My Top 10 Albums of All-Time ~ 2. Joy Division - Closer (1980) ~ The allmusic.com review for Closer describes it as a disjointed album that lacks the cohesiveness of its predecessor, yet from my very first listen I couldn't disagree more. The songs seem to blend into each other perfectly as Closer takes you on a haunting journey, plumbing the darkest depths of the human psyche, shifting from paranoia to anger, fear to despair, hopelessness to surrender. It is a journey through the various shades of depression, marked by spikes in urgency ("Twenty-Four Hours"), the swelling and dying of barely-contained rage ("Colony"), and the fleeting presence of haunting specters ("The Eternal"). Another crucial piece to the album's seamless flow is being bookended by two of the greatest opening/closing tracks ever recorded ("Atrocity Exhibition"/"Decades"). Closer is loaded with classic Joy Division moments, yet it still feels more like one grand opus than a collection of songs.
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"I never realised the lengths I'd have to go,
All the darkest corners of a sense I didn't know.
Just for one moment, I heard somebody call,
Looked beyond the day in hand, there's nothing there at all."