keepers 4
keeper avg .444
Joy Division's second and final album, which is somewhat well-covered on the Permanent compilation, nevertheless has some interesting moments unique to the catalog. The first is the evocative opener "Atrocity Exhibition"****, an apt introduction to a chilling album by a chilling band, where Peter Hood turns the guitar into what may be a sadistic dentist's drill, set over a tribal beat with Ian Curtis gently cajoling "This is the way, step inside." "Colony" also has a unique feel, with Bernard Sumner creating a percussive, stuttering growl on guitar. Also on side A, the out-of-kilter descending keyboard line of "Isolation"**** (also on Permanent) is a catchy moment and the memorable descending bass-riff in "Means To An End"****, tied with "Love Will Tear Us Apart" for the band's peppiest song, may be the missing link between "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "Bela Lugosi's Dead" (released in 1982). On side B, "Heart And Soul" (also on Permanent) is as minimalist as Joy Division gets, Curtis alternates between quietly intoning (a bit out of key) and jangling out just two haunting chords, concluded by Stephen Morris's machine gun snare hits leveling-up slightly. "Twenty-Four Hours"**** (also on Permanent), alternating between slow verses and double-time choruses and as close to punk as Joy Division gets, has simple, open-ended riffs that also sound a bit Police, while in "Decades" the minimal Kraftwerk verses give way to atmospheric choruses that are also a relieving coda to a varied yet claustrophobic album.
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