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If Joy Division was a downward spiral, the first project from New Order is a arduous trudge back up. Returned are the same monotone and cryptic lyrics, but the hopelessness is replace by a perseverance. There's no shying away from the darkness, but there might be the presence of a light. A reminder that sometimes all one can do, is move.
The front of the album is very instrumentation focused. A few long breakdowns during the end that must have had crowds bopping all across the floor. Some really addicing moments on here that I'll be returning back to.
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. These are honest words and sounds. We know this.
I've never been a believer in separating the art from the artist. The artist informs the art. And as much as I hate to say it, the death of Ian Curtis does elevate this album to a legendary status. Knowing the story enhances the effectiveness and creates one of those rare works of art that is truly moving in its totality even if you may only listen to it one time.
The opening track, Atrocity Exhibition is like a Rolling Stones perspective shift, but takes away the fun perspective of Lucifer or another one of Jagger's enticing characters. Its all bleak. A total negative viewpoint of the world and a condemnation of the pain that overshadows all in the eyes of the band. The song acts as a indulging entrance into the world of Joy Division and is pretty much a perfect intro track.
Closer moves more into the new wave genre than Unknown Pleasures did, as Curtis confronts that anxieties of being a performer. "Is this the gift that I wanted to give?". That questioning is at the heart of Closer. Every track is interrogating the legitimacy of something in the protagonist's direction. And its that questioning that creates the downwards spirals into mental chaos that the album presents. The fear of performing comes across as more of a responsibility to not spread these ideas. Like Ian had found some sort of truth that he couldn't handle. A truth of questioning. An endless decent.
No track is this more apparent than on my favorite, Twenty Four Hours. A loss of light and an obsessive re-examination of what once was.
As with most albums that are credited with birthing a genre, I'm sure that the truth is muddier. Genres don't pop out of nowhere and Joy Division certainly didn't come up with all of these sounds, rhythms and motifs out of nowhere. That being said, it is quite interesting how much basically every element of the genre is present in this one album (the haunting, bass vocals, jagged and atmospheric guitars). The rhythms are easy enough to follow, its the surrounding soundscape where the experimentation lies.
The album carries a serious level of introspective nihilism. There's a feeling that every experience in this world has already happened and everything from now on is a hollow carbon copy. That might seem terrifying, but Ian Curtis confronts this void head one, ending the track Insight with a repeated "I'm not afraid anymore".
The band examines self evolution, questioning if change is really change or just a coping mechanism for our past shame. A selfish metamorphosis to self soothe. Often failed. "Me, seeing me this time. Hoping for something else."
My favorite track is "She's Lost Control". A horrifying time I got to say. The bands depicts a woman going through what appears to be a psychotic break and the sane piece of her sitting in the realization. I love the jagged guitar sitting in the background, like there is a haunting presence sneaking up. Really fun licks here too for such a scary song.
Excited to get to rest of the albums in this set and move onto New Order.
Charli XCX is no stranger to experimentation obviously. She's been accredited with pushing boundaries of pop music since she first came on the scene. What Charli is new to though is existing as a household name. BRAT gifted her this. As with any star after they reach their apex moment, they have a choice. Keep the path or reject in.
While Music, Fashion Film can hardly be called a rebellion, I do think it is at the least a sprint away from the success that she found in 2024. Where BRAT makes you feel like you want to mingle and move, this project is more about head banging on the couch. BRAT didn't shy away from darker themes by any stretch, but MFF indulges in them. Never too much though, I think that the writing has a modicum of tongue and cheek going on.
Card Declined and Camera are the two highlights and worth a listen just for them. The production on both of these tracks his addicting. I can't put them down. A lot has been said about the short track lengths and while I get how that can be a bummer for some, I think it does some pretty heavy lifting here in always keeping the album feeling fresh. Especially considering the darker tones Charli is going for here, I think that was a great decision.
Not every track 100% works for me, but I gotta be honest and say I have a tough spot for when artists go against what just worked for them. Its not on the level of MGMT, but I think it should still be celebrated especially since so much of it works.
Like if Justice was female. I've been getting so frustrated as of late with the nuetered hyper-pop/dance-club albums that seemingly every star on the planet is attempting. Its nice to actually see an authentic project in this space get the limelight for once.
In a world where every star is trying to dance music for the 5000 person club, fcuckers is making it for the dirty basement party that you're not so sure of
