Joy Division: Closer
Ah, so this is the serious album.
On Joy Division’s debut, Unknown Pleasures, there were stretches of solemnity that threatened to bog the whole album down. This sand trap would become an unfortunate staple of many of the post-punk/indie albums I grew up with and I was never sure why. Now, however, I see that what those albums were all going for is what Joy Division achieved throughout their second, and final, album Closer.
The music and vocals here are overwhelmingly bleak, but instead of inspiring you to give up, it makes you want to get up and move. Everything is pulsating forward here, even as the whole thing can feel more than a little hopeless at times. The pieces come together to instill a sense of urgency and — crucially — resolve. Maybe that resolve is to protest, maybe it’s to riot, or maybe it’s just to dance. Whatever it is, it’s cathartic.
Soundtrack To: Realizing that Donald Trump is our President.
