
Joy Division’s debut was the moment when punk rock stopped needing to be fast, aggressive or sloppy. The Manchester band, for many, pioneered and defined what was to be dubbed “post-punk,” a tense, mid-tempo style primarily dedicated to existentialist themes and tales of anguish and torment.
In the wake of Ian Curtis’ death, the reputation of “Unknown Pleasures” inflated. T-shirts of the album sleeve and copycat bands are everywhere. But, find out in this review if I think that the album stands up to the hype created around it.

Joy Divison’s Journey to Making “Unknown Pleasures”
Joy Division connects with many musical listeners on a highly personal level. There’s no running away from that fact. Those listeners will swear that they hear echoes of heaven in the few hellish songs recorded by the band.
Meanwhile, others just hear a group that had slowed down and made rigid the sounds of punk-rock while introducing lyrics centred around violence, art and existential despair. Their critics find Joy Division teenagerish and amateurish.
Neither is entirely wrong. Indeed, for all the influence Joy Division has had, the group is entirely a product of the post-punk boom. That means they were also the result of the commodification of punk and alternative music.
Joy Division was formed in Salford, on the outskirts of Manchester. Supposedly, most of the groups had individually been to see Sex Pistols perform some of their earliest shows and were inspired to try and form a group of their own. This was not exceptional, but the group members had a few incredible traits they could call upon.
Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Ian Curtis formed a group without much knowledge of singing, writing songs, or playing and tuning instruments. Punk had made it OK not to know all of that.
Joy Division was one of the first recipients of assistance from television personality Tony Wilson and his Factory Records. The record label, its bar, The Hacienda, and the people around it dared dream of a Cool Manchester, modern and chic. Joy Division and, later, New Order, were at the heart of that.
It’s easy to assume that the band became successful only once it ended. That’s not true. Shows, especially in their home city, were regularly sold out, and Wilson envisioned a future where this could become the biggest band in the U.K.

Recording “Unknown Pleasures”
“Unknown Pleasures” was recorded quickly, in April 1979. By this stage, Joy Division had settled on the musical and visual elements meant to represent their brand.
They had taken the idea of provocation from punk, but instead, Ian Curtis had used it to pepper his lyrics with stories of cruelty, loss of control and downright misery. Part of this was inspired by his interest in novels by Dostoevski and movies by Werner Herzon. Part of it was inspired by his own fragile psyche and debilitating epilepsy fits.
Musically, the band also dared to mess with the punk formula. Songs were played at a slower pace, the bass guitar was brought to the forefront, and the group used the studio to try to create soundscapes rather than straight-head rock n’ roll.
“Unknown Pleasures” Reviewed
“Unknown Pleasures” is still a startling record. The band knows how to shock. This much should be obvious from the group’s name, inspired by German troops in WWII.
Still, Curtis’s raw vocal delivery and lyrics are convincing. The band is better than most late 1970s groups at getting the most out of its limited bag of tricks. Hook’s bass lines, in particular, while simple and to the point, are inspired additions to the songwriting. Many would copy them.
In fact, Joy Division is best at zeroing in on the things that they can do well and differently from other bands on “Unknown Pleasures.” So many bands, from Interpol to Editors, sound amazingly like Joy Division now. However, there were few baritone singers like Curtis at the time, few bands utilising the bass guitar and danceable rhythms in this way, and not many embracing such a nihilist worldview in pop song lyrics. Plus, Curtis’ wild performances were a spectacle onto themselves.
This album is immensely popular in indie rock/alternative/post-punk circles. The songs are best enjoyed as a whole. This is a concept album dedicated to torment if nothing else.
Soulful Minimalism
However, taken individually, some of the songs do stand out. The album opener “Disorder” best illustrates Joy Division’s minimalist but highly melodic playing and interest in the dark themes usually found in literary works, not rock songs.
The band experiments with icey, robotic tones on “She’s Lost Control” and repetitive guitar riffs on “Day of the Lords.” If the classic punk records tended to have all musicians play as loudly and fast as they could for the entirety of the song, Joy Divison learned the lessons of restraint.
“Shadowplay” is highly dynamic, utilizing the right riff at the right time and eliminating any need to discuss the merits of proficient technique any further. “New Dawn Fades” is the post-punk equivalent of a rock ballad, a song in which the simple, catchy chord progression is introduced slowly, first through the bottom end of the bass guitar.
Curtis’s half-sung, half-spoken vocals dominate all the tracks. Made to resemble a mad preacher speaking about the End of Days, Curtis enthusiastically analyzes corruption and decay. Some of the lyrics, upon closer scrutiny, can sound a tad naive but generally fit the mood that the band is going for on this record.
In fact, it is Curtis’ delivery that sells the record. While the instrumental parts are catchy, simple, and clever, the songs would quickly feel like the poetry of a depressed teenager and little else were it not for the commitment in Curtis’ voice.

Legacy of Joy Division
Joy Division is the most famous post-punk band. In many ways, they are a genre in themselves. The number of groups whose sound and lyrics resemble the Manchester group is colossal.
Ian Curtis’ untimely death meant that Joy Division released only two albums. This also helps elevate the group’s profile, and, indeed, many of the alternative and indie rock bands interested in exploring darker themes have lived in the shadow of Joy Division.
Like “Nevermind” or “The Velvet Underground & Nico,” “Unknown Pleasures” is a staple of pop culture. Numerous celebrities swear it’s their favourite album, and you’re never far from someone wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the soundwave design of the artwork.
Magazines like NME insist this is one of the best albums ever made. And gothic-rock communities have fought to claim the group back as one of their own. “Unknown Pleasures” is never going away.