Third appointment with Joy Division: today we talk about "Closer".

 

Released in 1980 after Ian Curtis's death, "Closer" presents itself as his last desperate confession, even more intimate and profound than "Unknown Pleasure". As Sumner would recount, for Curtis it was as if the words wrote themselves during the album's creation, caught in the terrible sensation of being in a vortex pulling him down, drowning. Recorded in London and once again produced under the direction of Martin Hannett, the album achieves a sound that "Pitchfork" described as "sepulchral", perfectly reflected by the cover photo of the Appiani family tomb in the Stagliano cemetery. The songs included in this project belong to two different periods, some composed in 1979 driven by Sumner's guitars, others written in 1980 characterized by a greater use of synthesizers. The first includes "Atrocity Exhibition", where Morris's tribal percussion sets the backdrop for Hook and Sumner's riffs, who for this track swap their roles as bassist and guitarist, respectively. Once again, Hook expresses his dissatisfaction with Hannett, accused of excessively softening the abrasiveness of the guitar sound, but this time the producer dismisses him with greater indifference, aware that he is elevating Joy Division's music to an entirely innovative standard in rock history. The more electronic second period includes "Isolation", where Sumner's keyboard moves over an electronic drum beat arranged by Morris, in a combination that seems to anticipate the sound of the future New Order. Curtis's impotence in the face of a reality that no longer offers any hope is conveyed by the spectral "Colony" and "A Means To An End". But in this journey through the depths of the human soul, Curtis takes the listener even deeper with the funereal "Heart and Soul", "24 Hours", and "The Eternal", concluding the journey with "Decades", where the singer explores the effects of war on young generations forced to fight. A separate discussion is deserved by "Love Will Tear Us Apart", released in June 1980, a month after Curtis's death, which centers its lyrics on the difficult relationship with his wife, in a track made memorable by a riff that Joy Division borrowed from an almost unknown Manchester band. After Curtis's tragic death, the band decided to reform and take on a new name: thus, New Order was born, partially distancing themselves from the previous project by choosing to combine post-punk and dance music, becoming one of the most acclaimed bands of the '80s.

The tragedy of Curtis leaves music with a testament of inestimable significance, and today we can do nothing but honor his memory with the historic "Love Will Tear Us Apart".