To be frank, if you haven’t heard the song “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” you need to take a listen. Go ahead…I’ll wait. Now, picture this song released in the middle of a time in popular music punctuated by the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and the Ramones. With just two albums, Joy Division ushered in the era of post-punk and became one of the most influential bands in music history.
This English rock band formed in 1976 and was immortalized by the death of lead singer Ian Curtis in May of 1980. Along with fellow band members Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris (who later formed New Order) and producer Martin Hannett, Curtis crafted a sound that took the anger and angst of punk and channeled it to a more personal and emotional place. The music is dark and introspective, heavy with bass and percussion in some songs while lighter and peppered by synthesizers in others.
Curtis’ monochromatic voice along with the band’s innovative style left a lasting impression on those who followed. Popular bands of the 80s such as U2 and The Cure cite Joy Division as influential and some credit this shift in music as ushering in the rise of alternative rock, paving the way for more recent additions to indie music such as The National and Interpol. With a downshift to solemn introspection while retaining the power of abrasive rock, this band became a permanent fixture in the history of indie and alternative rock.
If you like: The Cure, The National, Interpol, The Smiths
Check out: Joy Division
Feeling brave: Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Talking Heads, Echo & the BunnymenAI level: Advanced