This 1982 Japanese punk cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is perfectly restrained aggression

Many artists have covered Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart." In 1982, enigmatic Japanese post-punk musician Kiyoaki Iwamoto truly made the song his own. From the description of the new re-issue of this scarce 7" record:

December 1982, Tokyo. Kiyoaki Iwamoto has a guitar, a simple rhythm box, a friend with a bass guitar, and some stripped-down songs, brazen in their post-punk simplicity, irritation and controlled aggression, yet full of sadness and resignation. Five songs, including a rearranged version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" are recorded and released on a now extremely rare 7" record. This [new] release, available on 10" vinyl, CD, or digital download, features those five songs, along with a previously unreleased 1980 live performance by his duo Birei, as well as a 2020 reworking of "Love …" , by the Japanese duo Chisato and Junta. Iwamoto was an enigma, active in the post-punk scene in Japan in the late 70s and early 80s, a member of Birei and founding member of Guys & Dolls with Tori Kudo (Maher Shalal Hash Baz); in the mid-80s he cut contact with his friends, disavowing his name and later performing under a different moniker.

Kiyoaki Iwamoto "Sougi +" (Light in the Attic)