Reviews (page 11 of 12)
1.5
The Cure has never really appealed to me. This record doesn't change that. It's not terrible but it's not really great either.
The figurehead is my favorite track
good
The world is ending. The is an album about how the world is ending.
I really wanted to love this album, since The Cure is one of those bands I’ve meant to check out more for years. Unfortunately this one was a bit of a chore to listen to, just a bit too repetitive and monotonous. Most songs start out well and have potential but don’t seem to go where I want them to… A couple too many times I found myself waiting for the song to end half way through. This is a pretty generous 3.
Every song is the same minor key, depressing kind of drone. That's what they were going for. Not particularly happy music but a few tracks were ok
Listened on 2/28/23 2.5/5 Favorite song: cold I felt like I was being yelled at and the songs were entirely too long. I am worried for their well-being but the album was fine
So depressing
Meni najbolji the cure ujedno i najsjebaniji😄
Bien. Sin más.
This is some new wave I can get behind to lol. It’s weird but not bad
Love its style.
Tolerable. No great tunes.
This is the first album by The Cure I've ever listened to and it was really good. I'm looking forward to other albums by them since I'm sure there's more than one in this list.
cool style for sure. but gives me a headache.
I enjoyed it. Everything felt like it flowed together really well.
Kind of spooky, kind of depressing
Moody and gothic, an album that must be listened to at a high volume to feel the beat and the heat of the art on display here
Question. How many different flavours of misery must we tasted to get your music passport stamped by these wretches of no taste? The Cure's mastery is undeniably evocative across the whole realm of Melancholia, so, having honed their considerable talents and a signature sound, they really channel all their misery to make the musical equivalent of the Slough of Despond [*footnote]. Listening brings me both psychological and physical pain, and evokes teen misery, self loathing alienation, and disorientation as opposed to the self compassion, self care or meaningful connection we all need. It is psychological kryptonite. I do much prefer when The Cure when they can get happy like on "Friday I'm in love", “love cats” and “Just like heaven” Alas. None of that fun on this black hole - a kind of horrible perfection to be admired and avoided. 1 star so I am not tempted to go near it again. Best pointed at from a tourist bus maybe. Foot note - explaining *Slough of Despond; a PLACE described in John Bunyan's book “A Pilgrim's Progress” (1678); also known referred to in Wuthering Heights and the game DOOM: (my paraphrase) On inescapable swamp and where the guilty are exiled; a depression in the land into which scum and toxic sludge continually drains, a place for sinner to endure self loathing in the mud. Here you gain an acute appreciation of your own utter abandoned and complete alienation, thus evoking further fears, doubts, and fresh dread, moods which engulf and swirl throughout the place, making it a place so completely horrible... OR, THE ORIGINAL TEXT This miry Slough is such a place as cannot be mended; it is the descent whither the scum and filth that attends conviction for sin doth continually run, and therefore is it called the Slough of Despond: for still as the sinner is awakened about his lost condition, there ariseth in his soul many fears, and doubts, and discouraging apprehensions, which all of them get together, and settle in this place; and this is the reason of the badness of this ground.
I generally like The Cure. Didn't care too much for this one.
Really good but not my favorite Cure album
I can't even make it through an album by The cure because this guy's voice is so fucking annoying.
I appreciate, but struggle to enjoy this album. Love the Cure a few years later.
Meh.
there are so many better Cure Albums.
Good Rock
Mjög þunglyndislegt. Ekki leiðinlegt samt.
this ain't it chief
I like the The Cure, but was kinda unable to really get into this album. More 2 1/2 than 3. Might need to give it another try in the future..
Not the best example of the Cure's work. Never less than interesting however
Excellent moody post punk emo. Really interesting drumming with excellent vocals. Had never heard any of these tunes before but really liked the entire album, tough to pick a favourite track but I really enjoyed how they closed it out with the title track. 4 stars
This was a chore to get through. The Cure might be a time and place band. No beat variation and no hits. Not sure why this is in the list.
There's some things by The Cure I love. This is not one of those things
Lyrics sort of pass me by and so this really just sounded like "The Cure have a bad day and are really quite upset about it".
A love letter to pain, an album that starts by saying "It doesn't matter if we all die" and that makes a new music form out of destructive thoughts. One of the great bands and one of their most important albums. Yet not quite perfect.
Donker, donkerder, The Cure. Een album waar niet echt een hit is uit gevloeid, maar desalniettemin een topplaat. Eens je wat in de juiste sfeer bent toch
Flera låtar som jag aldrig hört förut. En alldeles fantastisk platta är det i alla fall.
Cool, but a little eerie for everyday listening.
This is the one eighties record where The Cure maybe went a little too far in the gloom 'n' doom, freakish goth ambiences, sucking out any breathable air out of this collection of mournful songs--"air" both in the sense of "room to breathe" and "memorable or hummable melody". Then again, *Pornography* is the favorite record of a significant subset of fans for *these exact same reasons*. And as such, and given how important The Cure is in the history of popular music, it is still one of the five or six essential LPs the band has released in the first decade of their career. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: less than 700, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: approximately a half so far (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter
Grumpy mopey grungy goths, an influence on a bunch of bands I like, but a bit dark and one paced for me. Having said that, I would probably have loved it if I was 16 when it came out.
Mmm, è uno stile molto particolare (ma non particolarmente strano): una basso da una tonalità molto pronunciata e caratteristica e una voce che stride un po'. Non mi prende. Cioè The Cure perché bisogna cominciarla dopo un ascolto prolungato?
Better than I remember. Really good album.
Not their best
In high chool in the mid 80's this was the Cure album all the Goth kids loved, this was prior Disintegration being released. It's dark, moody and bleak, just a great record. Though you really need to be in the right mood and setting to really get into. A gray cold January like today was perfect. I like this album a lot and I think it's a great choice since it probably gets lost among the other albums.
Some of my favorite gloom rock! I do especially like Hanging Garden and Siamese Twins, but pretty much the whole record. Moody, sullen, morose…
A quality Cure record. I was already a Cure fan. I don't think this would be the record I would use to change peoples minds about the Cure.
I did not like this one as much as Seventeen Seconds. This was was a little too moody, too dark, and too depressing. Some good soundscapes in here, though.
I had to really try on this one, and that surprises me. I think this was toooo much Cure for me.
The Cure is one those bands, for me, that I do not like too many of their songs, but the ones I do like, I like a lot. Let's just say, this album did not do it for me on any song. Just found the entire album to be one big, meh. Will not attempt to listen again. Solid 1
Obvious evolution over the last Cure album we had. Looking forward to more. 4
3 Another early Cure album, and while this one doesn’t feel quite as grandiose or as new-wavey as their later stuff, it’s definitely more musically elaborate, keyboard-heavy, and possibly even moodier than Seventeen Seconds. That being said, it’s very same-y, and as a whole I feel like it has less personality to it. While I thought 17S did a good job of building atmosphere, this one felt a bit more like a wall of doomy sound. And while I enjoy that doomy sound, it doesn’t provide much to dig into - so pretty mid album overall. Don’t feel like I have any favorites or comments on any of the particular tracks.
Moody, with great drums. Something about the drums just got me on this one. The rest of it is great too, but the drums.
It’s ok
4,5 so good
I like The Cure but I'm more of a "love cats" girl. Pornography is not my headspace. I can appreciate it as a work of art, which I think it is, but not especially enjoy it or vibe with it.
Good album but I prefer Disintegration
Not a huge cure fan, but okay
This makes me wanna wear eyeliner and hate the world. They definitely took some inspiration from Joy Division for this record. Good stuff.
I had a greatest hits CD of The Cure when I was in high school that I loved. There were so many hits! And they were the greatest. But I always skipped the song Lullaby. It felt too creepy. It didn’t have the fun, peppy overtones in its instrumentation that made the darker, more goth and emo aspects of The Cure palatable. This whole album is like a never-ending listen of Lullaby. It’s too goth and industrial for me. I don’t want to go down this creepy spider hole with them. I’ll stick the hits that keep a lighter vibe going, you know, Just Like Heaven and Friday I’m In Love, thanks.
Not their best, but I love The Hanging Garden and One Hundred Years. I was an 80s goth kid, YMMV.
Very good. I like hanging garden
The record drones and echoes and haunts in a gloomy mist that is next dark and squalling, getting to some of the terror of what might be called modern life (such as it was 40ish years ago), by which one means the fucking dread and anxiety of individual consciousness. And yet we know what they mean and should do our best not to think about how much better this could have been, knowing now that it was going to get exactly that. But this one drones edgily with drums sounding now far away distant, then submerged, and then ominous and relentless even at mid tempo. They were slowly advancing outward from the Joy Division template with swirls and filigrees and elaborate sorts of skewed echoings. "Hanging Garden" is best song overall and "The Figurehead" and "A Strange Day" are the most evocative/predictive of Disintegration, this band's far and away masterpiece.
More or less everything the Cure brought out before 1990 is 5 star (afterwards, it is 2-3 star). This album is from 1982 so it is 5 star. Atmosphere over songs. Belongs to the sequence 17 Seconds - Faith - Pornography so the other two albums should be on the list too.
Very dark sounding, repetitive, and bleak.
Carefully and patiently arranged tracks. Over the top vocals. Desolate sound reminding of Joy Division.
spox
I understand if was of an era, but not my style at all
Best track(s): ? Non-existent, if I had to pick I'd say 'Cold'. Worst track(s): all of it I do love the eighties sound! The first track sounds very ominous and atmospheric.. Usually I don't really mind long tracks, but the first one was too long for what it is. 15 minutes in and the voice of the singer is starting to be annoying. Don't think this album is for me. Tracks started to blend together and weren't any more interesting for it... I was already in a bad mood starting this and it hasn't improved (which was to be expected apparently, looking at the summary).
So goth, so, 80s? Drums and synths, the lyrics aren’t impactful to me but I never pay attention to lyrics anywag
my god do i love the cure. but disintegration is still better.
Frábær
While I love how The Cure mixed darkness and brightness on their later albums, this album is a great look at their unadulterated dark side. Pounding drums and base and screeching guitars abound.
É um álbum.
This was the first album I ever heard from The Cure. It's not there best album in my personal opinion but it is really good.
2/5. Not bad but not quite good either. It feels too epic for themes that don’t feel very epic. Every song feels like the end of the world.
넘찡찡
Catually loved it. Always thought the cure were kinda ditzy airheads for moody girls but their earlier goth-rock mood is actually very satisfying. Apparently Robert Smith was going through a sever bout of depression and substance abuse with this one and it gives the whole affair a nice edgey chiaroscuro.
Fantastic Cure album
This was dope
strange
The sound is so harsh, so intense for me.
Yeah pretty cool, wasn't a focused listen tbh. There is potential
not my type
Pop-rock con buenas canciones y buen ritmo. Excelente voz y melodías conseguidas. Algunos temas, un tanto oscuros
This was okay, but a bit one-paced and not a patch on subsequent albums, especially disintegration
Moeilijk. Atmosfeer is goed, alleen de zanger mag wat minder zeurderig imo.
Strangely soothing, albeit depressing at the same time. Not usually my taste but I found the album captivating
meh
I've always enjoyed The Cure's big songs, don't know if they're all singles but have never fell in love with a whole album. I like both early goth Cure and pop Cure, this is obviously the former. Though people bang on about Disintegration and I'm the same with that, just the big songs please. The atmosphere created here is the first thing to hit you. The bass, Smith's voice, the lyrics, the repetitive slow drums. Doom, doom, doom. I think if it carried on like Side A I'd have to turn it off as it would be too much. But with The Figurehead and Strange Days the mood lightens just enough, musically.
3.8/5
typical Cure joie de vivre
I've tried a few times but this band just does nothing for me.
4,5
The Cure have never really appealed to me and I was not particularly stoked about getting another album from them after previously getting "Disintegration." This is a lot more palatable, possibly because it's not overly long like "Disintegration" is being a product of the early CD era. I enjoyed this a bit more for sure, but still not for me.
Love The Cure, some good tracks, it's good.
Please pass the Kleenex
Considering how close the Cure came to imploding during the recording of Pornography, it’s a wonder they managed to produce anything listenable, let alone an album so expansive and gorgeously melancholic. Special mention goes to Lol Tolhurst’s propulsive drumming.
Its got a bit of an intensity to it, but its a right racket and Robert's vocals are very marmite
82/10”
great album. so much going on and took me back to my youth
Okay mellow dreary album, voice is very monotone
I like their greatest hits but his voice is a bit annoying here
bhe' The Cure cosa dire.... in macchina di notte sarebbe perfetta. Dark, voce figa, un po' simili ma l'album dura poco
3.5/5 good dark rock, but vocals can be annoying
What’s the cure for The Cure? Just kidding. I don’t hate this band, I just never really got into them. This album is good, but I can’t bring myself to care that much.
This album was terrific! Although it is not my personal favorite group of Cure songs (for example, I could listen to All Cats are Grey all day), it is very good. I think almost any Cure album is a four for me! Having seen them live in the last couple years, it now brings back memories of that wonderful evening outside listening to some of my very favorite musicians.
Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... "That's what I like!"
Like Belle and Sebastian, I can only take so much early Cure stuff. Never listened to this one. Probably won’t again. But still give it 3 stars because it’s fine, just more of the same sound that I tire of quickly.
Is there an echo in here? (No, not Echo & The Bunnymen, who are not as good as The Cure.) (And also not the echo of Robert Smith's vocals.) What echoes oddly is the shared conclusion among much of the group that a little bit of The Cure is frequently better than we expect, and too much of The Cure threatens to ruin it all. As with the various Covid vaccines and boosters for different age groups, The Cure is all about finding the right dosage.
When I first start listening to a Cure album I think "Oh, I really like the Cure!" but I tire of it around 2/3 of the way through the album.
What are The Cure a cure for? Hmmm…minimal digging on Wikipedia did not turn up an answer. The melancholy was clear even without reading this album is goth rock. Digging through my history, it seems they are a cure for goth rock bands fronted by terrible vocalists (Joy Division + Siouxsie and the Banshees). I’m not enamored by The Cure, but I respect the craft.
One of my wife's favorite albums gets played pretty regularly in our house
Its the cure
Iconic. Cure always wins.
The third and gloomiest of their gloom trilogy (17 seconds, faith, this) I saw them on this tour and boy they did not look or sound happy. The first side of this takes some time to get going, but by the time of The Figureheard you are definitely there. Couldn't possibly top this, so pop singles it was next.
Fecking whiny brit pop, I am honestly glad I do not come up in this era of music
I’ve always been a fan of the Cure. Great album.
The dramatic, whiney voice is a huge turn off for me
Not my type of music
Love his voice, ok album - a bit boring....
Did not hit. Reviewing sat/sun I think, long kayak but a good vibe. Photos, I’m not photogenic and bad skin, but fun. Hang, too much football, chicken katsu, drinking, fire making, smores and shivering, jackbox, walk with A and group, sleepover and ratatouille, then back home, tired, WH lawn tour, tired, call parents, nice sun, vibes, sleep
Oh fucking hell, cheer up.
Not much to say. Never been into this type of music and this didn't change my mind.
Atrocious. No point or component of this album gave me any joy. The ceaseless, whining affect. Vocals totally devoid of melody, barking depressive word-salad in that tedious, nasally drone. Uninspired drums & bass plodding along with the bare minimum as if the guys were held at gunpoint. Guitar washed in disgusting spacey distortion with and even more whiny sound than the vocals. God everything about it just repulses me. They think of one riff, embellish it none, and then just hammer away at it for minutes on end. With how low energy and repetitive it is, you could almost call it drone music but the singer's angsty bullshit refuses to stop being present enough to do that. "Oh but it's about the mood! It's gloomy dull and annoying because they felt so bad at the time" ok well fuck that mood then. Get therapy. If this art is what they needed to cope with bad times, that is perfectly valid. You need what you need. That doesn't make it worth sharing to the public. Worst part is I can clearly hear how this band's sound went on to influence goth rock for years to come. That's a shame, I wish it hadn't. Horrid music. Highlights: the wobbly guitar riff on 100 years. Lowlights: everything.
The singing voice didnt do it for me at all and I couldnt wait to get it over with
"Mooooom! The weird goth kid is beating the shit out of his casio again!" "His name is Robert dear and you'll feel really sorry for bullying him in 20 years when Brandon Flowers steals his vocal cords and you're humming Mr. Brightside." 2/5
This is awesome
Listened Before? N It's incredible to me that these guys have been around so long and making music that is consistently quality, and in some cases influential for the entire time. We all get older, the Cure is timeless. I've never heard this album before, but they're so consistent this could have been released in 1992 or 2002 instead of 1982. I enjoyed it! Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: A Strange Day
Usually a fan of The Cure, but I was not familiar with any of these songs.
I like The Cure.
The album that defined a genre. A solid album that just doesn't connect well with me.
Hadn't listened to this in years. As dense as I remember but really enjoyed it.
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.
Classique PREFS: TOUT MOINS PREF: RIEN
I need a cure for how mid these albums are
tracks are a little long for what they offer. instrumentation was deliciously sparse on some songs. good stuff, not sure I'll be coming back to this particular album, though.
I enjoyed the dark, moody, and immersive sound, so this to me is a record that's better listened to in it's entirety during a single sitting. I don't know if some songs stand strong on their own, a couple tracks only get pulled up by the standouts surrounding them - like A Strange Day and Cold. As a very casual, singles-only listener of The Cure, I can't help but think that they have material that's much better than this. Still giving it four stars though, if only for that atmosphere it provides.
Dull.
Did not enjoy this really, it washed over me with a pretty heavy tinge of melancholy. Musically not particularly exciting, lyrically pretty miserable. There are better miserable albums out there, can't imagine myself ever revisiting this. 2/5.
This album is an interesting one because I don't really have many problems with it, and I found myself moderately enjoying it. But it also doesn't really move me much either. Favorite track: A Strange Day
As far as Cure music goes, this didn’t really resonate with me.
Cool music, very evil sounding :)
long moody tunes with haunting guitars and violent drumming. The final track, pornography, is the highlight of this album as it slaps. I just wished all the other songs on this album reached that level of excitement and unease.
Robert Smith is probably about the peak of this kind of youth-angst ethos with the high-melodrama vocal delivery. This era of the Cure is a little too relentlessly woe-is-me for my tastes. Fair enough for early twenties I guess, but I prefer the later stuff where it gets leavened by a little lightness and pop.
I don't know, but it seems like I can't get into post punk stuff. The vibe does not match with me and it also lacks interesting melodies.
5 stars for the atmosphere, minus 2 for everything else.
Enjoyed the atmosphere, but the songs didn't really stand out from one another.
3/5 Best song: Siamese Twins
4/5 The hanging garden ist ein banger
Dank , dreary and depressing. A solo exploration of what it was like to be of an age where the crushing realisation of responsibility was approaching. Not my thing but appreciated the fragile beauty of the melodies.
Meh.
I don’t think that there’s another album that I was so sure that was going to be on this list that I had never heard before. “Like Lou Reed’s Berlin and David Bowie’s Low, it’s an album that requires a few years of music history to pass in order to be appreciated.” That’s mighty high praise. Seems accurate.
What a testament to the absurd quality and depth of The Cure's discography that not a single of my Top 10 Cure tracks are on this record. Despite it being one of their strongest. The songs are grandiose, Smiths vocals desperate, and the lyrics gloomy as ever.
There are few singers out there capable of conveying despair and helplessness in the same way as Robert Smith. And rarely is he more present than on this record. And oh my, does his guitar sound absolutely amazing as always? If you’re used to only listening to The Cure’s more uptempo and (used with quite a bit of restraint) “joyful” later material, Pornography is extremely bleak - as perfectly illustrated by the brutally sparse “Siamese Twins”. This is by no means their most accessible or easy album; but I think that actually makes it that much greater.
I really enjoy The Cure when they are new wavy and poppy but I especially love them when they are dark, psychedelic and a little scary.
Misery loves company, hair spray and lipstick. It must have taken a lot of effort to be this miserable. Best Tracks: One Hundred Years; Siamese Twins; A Strange Day
The Muse sound. But not the best of them. Meh...
I really liked The Hanging Garden. The album was interesting, but didn't leave a strong impression
7/10
好听
Oh man, I love this album. It’s been too long.
First thought: early Cure - yes, I must listen to this! Turns out, it's not so early (4th album), and it's the first album so far for which I have skipped though the tracks without listening to at least one entire track on the first run through. Now that's partly a matter of time - rather behind on work today - but it also reflects my reaction to the music. I suppose it's on the list because it's influential on Gothic music, but it's not something I want to listen to. "The Figurehead" was OK, I guess, if I was ever in the mood for existential angst I might listen to it again. Update: listened again, “need to hear it loud” I was told (and maybe don’t fret about exact lyrics, just pick up the feel). Worked better that way, in the background while cooking and talking. Still not really doing anything for me.
For me, The Cure were a great singles band, but the only albums of theirs I’ve ever been able to listen to are the hits compilations and a live album I own. I checked the hits cds I own, Standing On A Beach : The Singles & The Cure : Greatest Hits, and nothing from Pornography appears on either. This doesn’t surprise me, because I can’t hear any toe-tappers here. I find it just a little boring, except for The Hanging Garden, which was the only single release off this album.
Pounding (yet distant) drums, chorused bass, slathered in reverb, this album is the blueprint for proper 80s goth. The last in the Cure’s trilogy of gloom-rock, this is the album where Robert Smith leans most heavily into his depression to create what is probably the ur-text of miserabilism. Ironically, having got it out of his system, he starts producing more pop-like and up-tempo material, albeit with a dark edge and morbid sense of humour, leaving a flock of pale and black-clad imitators in his wake. Not a lot of humour on this one though, it is bleak, bleak, bleak. Which can make is a dreary listen if you ain’t in the mood, but relatable if you are. This is, to my mind, the album that comes close to the true sound of depression. It never builds up too much energy, although it starts as foreboding and builds into overwhelming angst. Noisy, insistent, and anxious, it a smoothed out with a sheen of synth washes and digital reverb to be both spacious and claustrophobic. I used to listen to this a lot when I was 20, but haven’t spun it in a long, long time, probably because I choose not to wallow in depression if I can help it, and this album invokes those feelings all too effectively.
Not my cup of tea. A little ethereal at times which was cool, but overall just boring.
Smith doubling down on the Joy Division legacy. I hear so many parallels. There are about three great songs on this and the rest is a slog. Not my favourite Cure record by a long stretch, but it's not actually bad. Just hard work. 3.5 rounded up I guess.
Simply one of the best albums by one of the best bands.
Cure being the Cure. Not my favorite I've heard from them, but still, nothing quite scratches that gloom-and-doomy itch like them.
The Cure decided \"we make long dreary songs, so let's only put on a few to be less cumbersome\" and, frankly it worked.
Oh boy, it's gonna be one of those kinds of days... I love The Cure but I haven't spent a lot of time with this whole album. To prepare I decided to start with "Charlotte Sometimes" since that was the single that preceded the album but didn't make it on. Great track, you can feel the angst and sorrow emanating from it. Excited to dive in... UPDATE: This was a truly phenomenal record! I think I'm going to go right through a second time. The way the final track unravels, you could call THIS album "Disintegration." Everything is just so dark yet vibrant, very much a haunted record. The beat for One Hundred Years is subtle yet oppressive; it really drags you right into the uneasiness of the guitars and lyrics. UPDATE 2: I listened to this album three times today. Love it! Definitely my favorite The Cure record.
Just not in the mood for it I guess
I actually didn't hate this. The title track was... different, but not necessarily in a bad way. And even though I was bracing myself for a lot of experimental white noise on the subsequent tracks, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of actually jammable beats.
I might be becoming a Cure fan. Time to buy some black lipstick.
No significant comment.
Pure ecstasy. Not a dull moment here, this album paints a very bleak picture throughout. Probably my favourite Cure album, or close against Disintegration. Favourite Tracks: All Overall Grade: 5/5
The vocals really grate on me. Instrumental parts are serviceable but not very interesting. It has a solid base not reflected in the score; it wouldn't take many tweaks to bring this up to a 4. So far I haven't rated anything below a 3. However, this was making my rating scale really inconsistent. I'd go "X is better than Y, and I gave Y a 3, so I guess I need to give X a 4". But then I also had given Z a 3 earlier, and Z was at least as good as X! So 3-4 didn't really mean anything. To fix this, I'm re-calibrating my rating scale, rating "meh"/average stuff at 2 instead of 3, which is where this album ends up. That doesn't make it worse than other stuff I've listened to so far.
Best Cure album
Good 8/10
I can understand why this album is lauded, but ultimately I find this very boring. Like, I'm sure it was innovative and fascinating back in the day, and perhaps it is my limited attention span for longer, less frenetic pieces, but this just didn't hit for me. Long and slow, apathetic sadness is portrayed well, but like a lot of pieces, it just doesn't resonate. One of those pieces where I think "this is good, not my thing."
Umm whatever guys
The original emo rock group. Hadn’t heard any of these tracks! Awesome!
Did not like
Not for me.
Cannot touch me, seems not my style.
des belles compositions dark, mais robert smith c'est une voix qui me fatigue un peu
Ten stars for a masterpiece.
Vocally uninspiring and repetitive. Not a single song spoke to me.
Dark.
5*. Just what this lost needed
I like it but not something I'll actively seek out again
Not it for me
Moody, dark. Rhythmic drumming that you feel in your body. Easy to listen to, I like this one.
Oh, so you think YOU'RE depressed? You've got nothing on this.
Haven't actually listened to much from The Cure, but I had an idea how they would sound. Better than I was expecting and found it was a fine listen. Pretty much the standard for "goth rock" and they have a very dated 80's sound.
Some pretty cool songs, some pretty boring ones. The dark goth aesthetic is pretty cool, it’s probably their darkest album Favorite songs were The Figurehead and Cold
Decent stuff
Very dark and atmospheric, nothing like what you would expect from the more mainstream, pop like songs that the cure later released. That being said this is still probably my favourite Cure album and definitely deserves its place
It was fine. I thought I’d like it more than I actually did. Somewhat repetitive. Maybe I should try giving it another listen.
Really solid album. Probably won’t listen again but I enjoyed it a lot.
Love
I’m a ‘best of’ listener of the cure and none of these made that album. Not quite sure why this album made it when they’ve done so much better.
LP
Depressing, dark, evil, with the obligatory song about animals having sex. Yup, this is classic gothic rock. Honestly, it's kind of incredible how something so off-putting and dark can be made actually listenable and enjoyable. (At least for certain people. I definitely don't blame anyone who dislikes this sort of sound)
Not my favourite the cure album but not bad.
ikkje min favoritt cure-album, men fortsatt bra
Jo meir trist Smithern e, jo meir glad blir eg
Tears for Fears sounding, British Goth Punk, dread and angst mixed into it. Drolling sounding voice, much to the expected sound of the genre. Nothing outstanding, but make their mark on the genre for sure.
Dark and slaps
Slaps. Always down for The Cure
Distinctly The Cure sound. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood but I didn’t enjoy it. 2*
Like the previous Cure album. I quite like the effect and the aura but I couldn't pick out a single song... weird.
One of The Cure's best. Great record!
Nope! If only they had a different singer.
Less interesting than Seventeen Seconds. Kinda a chore to get through, but good to hear once. (Prior rate)
Great album.
Interesting, and I'd never listened to The Cure beyond the radio, but not. something I'll listen to every day.
Eine The Cure-Platte ist eine The Cure-Platte ist eine The Cure-Platte. Hat mich jetzt nicht besonders geärgert, ist einfach nur langweilig.
Eh - its okay. Not for me at this time
A somewhat boring album in my opinion. Felt like the style for the band was pretty consistent and somewhat dark as are most punk rock bands. The songs felt like they blended together and nothing really stood out. Don’t think I’d listen again. 4.8/10
Malísimo, raro, repetitivo
Very edgy very cool
2/5 not something much
Absolutely stunning and timeless album for being released so early into the 80s. The miracle of this LP is how it defines some of the musical tropes of the decade (see espec. the Cure's trademark chorus-based guitar tones) without making itself a relic of the time – one or two instrumental aspects of each song will date the track to the 80s, but once the full mix prevails that quickly becomes forgotten. Couple this with stunningly dark melodic compositions and proto-gaze wall-of-sound production and you have an album that is both a product of its time and yet timeless in itself. My only complaint here would be that runtimes could be a bit tighter, as each track could cut about a minute to heighten impact, but overall this still stands miles above other LPs of its time.
I was living in the UK in 1982 and dark, synthy, goth sound of The Cure was the antidote to the brit pop hits of Dexy's Midnight Runners , Human League and Bucks Fizz we all needed. Sure, you probably had to be in a dark room, sprawled on a sofa with some neon sign blinking just outside your windows, to fully appreciate it but hey all hail Robert Smith
Bleak. Dark. Depressing. Brilliant
I have to say, I enjoyed the Cures beat/rhythm...but I can't really take the vocals!
Decent. I think I prefer less of the cure though. They've created brilliant music, but one can be overwhelmed.
A bit unremarkable
Pounding (yet distant) drums, chorused bass, slathered in reverb, this album is the blueprint for proper 80s goth. The last in the Cure’s trilogy of gloom-rock, this is the album where Robert Smith leans most heavily into his depression, to create what is probably the ur-text of miserabilism. Ironically, having got it out of his system, he starts producing more pop-like and up-tempo material, albeit with a dark edge and morbid sense of humour, leaving a flock of pale imitators in his wake. Not a lot of humour on this one though, it is bleak, bleak, bleak. Which can make is a dreary listen if you ain’t in the mood, but relatable if you are. This is, to my mind, the album that comes close to the true sound of depression. It never builds up too much energy, although it starts as foreboding and builds into overwhelming angst. Noisy, insistent, and anxious, it a smoothed out with a sheen of synth washes and digital reverb to be both spacious and claustrophobic. I used to listen to this a lot when I was 20, but haven’t spun it in a long long time, probably because I choose not to wallow in depression if I can help it, and this album invokes those feelings all too effectively.
J’ai trouvé ça long un peu. Il y a plein de bons trucs par contre. Beaucoup d’exploration au niveau des sonorités. Les compositions sont plutôt linéaires. Il faut aimer ça quand les chansons n’ont pas de grands contrastes.
J’ai découvert tard The Cure et j’aime de plus en plus. Les textures sonores sont superbes. Les effets sur la voix dans A Short Term Effect sont intéressants. La sonorité et la place laissée à la basse aussi est vraiment cool. J’aime le côté dark sur la pièce Cold créé par la prise de son du drum et la synthbass. Pas le plus accessible des albums, mais peut-être le plus dark. C’est authentique et original pour l’époque. J’aime bien.
Listened. But I cannot recall a single sung melody that didn't just sound like a kid throwing a tantrum and whining "moooooooom... oh pleeeeease moooooooom...". And this from a fan of The Cure's poppier tunes. Just. Such. A. Whiny. Bastard.
Spooky as always
The Cure is always good but I'm starting to think they're rarely great. 4 albums and counting on this list! Wild.
Legal
Neh
It's possible I might enjoy the rudimentary New Orderliness of their rhythms, but there's no chance of that while they're so insistent on this pathetic forced despair. I've rarely taken against a vocalist so quickly.
Now I get why The Cure is considered one of the most important post-punk bands on par with Joy Division
Sometimes this is my favorite Cure album. It’s also the first album I remember playing drums along to as a kid.
Bit hard to access on first listen. Might try again...
It's okay, not a huge fan of the Cure anyway, but struggled to find much to come back to.
Try Disintegration, it is better!
Certianly an album I'd like to spend more time with. One Hundred Years certainly sets the scene and the whole album comes together nicely.
not for me I guess
Dark, gloomy, eerie, scary. This album has to be my definition and picture of the whole Goth scene of the 80's. This is The Cure's fourth studio album and apparently found them not in good shape (drug use, depression (suicidal thoughts), fighting, member leaving). I guess you know where you're headed when the first lyric on the album is "it doesn't matter if we all die." This album did not get great reviews when it came out but in retrospect, has been recognized much more favorable and as one of their best. I admit to not listening to this album until the 1990's when The Cure were well established. To me, they went darker and more gloomy than what Joy Division did on "Closer" and eventually fine-tuned this atmosphere along with their in-between pop sounding experience and songs to make 1989's "Disintergration." Every song is dark and creates its intended atmosphere. "The Hanging Graden", the only single off the album, has a tumbling bass and drumbeat and kind of a searing guitar and is a song they have trouble playing live since they can't re-create the sound. "Siamese Twins" is maybe the best song example of the album's mood and is one of the best uses of a song in any TV show for an episode of "The Americans." "A Strange Day" is the most pop-oriented song on the album with great layered-guitars. Don't know why this wasn't the single? I appeciate this album with each additional listen especially considering where the band went in the future. Without that reference, I'm not sure how I would have interpreted this.
When I was young in the 1980s, I always disliked The Cure due to the pathetic looks of Smith and most of all because my elder sister was a fan. Boy, I was wrong. What great music this is! (and maybe wrong about his looks at the time too)
Ehhh it's fine. Really middle of the road stuff. Don't really remember much about it.
The influence of Joy Division is strong here. This album is a look at the Cure before they embraced a more upbeat New Wave style. Pornography is driving, dense, and foreboding. Robert Smiths languid delivery and depressing lyrics add to the oppressive mood of this album. The musicianship is subdued but almost like a wall of droning looping sounds.
Muito bom.
Tosi solid albumikokonaisuus. Bändille ominainen soundi kantaa koko julkaisun läpi. The Hanging Garden on vitun upee styge. Vaatis ehkä jonku kunnon goottivaiheen että rakastuisin Cureen täysillä vielä enemmän. 4/5
Uh saattaa olla kakkossuosikki Curen levyistä Faithin jälkeen. Tunnelma on vaan upea.
Eh en ollut kovinkaan vakuuttunut. Hirveän tuskaista mutta vähän tylsää. 2/5.
Great album but not exactly one to take you to your happy place. Unless, of course, your happy place involves chronic depression and a debilitating drug habit.
Does not work as pornography.
gateway dirge
Not my style of musiz
J’aime vraiment de plus en plus The Cure. Un peu répétitif par moment, mais les sonorités et les ambiances sont vraiment intéressantes. C’est drôle que le début de Siamese Twins ait été réutilisé sur Pictures of You sur Desintegration. J’ai l’impression aussi que le riff a été réutilisé sur un autre album plus tard pour être développé autrement, mais je ne trouve pas où ce matin.
Kind of a disappointing album and pretty dark. I guess I wanted something "poppier". 4/10.
Meh, not bad, not amazing, didn't notice much
awesome
Pretty good. Not compelling, but I'm not really a Cure guy.
The epitome of gothic rock. It's full of anxiety and dread, with creepy and romantic lyrics, Robert Smith's yearning voice filled with desperation and chaos, and a wall of stressful noise that overwhelms you. Excellent synths and use of feedback and sustains, creating a haunting atmosphere that seems to drag on for eternity. Huge Joy Division vibes. It's fast paced and full of engaging sounds; you can dance to many of these tracks. Tracks are the perfect length for their theme, being slightly longer than your average pop tracks. Yet there's only 8 tracks, and they're all strong entries. The more accessible tracks are in the first half, but it only takes a few listens to appreciate the genius behind them all. "Cold" is probably the darkest song I've ever heard... that drumming is so hollow, and with the ice imagery, it sounds like they're playing in a fantasy-esque dark ice castle. I can't be the only one who finds the abruptness of the closer really unsettling.
The last truly great Cure album? Possibly.
I’m supposed to love it. I didn’t.
This is some dark stuff
I love the Cure. I had the chance to see them at B'ham Uni in 1980 and didn't take it, and have regretted it ever since.
Siamese twins and the caterpillar were highlights.
Absolute 5. For a long time my fave album by The Cure. It's too dark for me to enjoy any more.
Some standard Cure, Rob is in good voice.
really enjoyed it. the instrumentals are great.
"Sing out loud We all die Laughing into the fire"
Yooo
HarD
Grr… mom brought me the wrong dip sauce for my chicken nuggies… she just doesn’t GET me… goth 4 life
Zornography
A classic!
Meh
As the darkness fell across the land so began his descent into the deep well of desolation. His love that once had been the shining beacon for his life has become the crimson eye of despair. Yeah, go to Whitby, listen to some cure and write some gothy shit. Only saw about 10 goths while I was in goth central, half of them were Japanese so could just have been baby metal fans and one of the goths I saw was mooching round in a pair of knee high boots and a pair of Kecks that left half her arse hanging out. Quite the juxtaposition with the scent of fish and chips and the penny slot casinos.
I just cannot stop wanking to this. Fuck me, my dick hurts. Somebody stop me. Don't stop me. I need this to feel alive.
If this is the cure, what was the disease?
Batman walks into a bar with a pig... It was a hot summers day and the barman thinks it's a strange sight, not to just see Batman, but to see him with a pig that has jet black hair, black eye shadow and studded bracelets. The barman says "Is there anything I can get you Batman?" He replies "Just-ice for goth-ham"
There are some Cure songs I like, but couldn't get into this album.
Bleak. Brilliant. One of the best opening tracks of any album ever.
I wanted to rate this higher, there were great moments on this album, but it just didn't come together for me as a whole.
Opener sets the tone, with just wicked, haunting guitars and drums so distant in the mix, like they were recorded down the hall in another room. A little less droning, a bit more melodic and touch more energetic than Seventeen Seconds. Still brooding but not as comprehensive a gloomfest. Is this record to emo what Gregorian Chant is to contemporary classical music? 3.65 but a reluctant 4 due to lack of hits and because their best work was still ahead.
Kolejny Curowy pick na liscie, tym razem legendarna pornografia z 82, ktora jest czwartym studyjnym krazkiem bandy, nagrwany w ekskluzywnym skladzie trzech czlonkow pana Smith, czyli wokali i gitary, Gallupa na basie oraz Lola Tolhursta jako drumera, dodatkowo kazdy z nich jest zcreditowany na klawiszach, ktorych sie troche przewija na plycie, klawisze o odcieniu dosc synthowym, ale podane w curowym stylu, wiec ciezko, mrocznie i gotikowo, bo chyba na tym albumie najbardziej uchwycili te atmosfere rozpaczy i doomerskiej milosci, bo liryka jest tak luzna, ze interpretowac mozna ja jak czlowiekowi pasuje, ale najczestszym skojarzeniem jest rozpacz milosna, co jeszcze mocno rzuca sie w uszy sluchajac plyty to robota jaka odwalil pan Lolo z swoimi drumami, ktore stanowia kanwe dla reszty zespolu, od stukania trumnowego z otwierajacego one hundred years po bizzarne rytmy z strange days bedzie to najbardziej zapadajacy w pamiec element tego odsluchu, bo mimo ze gra on tak rowno nie nudzi sie przez cale 43 minut trwania krazka, nie sadzilem rowniez ze az tak roznic beda sie ich kolejne picki listowe, a tu jeszcze nie ma okresu najbardziej mainstreamowych albumow, gdzie juz synthowe brzmienia poszly calkowicie po kablach, pornografia jest chyba najbardziej rokowym, ale nadal gotikowym albumem jaki do tej pory od nich slyszalem, nie jest az tak przepelniony kontentem jak disintegration, nie jest rowniez tak nowo falowy jak seventeen seconds, zmiana priorytetow w instruemntalu jest zdecydowanie na plus, chociaz lirycznie jakos nigdzie nie zaskoczyl czy urzekl jak na poprzednich pickach, gdzie wlasnie tekstem niektore piosenki sie bronily, wiec album ma swoje plusy dodatnie i plusy ujemnie, w ogolnym rozrachunku kolejny solidny kawalek muzyki od the cure, na plejke dodam openingowego one hundred years i zamykajacy utwor tytulowy, wiec pornografie, ktora w ciekawy sposob wykorzystuje samplowanie dialogow w polaczeniu z Lolkowym drumowaniem do zbudowania jednego z najlepszych wprowadzen jakie ostatnio slyszalem, ktore trwa prawie polowe utworu, bo dopiero po trzech minutach pojawiaja sie wokale, wiec jeden z tych epickich openingow tworzacych caly trak
Eh, this isn't my favorite cure album, it was only ok, kinda surprised it's on this list
Interesting that this is the cure album chosen for the list, I don't like it particularly (And I love the Cure and Robert Smith) but this finds them at a difficult time, haunted by drug use and depression and this comes out in the tracks of this album. I find it depressing in itself, and can't really see why it is here. Sorry |"Lovecats!" it is a no from me.
Dark. Gloomy. Synthy. Really good. 8-9/10
Still not sure about The Cure, some songs from the first album of theirs I listened to I saved, none since then.
Another classic band/album that I have already experienced enough to know they're not really my thing. I wasn't proven wrong.
Production = Great
I like the Cure. Never heard this one though. None of the songs really stood out to me. I am sure it takes time to get, so I'll definitely give it more listens. For now though it is a 2/5.
Edgy. Kinda like the wall but with less variety and strength
Booooooo
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.
Enjoyable
good shit plata hlustaði ogeðslega mikið a hana 5 stjörnur
Introductions to The Cure are mostly their brighter and more jovial offerings. "Pornography" however is a bit dark and moody with a seriousness throughout. In a way, one almost wonders if this was The Cure at all as nearly all subsequent releases were brighter, more in-line with the decade trends. With that in mind, this album is incredible albeit the subject matter indicating a certain depth that should be uncomfortable. Misery loves company, and misery may in fact love this album.