Review of Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division

Review of Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division

The boys overall were underwhelmed with Joy Division’s debut album Unknown Pleasures. All in all it was a bit too glum, the musicianship was that of a college band and there were no standout, catchy tracks that led any of us back to revisit them regularly. While we have some appreciation for the band’s stamp on that time period, we’re not so sure the legendary status of this album is deserved, nor are we inspired to seek out more of the band’s work. But we enjoyed the exposure and learning about the band and their sound.

You have to listen to get all the laughs and the facts, but here are a few interesting things we learned in this review:

• Find a hidden message in the run out groove of this vinyl album. Cool!
• This sounds nothing like the albums released by the rest of the band under the New Order moniker, after the death of Ian Curtis.
• The band was not happy with how this album was produced.

Listen along and let us know what you think!

Scott Coates
The Sonic Collective