Closer

There's a wicked aura that we (the music community) place onto artists that die young in their careers. We sometimes hold their words to a higher status than artists still living. Almost as if their early death prove some kind of wisdom. Or maybe its because the poetry of the deceased acts as a channel between us and the worlds beyond.

The artist I most associate with this is Mac Miller, a man that sang about mental health, addiction, mortality and acceptance, before tragically passing away from a fentanyl overdose. His music predicted the outcome. His lyrics informing his final moments. There are sadly dozens of examples of this. Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, etc, where the music content practically foretells the end.

The same can sadly be said for Ian Curtis. Closer, much likes its predecessor, drowns itself in alienation, mental torment and mortality. Its seemingly no surprise that his life ended the way that it did. Obviously it is tragic. But its worth pointing in an honest way what his death did to this album. An already quite uncomfortable experience turns in a powerful and horrifying journey through the mind of someone who was almost at their end.