The album “Unknown Pleasures” is slow, emotional, and a heart filled production. The first song on the album is “Disorder,” this song has a lot of sadness tied into it, the word disorder implies chaos and breakdown in the song. This is a beautifully written song by Ian Curtis. The ending of the song has a very powerful feeling, especially because of the way Ian Curtis, the singer, screams “But lose the feeling. Feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling.” It feels so freeing to listen to, as if you have so many feelings locked inside, like a pet stuck in a cage finally getting a look at the outside world.
In an interview, Peter Hook discusses the history of how Joy Division started the album. Hook imagined that they would be like Sex Pistols or The Clash, but the vision quickly vanished when the lyrics didn’t match the band at all.
The album was finished from start to end in three weekends, six days. On the fifth day of mixing tracks, Martin Hannett said that the band didn’t have enough tracks for the album. Peter Hook and Stephen Morris then went and wrote two more tracks. It’s amazing how they went in with nothing and still came out with two great tracks just like that.
Another song that I really enjoy is called “She’s Lost Control,” this song has some history tied into it. Ian Curtis drew the inspiration from a young woman. This woman had epilepsy and missed all her appointments; Ian thought she had finally found a job, but then later discovered she had died from an epileptic seizure. This woman’s death gave Ian Curtis a new sense of awareness of individuals suffering from neurological impairments.
The album itself has a great deal of history and brings forth many emotions inside listeners. Every listener should be able to feel an emotional connection to this heartfelt album and its universal message of pure emotion. Overall, this album is great and everyone should listen to it.
