Closer

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Closer is Joy Division's second and last album. The band recorded it between 18 and 30 March 1980 at Britannia Row Studios in London, with producer Martin Hannett. Singer Ian Curtis took his own life two months later. The record was released on 18 July 1980 on Factory Records. The guitar songs had been written in late 1979, the songs with more synthesizers in early 1980.

The lyrics were strongly influenced by the fiction of J.G. Ballard. Atrocity Exhibition, the opening track, shares its title with a book by Ballard and features a Synare drum synthesizer run through a fuzz pedal. Hannett's production was praised as tomb-like, although Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook were not happy with it. The cover carries a photograph of a family tomb in Genoa. Closer received much praise at once and was named album of the year by NME. It is regarded as a milestone of post-punk.

Listening

Track list

1. 1Atrocity Exhibition6:05Apple Music ↗
2. 2Isolation2:55Apple Music ↗
3. 3Passover4:45Apple Music ↗
4. 4Colony3:55Apple Music ↗
5. 5A Means to an End4:09Apple Music ↗
6. 6Heart and Soul5:53Apple Music ↗
7. 7Twenty Four Hours4:28Apple Music ↗
8. 8The Eternal6:04Apple Music ↗
9. 9Decades6:14Apple Music ↗
10. 10Dead Souls (Live)4:59Apple Music ↗
11. 11Glass (Live)3:42Apple Music ↗
12. 12A Means to an End (Live)4:01Apple Music ↗
13. 13Twenty Four Hours (Live)4:06Apple Music ↗
14. 14Passover (Live)4:54Apple Music ↗
15. 15Insight (Live)4:01Apple Music ↗
16. 16Colony (Live)4:04Apple Music ↗
17. 17These Days (Live)4:17Apple Music ↗
18. 18Love Will Tear Us Apart (Live)3:13Apple Music ↗
19. 19Isolation (Live)4:42Apple Music ↗
20. 20The Eternal (Live) [Encore]6:30Apple Music ↗
21. 21Digital (Live) [Encore]3:14Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗