Pornography

Dense with atmosphere - jagged guitar loops, foreboding synth drones, vocal echoes, distorted field/media recordings. Lyrics express paranoia and dread - "I must fight this sickness." Initially what strikes me most is the drum sound. Sparse, driving, machine-like, repetitive, urgent. In this regard, it seems to borrow from Joy Division. This album is not a feel-good crowd pleaser and I'm instantly in love.

Never heard this album, never listened to The Cure. Horror, hatred, misanthrope, nihilism, pessimism, sadism, despair. My kind of music. Synth goth rock in a Götterdämmerung frame of mind. I think Richard Wagner would have appreciated this. Musical settings emphasize minor keys, heavy echo, driving rhythms, haunting sustain—a perfect vehicle for the grim and even deranged lyrics. Makes me want to go out and get my eyebrows pierced. Speaking of the lyrics, they are suitably dark and dreary, but at times border on the trite. They tap into the lyricist’s horror, but not quite the listeners’. Robert Smith’s lead vocals are limited in range and flat in pitch and timbre. He’s not really a singer, but he is depressing, and I suppose that’s the point. Melodies and chord structures are rather repetitive. The most impressive musician in the group is Lol Tolhurst on drums. Guitar work (Smith) is disciplined but lacking in virtuosity. Good execution of synthesized colorings, tremendously enhancing the dark mood. By the end of the album, Smith’s vocals become monotonous—literally and figuratively. Black Sabbath, Metallica, and Nirvana do this kind of music much better. Impressionable adolescents who listen to too much of The Cure risk a serious contraction of their intellectual horizons—but it’s still great fun if one doesn’t take The Cure’s deathly seriousness too seriously. But overall, a good album. A really cool album. I’m glad I heard something by The Cure before my death—an event which, in the mood of this album, is to be languidly embraced. There’s your Pornography. 3/5

Maybe I've been jaded by the era of Softbois™️ but I can't listen to The Cure without fear of a man in Doctor Martens brogues busting through the wall like the Kool-Aid guy to tell me that I just *have* to try this new craft beer and also, actually, it's feminist of him to ask me for pictures of my tits

Holy shit that’s depressing! Will listen if I ever want to kill myself

Picking up where the great Joy Division left off, The Cure isn't exactly Joy Division or any of their post punk godfathers for that matter. Modeled after the despairing bass lines and repetitive drum rhythms that took over depressed alternative scenes in the late 70s, Pornography opts for a little more lustre or sex appeal. Whereas something like JD's Closer seems grounded in philosophies, Pornography seems more for the fan of Edgar Allan Poe with its exciting but ultimately brutal and irrational twists and turns. It's all about the contrast of the bright with the dark. Robert Smith, true to the album's title, defiles love and all of life's pleasures being brought further into despair. The album takes a few listens to come together but once it does you appreciate how well it falls apart. The album is collapsing in on itself, becoming irreparably distorted by Cold and the title track Pornography to the point of not even sounding like conscious melodrama anymore. Yet, in the hardly musical wreck that is Pornography, Robert Smith's ultimate conclusion is that he must "fight this sickness" even as it numbers him and envelopes him whole.

For those who don't know, Townsville is a tropical city, definitely not conducive to wearing long coats. Nevertheless, in 1985, I discovered that the West End hotel was the home of the city's goth scene. Both music is the best dance music, without question, as far as I'm concerned. It manages to have a hypnotic, insistent beat, while escaping the utter boredom and repetition of '70s disco, EDM, etc. Whenever they played a song I didn't know, but really liked, there was an excellent chance it came from this great album. When you find out that it was recorded while they consumed vast quantities of alcohol and drugs, while Smith has stated he was suicidally depressed, it is no surprise this album is considered the beginning of goth rock. When they toured it was the first appearance of the big hair and make up that symbolised goth. A wall of thundering noise that thrills me like few other albums.

This one gives Disintegration a run for its money in the moribund stakes. Millions of sad goths united listening to this album, no doubt finding a kinship lost to them in the isolation of whatever suburban hell they were living. What I love about this album is that it is rawer sounding Cure with Robert Smith and co. crafting almost a concept album around depression. With only Hanging Garden (one of my Favourites) sounding even remotely like a single this is vastly different to most other Cure albums which usually contained a radio friendly pop hit or two. I can hear the influence of Krautrock and Joy Division on this album and the fact that this album influenced every dark wave band to follow. While Pornography isn't my favourite Cure album, it's darkness a bit to hard to handle sometimes it is one of the most cohesive and best works

I want to like this be use I know it’s culturally important but man it’s a bit of a chore so far. Cold is interesting Listening more and I still don’t really feel it. Oh well

Leaving aside questions of originality and influence, Pornography sucks. Must I count the ways? That horrid, echoey drum sound; the whiny anti-melodies issuing from the maw of chief villain Robert Smith; the monochromatic tonal palette. I'm told that Smith was depressed when he was making the album. Now I am, too. Mission accomplished. Can we call this review a wrap and go home? All kidding aside, this album pushes a lot of my buttons.: pseudo profundity, 80s production, the typical 80s vocal style. Can I think of anything nice to say? Well, the album manages to make me nauseated without the stereotypical hideous 80s synths (with the exception of Cold). Robert Smith manages some nice creative guitar leads towards the end of A Short Term Effect and on the title cut, using scales which are vaguely Arabic. That's about it.

the album just gets better and better as you listen; it has such heady, enthralling, blood-pumping beats. it's wicked and haunting and like a magical chant.

Dark, moody, rhythmic

The Cure are known for making music to feel sad to. Considering only that, this might probably be the most Cure album there is. It's certainly not the most accessible one if you're just in the middle of a regular day; but the feelings, the talent, the passion, and everything that makes an album great is here. If what you're looking for is just a slightly gloomy album, you'd be better off listening to Disintegration, but if you're having a bad day and just want something to go along with it, it doesn't get any better than this. And the drums, oh, the drums.

gonna tell my whole family about how much I love pornography 10/10

The last truly great Cure album? Possibly.

Takes me back to those moody days as a teenager. Perfect goth shoe gazing classic

One of the darkest, coldest albums I've ever heard. Absolutely brilliant

Beautifully dark and strong without being dramatic and overpowering. The drums especially after fantastic throughout. It's a bit repetitive but that's not a problem when it's all great.

wow great album seemed like i was about to have a bad fucking trip though, but that was what i liked about it

fucking great

It has superb guitar work and a stellar aura, but the vocals can be jarring.

According to Robert Smith it was either he makes this album or he was to commits suicide and you can hear it. This album is heavy and feels like drowning in tar. Fueled by LSD and booze, it really does sound like something you write while in the deepest pit of depression but you decided to fight your way out of it. This is Smith's fuck you album and it hasn't lost any of its raw violent edge.

I LOVED the guitar on this album, the melodies were insidious and infectious. Some songs tended to overstay their welcome with their lack of movement, but overall a great album

Getting some influence from early 70s prog rock. This would still be fantastic and big if released today. But it's a fantastic step between the rock of our parents and modern rock. It maybe the missing link of music.

All the songs sound the same, but it's a great song! "Charlotte Sometimes" and "The Hanging Garden" are probably the best examples, both on the singles collection.

Ponderous, plodding, repetitive, yet for some reason this didn’t seduce me! I like the elements, though I tired of hearing Robert sing from the vast hall next door, and the drums began to sound too flat, tired.

Not bad but not great either. Too goth and emo for me, I can only take it in small doses. If you're into that kind of depressive music then you'll enjoy it.

Honestly every song kinda sounded the same... I was enjoying it at the beginning and then the album kinda droned on with the same feel in each song. Favorite Tracks: “The Hanging Garden” and “The Figurehead”

not good

Album sombre et torturé, pièce maîtresse dans la longue discographie de The Cure, "Pornography" sort en 1982. "Pornography" est une exposition brute de désir, de sexe, de violence et de mort. Premier ou troisième volet d'une trilogie débutée ou terminée par celui-ci (nous ne savons plus vraiment), je peux sans erreur affirmer que "Pornography" est la fin d'un triptyque commencé par "Seventeen Seconds", triptyque constituant la "période noire" du groupe. "Pornography" avec ses percussions martiales, froides, répétitives, ses guitares distordues, sa basse omniprésente, offre une expérience sonore rarement atteinte dans la discographie du groupe. Il reste à ce jour l'album le plus difficile d'accès. "Pornography" à travers ses textes et sa musique est un album noir, malsain, torturé et déprimant. "Pornography" est à l'image de son créateur, un Robert Smith dépressif et paranoïaque qui ne voyait qu'une réponse à son mal être soit se suicider soit exorciser ses démons à travers cet album. Un 5/5 pour l'un des meilleurs albums du mouvement coldwave, un 5/5 pour l'un des meilleurs album des années 80 et un 5/5 pour l'un des meilleurs albums du groupe.

"It doesn't matter if we all die," setting the tone in One Hundred Years. The drums sound mechanical, the guitars a little dissonant, the atmosphere is beyond dystopian. This is a ruined world. On The Hanging Garden, relenteless drums bash us into oblivion. And yet, the bass riff is catchy. Siamese Twins is ponderous, the bass again driving things forward. There's a prettiness here amongst the desolation. A Strange Day is something approaching hopeful sounding, the guitars sparkling, bass rumbling along. The title track does little to improve the mood though. Eight dark anthems for depressive moments.

I don't need to listen to this but I will, on repeat for the rest of the day 🖤

So sad today. Poor Bob.

potentially best album of The Cure

Super awesome goth rock that's one of 1982's finest albums. 4.5 stars.

When I was given this for Christmas at 15 I'd heard the Boys Don't Cry comp, The Top and The Head on the Door. None of which prepared me for this black pit of a record. At first I recoiled like from a first ever nibble of a brussel sprout. But I persevered because it felt like the grown up thing to do and my body was telling me I needed some greens as well as chocolate... um I mean my moody teenage self felt the draw of Pornography's gloomy black heart and it soon became a favourite. Ho! Ho! Ho!

The darkest album I’ve ever heard. When I listened to it for the first time, I was inspired to write three poems. I still remember that evening in December, alone in my room, crying and writing. It was an unforgettable experience

There were a few early songs by The Cure that I used to enjoy, like "A Forest" for example, which used to get a lot of play in goth clubs back in the 80s. But I never really clicked with their albums, and by the time they were singing about "Love Cats" I had totally lost any interest I might have once had. But I always has a sneaky suspicion I was missing out on something, and when I got "Disintegration" a while back, I actually quite enjoyed it. But it still didn't click with me. I think I gave it 4 stars and planned to listen to it again, but never got around to it. I wish I had listened to this album first, as this was finally the missing piece of the puzzle. After playing this through twice back-to-back, I went and listened to Disintegration again, and this time everything fell into place. Seems this is a 5-star album for me, even though it's derivative in places, and the start feels a bit weaker than the end.

Yes

good ass rock. angsty and dark, music that I would walk down the stairway to hell with

The Cure is a favorite of mine and this album is no exception.

Incredible!

I was not tracking with everyone’s general take that this album was depressing until the last song. It tipped me over the edge, but on the whole, I would say dark and heavy more than depressing. I’d throw in impressive as well.

Well, considering I started rewatching What We Do In The Shadows on the same day I was given the best Gothic Rock album, I’d say we’re well in out way to spooky season in style. Pornography is just a masterpiece, a dense, claustrophobic and expansive sounding mixture of tribal pounding drums, thunderous bass and knotted twisting guitar lines. I mentioned that in my Disintegration review that that album is very urban sounding, the Gothic liminal spaces of empty office buildings and suburban streets lit by dim street lamps and neon. In contrast, Pornography is Gothic in a more traditional sense, bringing to mind the isolation of desolate moors, dense forest or, scariest of all, the recesses of your own mind. Ooh, I am going to have a fun autumn

I love the cure

Great band, genre and album!

The Cure is one of my favorite groups. This album is perfect.

Listening to this is like traveling through time, back to my freshman year of high school. It’s 1984 and I’m riding the BART train into San Francisco with my friends, listening to this cassette tape on my Walkman. My best friend lent it to me, told me I have to check out this cool band. It changed me, changed who I thought I was and made me something different. It shaped the way I thought about music and opened new doors, brought new friends, made my heart beat different.

Fuck yes, finally something good. The Cure are simply fantastic and this is easily one of their best. It's so dark and moody, yet also has such a sense of intensity and urgency, while still being super sad and emotional, like much of The Cure's music is.

Hanging Garden is a classic. But also this whole album is a mood and I love the Cure, this them at their most goth… I’m just going 4.5+ with it as an old fan.

I was not enjoying the other "The cure" albums from the list so much since they are too strange for me, but this one was wow! I think I finally got it, and now I should re-listen the two other ones that I rated with 3 stars. 5 stars to compensate. The essence of what I can understand as post-punk.

Probably one of the best Goth Rock albums I've ever heard. One Hundred Year and The Hanging Garden top most playlists and compilations of the genre. A curious fact is that I had never heard this entire album from start to finish in the sequence of tracks in which it was released. However, I already knew all the songs, precisely because they appear on all Goth Rock playlists. And in fact: they work much better together and in this sequence. Excellent Album!

The right music for a sad day. I hope you don't often feel like listening to it.

Ez

Until Disintegration, this was Cure's best album. Straight from the off, you hear with 100 Years that there is anger and energy in a more focussed direction than on the more whimsical singles that had got Smith & Co to this point. The Hanging Gardens is just sublime as the album builds to a rhythmic crescendo of chaos and anger. Very dark. Very excellent.

Saying this & other Cure albums are depressing is a surface level view and misses the point. They cathartic.

Cool

Pivotal album the the goth rock era. Can't say it without this album being mentioned in the same sentence. Music is dark, sad, and the lyrics are pained. This is the soundtrack to depression but in a way that's great, shows there are others who feel what you do and you are not alone. This album saved people.

This album exudes such a haunting aura that just can’t be matched. The songs are put together in such an odd way that creates a feeling of uneasiness. Cold is one of if not my favorite Cure song. Just perfection. Easily the band’s best work besides Disintegration

I’m a fan of the Cure and have always loved this album. It was great to listen to it again, however I’m not a moody teen anymore so it’s a different perspective. Disintegration led me to Wish (which remains one of my favorite albums to this day) which led me to try to get my hands on anything the Cure had to offer including this album and I still love it!

I'm so excited for my goth phase. I'm going to be so good at it. I'm thinking I'll have it when I'm in my 60s so I'll really know my stuff.

Oh man, after the train wreck of the Dion album I had to listen to yesterday, I was so happy to see this in my queue (not that I don't listen to it monthly at a minimum anyway). I'm a Cure stan, so I can't really be objective about this album, but it's incredible. This era of The Cure was part of an insanely prolific period in Robert Smith's life. In a span of 2-3 years he would make this album, become a Banshee, work on side project The Glove with Steve Severin, and release The Top, which is essentially a Smith solo album under The Cure name. To be that prolific he was destroying himself. Too many drugs, nonstop work, no sleep. The end of the Pornography world tour would see the band break up as the powder keg finally exploded. Everyone thought The Cure was finished. (Fun story: They actually tried to quit in the middle of the tour. After Robert and Simon got into a fist fight, they both bailed and went home. Robert's father told him people had paid money for tickets and ordered him to go back and finish the tour.) So, to say that the band, and Robert especially, were not in a great mental space going into this album is an understatement. And it's clear from every aspect of the album. This album is dark and discordant and hopeless in all the best ways. The drums are relentless, as if marching toward death. The guitar and bass parts are dirgy and wailing. The lyrics are a horror show of depression, nihilism, self-hatred, and fear. Robert said he wrote the album to purge his mind of his darkest thoughts so he wouldn't kill himself. And yet, there's still some beauty in it (I think). I know a lot of people find it noisy and unpleasant to listen to, but that's not the case for me. I think there are still great melodies here—The Hanging Garden, Siamese Twins, A Strange Day, Cold, to name a few. There's experimentation with sound and effects (Short Term Effect, Cold, Pornography). The album even ends on a defiantly optimistic note—"I must fight this sickness and find a cure." Sure, it's a little cheesy, but these dudes were barely 21-22 years old at the time and really going through it. This is probably Lol Tolhurst's greatest contribution to The Cure as drummer. Simon Gallup is the coolest bass player there is. And Robert Smith is an iconoclast, a modern-day poet, and a way better guitarist than he gets credit for. Also, shoutout to Phil Thornalley for producing this album—you know, the guy most known for writing "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia! It's tempting to want to downgrade my rating a bit knowing that their magnum opus was still to come (and that Disintegration is still out there lurking in this list somewhere)—but I won't. 5/5 Favorite songs: Siamese Twins, A Strange Day, The Figurehead

A devastatingly dark and beautifully bleak album. Robert Smith is an incredible, somehow underrated songwriter. These songs paint pictures of internal struggle, depression, addiction. The heaviness of the bass, melancholy melodies of the guitars, and Smith’s yearning vocal performances come together in haunting synergy throughout the record. Famously created with heavy drug consumption, it’s surprising cohesive and rarely indulgent. Like the best albums it’s greater than the sum of its parts: it demands to be listened to front to back. Probably not a record for everyone, but for anyone attracted to the Cure’s musical aesthetic it is incredible, perhaps only bested by Disintegration in their discography.

Dark and phenomenal.

5 star!

i’ve never heard an album that successfully created such a dark and disturbing sound like this one. i’ve heard albums where people try, but it usually ends up sounding really stupid and trying too hard to be edgy. the use of organs and timpani’s in the track “cold” is amazing. they were really thinking outside of the box to get the vibe of this album perfect.

This was when I loved The Cure, before they became a pop band. Early synths, distorted guitars and Robert Smith's voice it's hard not to think they'd progressed their sound and learnt as they went on from Seventeen Seconds's raw power through Faith's mesmeric rhythms this was a combination and who can argue that One Hundred Years is one of their best tracks but in reality band infighting and drugs had left them seemingly at a dead end. It's a shame what happened afterwards but it's happened with other bands too, their sound, production and mood is so intense something must break. This is an iconic album.

God damn, that final trio of songs 'Strange Day' / 'Cold' / 'Pornography' is just unbelieveable. I'm so glad that it's not just albums after this one that are included by The Cure, since this early work of theirs was amazing. Almost unbearbly dark and soul-crushing, but also some of the best post-punk you'll hear.

An influential masterpiece that needed time to build it's legacy.

It’s The Cure. What more could you want.

Profundamente denso, quando a música desperta todas as sensações em que o clima pesado torna-se viciante.

The Cure at their most nihilistic and gothic. When Yasi Salek said that this album being in your Spotify Wrapped should be grounds to initiate a wellness check, I find it hard to disagree with that assessment. To me, this album represents a pinnacle of a certain approach and style the band truly mastered before moving on to different, poppier, but no less affecting fare. While my preference is for the heavy hitters of that era (Disintegration, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me), the power of this album is desperate, dark, and undeniable. Rating: 4.5/5 Favourites: One Hundred Years, The Hanging Garden, The Figure Head, A Strange Day

“It doesn’t matter if we all die”. That is the first thing Robert Smith says on Pornography. And what I way to start your fucking album. My first introduction to The Cure was on Halloween last year, where I heard Seventeen Seconds. A perfect album for a day like that. I really loved it. But I didn’t know how varied their sound would get from album to album. Little did I know what I was in for. Because that first line really reflects the tonal shift. This is intense. And that intensity is felt quickly. We have left behind the thick fog drowning out a rural village in Spain that Seventeen Seconds inhabited. This is heavy. This is brooding. This is dark. Not hazy, but sinking like a bottomless pit. There is less of a focus on rich, chorus soaked guitars, which means Robert feels way more present. And his voice has this ghastly undertone. Like a man who has witnessed the end of the world, and can do nothing but write down his thoughts. The one song I want to bring focus to is the titular closing track. From a pure music standpoint, it does the least to keep things interesting, especially considering it’s one of the longest songs on the album. But its haunting atmosphere and minimalism is a real expression of emotions. This is an album fueled by drugs, depression, and the fear of everything coming to an end for the band. And this song sets that fuel ablaze and burns it all away, and takes the darkness of The Cure with it. Rating: 9/10

Another classic from The Cure. Pure atmosphere from start to finish.

It was weird but fun

I loved every minutes of this. Wow what a sound! Atmospheric and beautiful!

If I were to describe myself using albums, this would be in my top ten. This is peak 80s goth eventhough Robert Smith hates that label. Whatever, Goth Grandad. This is spectacularly dark & rhythmic with some of the best guitar playing of the genre. One Hundred Years is my black SUV's theme song (yeah, I'm one of those weirdos that christened my car & named her Morticia) and I'll blast it as often as I can while driving. The Hanging Garden and A Strange Day are my other favorites, and I could listen to this album on repeat & find something new. Pornography, The Head on the Door, and Disintegration are my favorites of the band. And if you're a fan, do yourself a favor and read Lol Tolhurst's book, Goth. This gets a perfect 5 from me.

Bleak. Brilliant.

What is this filth?!! Imagine finding pornography on my phone this morning?!? I need a cure...ok I'll stop this record is flawless 11 stars!

pretty cool

a perfectly realized artifact that spawned a million sad imitations

This album holes up, and Cara is truly one of the most unique alternative fans of its generationLo

Il mio album preferito dei Cure senza alcun dubbio. Spettacolare

Can't complain

A true Goth-classic. Dark, atmospheric and beautiful.

A pretty unlistenable, tough album that paved the way for a lot of dark ambient and gothy music - I'm definitely a fan.

IN THE HANGING GARDEN PLEASE DON'T SPEAK!

The album is a masterpiece Epic.

Pornography is an earworm of perfectly crafted Gothic Rock songs. Robert Smith works as a perfect vessel for all these songs. His vocals tear through every song to perfection. These songs were made with him in mind. What a man! What a performer!

The Cure at their most misanthropic and self-loathing. Absolute darkness from beginning to end. In anyone else's hand this would come across as ham-handed or cartoonish, but after Seventeen Seconds and Faith, The Cure were adepts at this style. While "Cold" may earn the title of most Gothic track ever, it's "Siamese Twins" which wallows in the most misery: "Dancing in my pocket Worms eat my skin She glows and grows With arms outstretched Her legs around me… In the morning I cried Leave me to die You won’t remember my voice I walked away and grew old You never talk We never smile I scream You’re nothing I don’t need you any more You’re nothing" Hard to believe this is the same band who would write "Just Like Heaven" a few years later.

i love the cure

all time fave

Lovely stuff!

pretty good

I love The Cure whether it's the darker faire like this or the more radio friendly stuff. I don't play this one more than say, Disintegration or The Head On The Door but it's still excellent. Obviously a 5.

second favorite cure record and it’s still an absolute banger

Instant 5. My favorite Cure album... the dark brooding pained vocals and music are immediately compelling. A Short Term Effect and A Strange Day stand out, but the first 6 tracks all make but Cure Greatest Hits list. Love this album.

Þetta er nú meiri helvítis snilldin! Mjög auðvelt að heyra tenginguna milli The Cure og Kælunnar miklu.

Love this album. Wish I was alive at the time you could hear the whole thing in a club.

Probably my fave cure album, the last gasp af angst before the pop takeover

good