlike anything else. Even in today’s world it is hard to find a sound as potently unique as what Joy Division accomplished in their short lifespan.

“Closer” takes this to another level is because on this album we don’t only get to discover a new sound on songs such as “Attrocity Exhibition” and “Isolation”, which are dense and perfectly arranged, but we also discover an even darker sound on Side B.

Side A begins with the disturbing and enthralling “Attrocity Exhibition”, a six-minute song that takes you on a dark journey to begin the album. This leads to the contrasting “Isolation” – an energetic burst that has a fun instrumental, yet distant lyrics. Although these two aspects sound strange, the compliment each other personal. We further discover “Closer”’s sound through “Passover”, “Colony” and “A Means To An End”, which introduces us to the solitary beauty that Closer strives to surround us in.

Side B commences with the dark and eerie song “Heart And Soul”, which further shows us the synth side of Joy Division. This leads us on to “Twenty Four Hours”, an intense and grim track that surrounds the listener and drags them with the track – it is one of the best songs on the album.

Then, we enter the beauty of “The Eternal”, which combines slow pace, ambience, sadness and more to emalgmate into this song that develops into a despair, and certainly not in bad way. This then is complimented by the conclusive and spooky “Decades”, which combines many parts introduced earlier in the album together to create a song that leaves you lifting up the needle bewildered.