Sneer

The austerity, tension, and claustrophobic tone of Closer makes it a fantastic record, in my opinion. It has a real haunting quality, and the songs are beautifully crafted. The sound is more nuanced and fuller than Unknown Pleasures, and the sombre feel of the whole thing draws me in completely. Do I prefer it to their debut? Probably, yes.

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Zer0

Martin Hannett's production on the album is excellent. The sound he got on 'Heart and Soul' really makes the song feel desolate and hopeless, and Ian's voice sounds like it's coming from beyond the grave or from a ghost in the attic. It also shows the band leaving their punk-inspired roots behind and even bringing in more electronic elements, which would soon characterise New Order.

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Goofle

Closer >

Need to listen to them both... TODAY!

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Above

I didn't really enjoy closer. Just seemed too boring to me. I've given it a few spins and it's not to my liking. I got into Joy Division through their pop music so I guess I was never destined to like Closer.

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Howard the Duck

i like both their albums but i disagree on the comments about Hannett's production

in some documentary i watched, Peter Hook said Hannett deliberately mixed both albums so that they would sound good on this set-up he had, which had metal speakers

so, i would have preferred somebody else's production

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Goofle

Yep, Closer is a far superior album in my view after listening to both.

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Zer0

I wouldn't so far as to say 'far superior', but I definitely prefer it to Unknown Pleasures for reasons of my own. They're both incredible albums in their own right.

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daviddouglas

I can't believe how this band has become "indie" now.

Could've sworn they were part of the goth scene back then... /sigh

Zer0

Factory Records was one of the pioneering indie labels, and Joy Division were one of its bands. So I guess you say they were one of the original indie bands and the term "indie" has been associated with them for a very long time.

They were not part of the goth scene back then because there was no goth scene back then. Gothic rock didn't manifest itself until the early 80's after Joy Division were gone. But you can definitely say that they were an influence on it through bands like The Sisters Of Mercy, who started off as a Joy Division clone.

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daviddouglas

Indie was a poor choice of words, What I mean is kids who dig up old bands and pretend to love them just to be different, I don't know what these kids call themselves as I'm not too good with the lingo.... Hipsters? Maybe?