I've been quite taken with Arab Strap's "The Red Thread" over the last couple of weeks. I can't say that I love this album, because their last record was titled "Philophobia" ("fear of falling in love") so it wouldn't seem appropriate. However, "The Red Thread"'s lone contemporary would be Joy Division's "Closer". Both albums are members of an exclusive club of "varietal despair" albums. The moods are sombre and dark. There is not a speck of positivity to be found. Singing is provided by two extremely unique vocalists. It's near impossible to imaging these songs being sung by anyone else -- (there were very few JD covers until a few years ago, at least to my knowledge. I always thought that it was because JD were "uncoverable". Note-for-note covers are not successful -- indeed, if you want it to sound identical to the original, then why bother? The original can stand on it's own. To do a good cover version, you need to make changes to a song and give it a different spin. This usually means altering the melody, the tempo, taking away some parts and replacing them with new sounds, instruments, etc. However, every sound in a JD song was integral, because the vocals, bass, guitar and even the drums all had their own melody and each provided a crucial piece of the whole. I've always thought it was the result of each band member writing their own part -- a true group songwriting effort. Can you imagine "Transmission" with a different bassline? Or without each and every last note in the guitar solo? Could "Shadowplay" POSSIBLY work with any other drum beat? Let's not even start with finding an alternative to Ian "I'm 23 but my voice could pass for 60" Curtis' perfect vocals. Anyway, I think I'm right, JD must be uncoverable because I've yet to hear one of their covers that didn't suck) -- Ian Curtis' melancholy wail is ideal for his tales of inadequacy and depression, while Aidan Moffat's melancholy mumbling is ideal for his tales of inadequacy and sexual misadventure. All right, I'm not 100% sure about the last one, but I can't argue with the results. He may sound like he's in a constant hungover state, but face it, if YOU were reading your girlfriends secret sex diary, then you'd feel as sick and disgusted as he did, and would want to get wasted into a numb oblivion as soon as possible. Even better, both albums deliver their sorrowful messages with an incredibly varied musical approach. They effortlessly and convincingly swing from simple ballads to noisy dirges to electronic warmth. The two-dollar drum machine feel of AS's "Turbulence" somehow manages to evoke loneliness, while maintaining a passive funkiness, same as JD's "Isolation" ably sneaks the despair through the wall of synthesizer and the infectiously danceable drum beat. AS's "Amor Veneris" and JD's "The Eternal" are both simple, sludgingly slow and dripping with sad imagery. I could go on, but straightforwardly: being in a two member club with Joy Division is a damned special place to be.