A pleasure indeed

As a massive Joy Division fan, I'm shamed to say that Unknown Pleasures wasn't the first album I owned. Instead, Substance was the first JD album I picked up, which led me to purchase Unknown Pleasures next. It's definitely very high in my personal top favourite albums of all time, and my favourite of Joy Division's, if you don't count Warsaw's (aka Joy Division) self-titled release.

Every song on the album portrays a full spectrum of emotions: anxiety, freedom, relief, anger, complete and utter sadness, with lyrical themes that range from betrayal, death, depression, religion and crumbling sanity. And it's done in an honest and profound way, not silly and contrived. My favourite tracks are Disorder, She's Lost Control and Shadowplay, with my least favourite being I Remember Nothing. The cover art is beautifully minimalistic and one of my favourite album covers ever.

Unknown Pleasures is a timeless masterpiece of lyrical genius and emotional expression. It sounds nothing like what other bands were doing around that time and still sounds like nothing around today, although many have tried - albeit unsucessfully - to mimic Joy Division's unique sound and dynamic. And to claim they haven't left an important mark in music history would be sheer stupidity.

10/10

Comments

No comments for this entry have been posted

Added by 350125g0 11 months ago on 29 December 2008 09:28