Closer, produced by Martin Hannett, features a sound which is both lusher and more sombre than the band’s previous album, Unknown Pleasures, with more use of synthesizers and studio effects. Many of its songs have a despairing, funeral feel, and its cover art appears to reflect this, although it was chosen by Peter Saville before he had heard any of the music; both the photo and the bleakness of the music and lyrics amplified the already strong mystique surrounding the album after Ian Curtis’ suicide. The opening track, “Atrocity Exhibition”, shares its name with The Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard, a book that Curtis read and loved, but only after writing the bulk of the song. Several of the songs on Closer feature a down tempo vibe and droning synthesisers, such as the final two tracks “The Eternal” and “Decades”. Keyboards are featured predominantly on four of the album’s nine tracks, a trend that would follow the surviving members onto New Order.
[via Henrik Gregersen]
New Music United 