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THE REVIEW
"Unknown Pleasures" scares me.
It is an album that, once you start listening to it, you either throw the CD player away in disgust, or you remain captivated until its very last second. You can no longer escape it. I didn’t think it was possible to write an album that spoke so explicitly about the desire to end it all, exposing a sense of resignation, of defeat towards life, with a clarity that proves unsettling, disarming.
"Unknown Pleasures" talks about this, and it introduces us to what can be considered the true testament of Ian Curtis the following year, "Closer", an album released after his death. Yes, because the unstable leader of Joy Division had already committed suicide. As expected, you might say, when listening to their music. Curtis sings as if he has been stripped of his vital essence, his emotions. There couldn’t have been a better start for the album: "Disorder" is introduced by a drum sound that is so muffled it seems electronic. The bass enters, beginning its frantic rhythmical loop, and finally, the guitar launches a riff that penetrates to the bone. At the end of this breathless, compelling ride, everything stops. "Day Of The Lords" drags on slow and painful, heavy as a boulder and its dark, distressing atmospheres cut like a blade. By now it truly feels like being trapped.
Another gem is the splendid "Insight", characterized by two interludes where the rain of effects makes you feel like you're in the middle of an interstellar explosion. Halfway through the album comes a true classic of the "Dark" genre: "New Dawn Fades" reaches incredible levels of emotional intensity, thanks largely to the two successive guitar riffs, which convey a suffering that transforms into a "pleasurable malaise".
This continuous alternation, overlapping of bass and guitar riffs, without particular virtuosity, is one of the features that best distinguishes the music of Joy Division. Pain is expressed with few simple notes; but these are rough, heavy, sharp notes. Until the bleak ending of "I Remember Nothing", there is not a moment of pause, a thin beam of light. You remain surrounded by darkness, by the ghosts that cloud Curtis' depressed mind. Ghosts that could not have been described more candidly, and it’s this candor that sends a shiver down your spine.
The last song ends. For a moment, you’re left breathless...
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Summary by Bot
Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division is a haunting and emotionally raw album that explores themes of despair and resignation. Ian Curtis's vocals and the band's sparse yet intense instrumentation create a dark, compelling atmosphere. Tracks like 'Disorder' and 'New Dawn Fades' highlight the album's deep emotional impact. The album leaves listeners breathless and immersed in its powerful mood until the final note.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English post-punk band formed in the late 1970s (Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris). They released two studio albums, Unknown Pleasures (1979) and Closer (1980). After the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis in May 1980 the remaining members later formed New Order.43 Reviews
Other reviews
By emily
Ian Curtis almost doesn’t sing, he 'is', he screams, he declares himself and his clear torment in a desperate and raw way.
A masterpiece album, the first effort of a band that became legend, and that pervades inside and digs like few others.
By darkfall
I lost myself in a whirlwind of dark thoughts, playing a Shadowplay...
I can hear the Disorder... I can hear the Lords; I’m waiting for the Day Of The Lords...
By iusedme
Curtis' voice is Curtis' voice. Period. No one had his tone. Period.
'Unknown Pleasures changes the place where it is played, and in many cases, it has also changed the people who have listened to it.'
By lovetojour
Joy Division answered us by imploding a star in a room. Ours.
The scream is cautionary, the hope is INSIDE.
By Daedal
"Unknown Pleasures is the transformation of the four from a rough and dirty group to a magnificent conjurer of atmospheres."
"A seminal manifesto of the gothic season that was to come, unifying spectral and black music with the disturbing and magnificent poetry of that sad genius, Ian Curtis."
