album #93

closer (joy division)

I liked this record a lot, more than I expected to. Based on my general sense of Joy Division, I expected this album to be droning, dreary and sad- and even though it's definitely dark, and certainly 'ambient' (the PC term for droning, it seems), this was still a musically rich, interesting, increasingly satisfying listen.

The general tone is one of dark, driven ambience, and despite a unity of tone, most of the tracks stand out in unique, interesting ways. "Atrocity Exhibition" is a great opener, with every element of the music sharing focus… the low bass leading the melody; the pitter-patter of drums contributing a dark, particularly catchy rhythm; scratchy, industrial guitars that, although engaging, seem to exist independently of the rest of the song, restlessly thrashing around in the background; and intriguing lyrics sung in that low, iconic Ian Curtis sing/monotone. It's one of the most engaging, most complete tracks on the album, a thoroughly compelling opener. "Isolation" crackles with high, brisk, catchy synth, much moreso than any other track on the album. The middle of the album mostly amounts to different shades of the central tone; my particular favorite of these tracks is "A Means to An End," with a great rhythm, low and dark, and that startlingly intriguing lament, 'I put my trust in you.' And then I love the closing track, "Decades"… a gasping, coughing rhythm, with a high synth, sometimes peppered, sometimes glowing, sometimes jagged… this song has special resonance for me, because it's the track that played along with grainy, haunting black and white footage of Ian dancing, at an exhibit at the Guggenheim. That visual, that moment, has always captured the sadness and the mystery of Joy Division for me. Lastly, as far as the individual songs go, I want to emphasize that even the tracks I didn't write about were good and interesting, and it's all worth a relisten.

Something that truly surprised me about this record is just how modern it is, how inventive… that post-punk, synthetic, rock/ambient sound, it's really pretty awesome. Joy Division is one of those bands that almost perfectly defines the inventive spirit of that 1979/1980 renaissance, a musical timeframe that increasingly draws my curiosity. Anyway, even though I knew they were so revered, I guess I assumed that their work would be super flat, pitch black and droning… it's not like they're bouncing off the walls, but there's indisputably an energy and a spirit in the music that's absolutely captivating, and it just plain sounds better than I would have guessed. I need to hear more of them.