“Unknown Pleasures” by Joy Division - album review

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TJR says

Arriving in the summertime of ’79 was the debut full-length from the Salfordian new sensations who lined up: Ian Curtis (22, lead vocals); Bernard Sumner (23, guitar & keyboards); Peter Hook (23, bass guitar) and Stephen Morris (21, drums). Gloriously moody, melodious and intense, these ten songs embody a new era. It’s an era numbed by Northern industrial town life, and these gritty and grey worldly depictions are the new glam; there have been people waiting a lifetime for this sort of record. “Unknown Pleasures” is fully passionate, yet as cold as ice; whilst it often sounds lethargic to the layman, it’s packed to the gunnels with a tense-energy which is omnipresent. It’s almost like they’ve taken Punk away from the crowd, kept the spirit, and made a punk record for the isolated, a feeling which is conveyed, chillingly, in the lyrics of the incredibly charismatic and believable non-smiling frontman. Martin Hannett’s production is genuinely amazing; like Kraftwerk, every band member gets the room to breathe, and there’s a palpable eeriness which comes oozing out of the speakers, left, right and centre. It’s pure theatre in fact – and one of the greatest albums ever made. “A special moment in time”, indeed.

The Jukebox Rebel
11–Jul–2006

Tracklist
A1 [03:32] 10.0.png Joy Division - Disorder (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner) Post-Punk
A2 [04:50] 10.0.png Joy Division - Day Of The Lords (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner) Moodcore
A3 [03:05] 8.6.png Joy Division - Candidate (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner) Post-Punk
A4 [04:29] 10.0.png Joy Division - Insight (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner) Post-Punk
A5 [04:48] 9.1.png Joy Division - New Dawn Fades (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner) Post-Punk
B1 [03:57] 10.0.png Joy Division - She’s Lost Control (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner) Trance Rock
B2 [03:56] 9.4.png Joy Division - Shadowplay (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner) Post-Punk
B3 [02:38] 8.8.png Joy Division - Wilderness (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner) Post-Punk
B4 [02:16] 9.9.png Joy Division - Interzone (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner) Punk
B5 [05:52] 9.2.png Joy Division - I Remember Nothing (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner) Moodcore

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