Pornography

What a marvellous manic maelstrom of an album. It’s raw, it’s dark, it’s doom music without the heavy metal. Like a cut that hurts to itch but you can’t resist it. A slightly different mode to what I am used to from The Cure but it’s great, if at times difficult.

Usual haunting anxiety I have come to expect from them.  The shrill of the high pitch guitar or the pained drone of the vocals. Even the smack of the drum is sharper than the average and fuels the non-repenting theme of descending into darkness.  I just love the grating reverb they have and the lingering nature of most of the sound. The unrelenting dark I guess is a minor downside as the pace and flavor of the music never really changes so not as varied as some albums of this kind potentially.  Still enjoy it alot!

I really enjoyed this early Cure record. It has all the elements of the Cure that made their later records great, but perhaps in a more naïve, less refined state. It has that 80's beat with the swirling mushy guitars that make you feel like you are floating in a sensory deprivation chamber having a heroine flashback. Robert Smith has such a unique voice that treads the line of wingey teenager without going so far as to be annoying. Early album I'd not listened too before from a great band.

I think I love the Cure in small doses, but this one, as an album isn't mature enough in its sound. Its very them, ans that's great but it is also quite one note abd that does get a bit tiring with time

Punk music for chicks. And gay dudes. A whole lot of suck here.

I was really pretty impressed with this album, I think of all The Cure albums that I've had to listen to for this project (and the one I did on my own), this is definitely my favorite. It's got the same atmospheric stuff that they did on Seventeen Seconds, but it's just done at like such an elevated level here. It's really just a masterclass in goth rock, I was really impressed. Favorites: One Hundred Years, Siamese Twins, Pornography

1/5 I hated it… the song had no interesting melodies and consisted of an annoying whiney depressed British man who clearly needs help. The drum patterns all sounded similar and didn’t change throughout the song. They also got very annoying to me. The chord progressions or bass lines were never all that interesting and there was always a moody synth. Seriously, what is the appeal of this album? One Hundred Years 2.25/5: song has an interesting dark mood, very repetitive I wish the song went somewhere else A Short Term Effect 2.5/5 : interesting eerie sounds again but pretty boring, the vocal delay effect was interesting. I find this singing annoying. The drums beat gets old. The tempo shift was cool. The Hanging Garden 1.5/5 : cool drum pattern and into, but god I hate the singing. Once again, the song doesn’t develop and gets very boring fast. Siamese Twins 0.5/5: incredibly boring bass line and drum. I didn’t think the album would get worse but it did. Depressing lyrics again, what a surprise. Ughhhhhhhh. The song ends with “is it always like this”. That’s how I feel about the album. Is it always repetitive, whiny, and boring like this in the album. The Figurehead 1/5 : more of the same boring shit. I genuinely don’t understand how people enjoy this music. I guess if you are depressed. The instrumental part where the guitars change up a bit is the only reason I like this song more than the previous A Strange Day 0.8/1: the synths to start the song were cool and the same boring familiar formula starts again, a repeating drum loop and some minor chords with a moody synth and an annoying whiney British dude talking about how he’s sad Cold 1.5/5: I liked the cello sounding instrument, finally something sounds a bit different. But this is really pissing me off this is considered a top 1000 album. None of these songs have any sort of development. Pornography 1.25/5 : glad to be done with the album almost… interesting buildup at the beginning of the song with all those voices in the background. But wait this is the whole song and it develops into nothing.

It's fine good Cure. I prefer later Cure offerings though

Like the he cure but not this album

Big Cure fan. Will admit this isn’t their best.

I prefer their other works

100 yrs - cool sort of foreboding sound in the guitar and synths, vocals are rough for me, great ending Short term - great intro and instruments throughout, feels like an acid trip in a way Hanging Garden - vocals are growing on me, very awesome chugging feeling with the drums and bass, super cool how the vocals glide through it Siamese twins - feels like a ghost movie? Figurehead - Calls back with a similar feeling as the first two songs, great middle ground. Strange day - can you tell this album was made in the 80's? Great chord progression, percussion and cool ending effect. Cold - holy shit that beginning. This is what I imagine entering a dungeon in a castle would feel like, grim, dark, chords with that driving bass note. New favorite, hard to beat Pornography - continued the foreboding sound from the rest of the album, with the ending line being something like "I need a treatment for this sickness" its kind of cool implications with the band name

A solid early record by Robert and the lads. It’s pain and suffering and lashing out and misery, and Smith screaming out his feelings. Kind of a warmup for their later, sharper albums; there aren’t really any memorable standout tracks, more of the Cure working out their sound. But it’s the Cure, so it’s never bad.

It’s a gothic drug-induced fever dream of doom. It’s also an incredible record.

Quality.

Meh prefiero disintegration

Vuige opzwepende rock muziek. Op eerste geluid niet helemaal mijn ding, maar na 3 luisterbeurten toch wel lekker. Duister. Album begint heel sterk

Whilst hearing some of The Cure’s songs, i have never listened to a full album and i really enjoyed this one.

Yeah, this is fine

The Cure have produced some really good songs across their career, unfortunately none are present here. It all just sounds like pointless noise. The songs dont go anywhere Robert aSmith may as well just be crying in despair. The doom ridden synth of Cold at least offered something slightly different, but ultimately still doesn't develop and eventually Smith arrived to mumble sing his despair. Pornography sees Smith moved lower in the mix and makes drums the main player…..doesn’t help.

I like The Cure. I really do. I just didn’t really like this. It was too long, and was that sort of moody 80s music that I’m not a big fan of.

I gave the last Cure album 3/5 and that one had bonafide hits on it. This one, unsurprisingly, was not as good, particularly the last song which was shit. I like Robert Smith's voice quite a lot, but I'm just not a fan of the actual music most of the time. Post punk/new wave really hasn't been my thing so far during this 1001 album project... and this hasn't changed that. It's really a 1.5 but it's getting a: 1/5

Nice, dark pop. Just what I wanted from this album.

Knowing the story behind this album, it definitely makes it more interesting (and it being a big pillar in the gothic genre) I don't think I can say I liked it, I think it s just not for me, I can appreciate the effort that went into it and the commitment but I don't see myself listening to this album anytime soon I will say I had an interesting experience with this album, I was able to fall asleep on the bus but the music kept playing. I had this ongoing sense of fight off something evel. I was trying to keep something bad from escaping my body or mind. There was an other person telling me to be strong. A strange experience to say the least. I'm putting 2 stars not because I think it s bad but because I just couldn't listen to it

Oof well this one was fucking heavy. A lot of the reviews when this came out were truly odious. The dense soundscape here with the lyrics providing less literal meaning and more texture to the vibe the songs are going for works really well. It's not a perfect album by any means, I really can't argue with people calling it repetitive. The sheer misanthropy and edge can be too much for me at times. Enjoyed isn't the word but... I was certainly engrossed throughout this album. I found it pretty compelling and form that it gets a 4.

Las canciones me gustaron mucho, es relajante y hasta algo melancólico?? :0

depression erotic incel energy

One Hundred Years The Hanging Garden A Strange Day Cold

Curiously missing from my Cure knowledge. I didn't note any breakouts but it was The Cure and it was lovely and melancholic and atmospheric all the same.

Amazing album. Very layered and atmospheric, with Robert Smith offering up some haunting lyrics. I genuinely cannot believe this was getting 1 star reviews back on its release

Other than the distinctive voice of Robert Smith you’d hardly recognise this as The Cure. Incredible drumming!

As with Disintegration this is predictably what I expected from another album from The Cure.

The Platonic example of Gothic rock. Slow, minor-key songs drenched in chorus effects, with Robert Smith droning angsty lyrics that belong in a Vampire: The Masquerade character's backstory. It's not bad, mind you; it's a perfect example of what it sets out to be. But it's not a style that interests me.

Woof. I really liked Disintegration when I had that one, so I was looking forward to another Cure album, but I did not enjoy this one. It's a lot noisier & grungier (I know, grunge wasn't a thing yet).

me gusta, no es algo que escucharia en mi dia a dia, pero me gusta, tiene un tono sombrio y un poco aterrador que se siente raro pero no de una forma negativa

Not my favorite cure but still great

This album could be on any time and I wouldn't mind. It also starts to fade in to the background after a few tracks.

Not my fav electronica sounds like 1 hour of crying a couple of songs stand out though

Dark and foreboding. I had to give it a second listen to do it justice. Good, but it isn't going to feature on my playlist.

Like not the worst by them but still not my thing. I just don’t think they write interesting songs

And unfortunately the cure flops again. The ambiance was better than normal for this band, but the songs are weak as hell.

So I just realized that, in the two other lists I've done, I rated Pornography 4 stars the first time I listened to it in Sept 2025, and 2 stars the second time I listened to it in January 2026. The first time was just after listening to In Rainbows which I just don't like (sorry), and I said this kicks ass. The second time was after hearing Maggot Brain which I gave 5 stars. I'm ashamed and fascinated. But perhaps a lesson in framing? Also I was much less happy in September than I was in January so chew on that. In any case I'm not listening to this for a third time in a year and I shall split the difference.

I don't come back to this album as much as some of the others, but it's still great. "Cold" stands out for me. I wish I had been listening to this when it came out, but I wasn't cool enough.

This is a gloomy listen, and it sounds like the making of it was fraught to say the least. I missed this one during my peak Cure-listening years, so I appreciated the history lesson, even if it's not something I'd put on for funsies.

I don’t know if it’s because I had this playing whilst I did my shopping, but this album didn’t particularly stand out to me. It kind of faded into the background, only occasionally drawing my attention. I think it was The Hanging Garden which was the most interesting to me. None of it was bad! But nothing really stood out as amazing either.

I loved this. This is the best The Cure album I have heard. I enjoyed this even more the Disintegration which I also liked. This is so moody, atmospheric and beautiful. The last three songs are outstanding and the first song on the album grabs you immediately. Can’t get enough of this one at the moment.

Definitivamente hay algo ahí, y hay que descubrir qué. Nota: 4.0

I do not care for their sound. Especially the drums. The whole vibe grates on me.. sorry not sorry

This is not my favourite work by the cure. But it’s so moody and goth-y and certainly stands out.

Oppressive!!!

3/5

It's solid. I thought The Hanging Garden was the best song here, but to be totally honest I had trouble telling when one song ended and another began because they mostly all sounded the exact same. Not bad, but not really anything I was super into or made me feel strongly.

Here are the sad, weird boys I thought I would hear when I listened to the other Cure albums on this list. Stuff about 'worms on my skin' and 'your name like ice in my heart' or some such nonsense. I prefer other Cure albums to this.

Some good ones

yes i’ve listened before i luv the cure

Early Cure surely has its allure but you’re gonna infer i prefer the later stuff!

Lowkey stifling.

I knew I would like it because my dad likes it and yes indeed, I liked it. It didn't blow my mind, but it's definitely a good album, I never got bored either.

hmmm

On Pornography, The Cure retreat fully into the shadows, emerging with an album so drenched in early-Eighties studio murk that you can practically see the dry ice pouring out of the speakers. Processed drums thud like distant artillery, guitars shimmer in endless echo, and keyboards hover over everything like storm clouds threatening never to break. Robert Smith spends much of the record sounding less like a singer than a man broadcasting from the bottom of a well — all frantic howls, muttered dread and theatrical despair. The atmosphere is undeniably committed, and there are moments where the band’s bleak vision locks into place with hypnotic force, but the album’s towering reputation can feel a little oversized compared to what’s actually here. When it works, though, Pornography is fascinating in its own frostbitten way. “The Hanging Garden” stomps forward on tribal drums and a nervy keyboard figure that gives the song real momentum, while “Siamese Twins” twists itself around an off-kilter rhythm that feels genuinely unsettling. “The Figurehead” finds the group at its strongest, anchored by a brooding bassline that cuts through the fog and gives the song a pulse beneath all the gloom. Elsewhere, the band leans hard into gothic excess: “Cold” practically defines the term “goth af,” all frozen synths and emotional paralysis, and the title track closes the album with ominous samples, pounding percussion and industrial-noise textures that seem to predict an entire genre waiting around the corner. The Cure deserve credit for going all-in on their nightmare aesthetic — even if the nightmare occasionally feels repetitive by the time the lights come up.

Edgy af

meh

Very brooding. Very depressing. Not a bad album, but one that makes me glad that The Cure became a bit more upbeat over time.

Still chilling, thrilling, and timeless. How can the Cure tow us all into worlds of gloom and despair one moment, and into light, color, and joy the next?

So if Disintegration didn't exist, this would be my favorite Cure album. A perfect mixture of misanthropy, darkness, isolation and pure unadulterated fucking emotion. A manic, terrifying record, one that has been a core part of my life for nearly the last decade. I can't recommend this one enough. Deeply essential if not slightly life-altering in a really ambiguous way.

I really like a few of The Cure's albums but this isn't one of them. A couple good songs, but not standouts. The rest sounded like a parody of the Cure. 2 stars.

The Cure is my favorite band and I've listened to this album many times before. This is my first Cure album to pop up on this, and I think it's appropriate being the first, as it's kind of the last Cure album before they turned to a bit more polished sound and tried to make more commercially appealing music. If you only know The Cure from "Disintegration" and some of their hits, this one will surprise you. The album was made at a time when Robert Smith was extremely depressed and suicidal, the band was big into drugs and drinking, and the band was on the verge of falling apart. All of that comes through on this album. Personally, I love this version of The Cure. While this isn't my favorite Cure album, it's got some really great songs on it that not a lot of people know if they are casual fans. Definitely depressing, but one of the albums that really started the goth music era.

I like The Cure already

Never listened to this album, but The Cure are always good.

I don't know what it says about me that I liked this a bit more than Disintegration. Robert Smith has spoken about how Pornography was made at a time in his life when he was extremely depressed and difficult to work with. from the opening line, "It doesn't matter if we all die," the darkness immediately sets in. it certainly helps that the Cure create such a stirring, reverberant chasm behind Smith's words, chock-full of icy synths and electric guitars covered in layers of effects pedals. you better believe that snare reverb is gated! we're leaving the world of snappy, hooky post-punk further and further behind. other dark, depressing albums often lace the sadness with a dash of levity, whether it be humor or a silver lining; the Cure dispense with any notion of that across all 8 songs here. I think part of my preference for this over Disintegration is the relatively concise way in which it delivers this morose message. Disintegration reaches more for stadium-sized grandiosity and over an hour of runtime, whereas Pornography suffocates you for less than 45 minutes. you get a little extra time to pick yourself up afterwards. decent 8/10.

Great

I have an extensive The Cure playlist, but nome of the songs is from this album.

These guys should stick to making shallow happy music.

liked it but didn’t love it. i think i kind of wasn’t it the right mood for it, will give it another shot in the future. 3.5/5

I've always enjoyed The Cure, and this album is no exception. It's not quite as good as Disintegration when it comes to their Discography, but Pornography does capture Robert Smith and company at their gloomiest, with "A Strange Day" in particular lamenting the end of the world.

Would've scored higher but found the unimaginative drumming grating across a whole album, every track has the same beat throughout with no variation. Drums sound very thin too which makes them stand out more.

It genuinely bugs me that I don't like The Cure. All the parts are there. I like some considerably worse bands that sound a lot like The Cure. The Crow is still one of my favorite movies and I have owned an unhealthy number of World of Darkness books. I still don't like The Cure. This is better than Disintegration, mostly, and I don't think it's even a bad album. It's just not something I enjoy listening to.

Distortions in instrumentals giving me a really bad headache

moody

the goat. no notes.

It feels like a hundred years...a hundred years...a hundred years...since I started the first track of this fucking album.

interesting dark sound going on. unique for sure

1982. Fourth studio album. The sessions saw the band on the brink of collapse, with heavy drug use, band in-fighting, and frontman Robert Smith's depression fueling the album's musical and lyrical content. Following its release, bassist left the band, and the Cure switched to a much brighter and more radio-friendly new wave sound.

echo-y

Listened on 16th June 2025. Favourite song is One Hundred Years. Their other albums are better in my opinion.

Most of the songs sound like the singer's voice is being engulfed by a sea of music. I enjoyed the album very much, but I can't say that I would try to learn all the songs and lyrics in my spare time. Some of the songs made me have to pee.

good

Moody 80s sound

A little too emo/morose for me

43min tuntu pitkältä... viimenen laulu ihan jees

It's as dark and dreary as one might imagine a goth album to be. It's downright depressing at points, but that is the point. It's what Robert Smith was going through. I definitely have to be in a mood to really envelop myself in what this feels like. I don't think I have ever felt this bad ever in my life, so I'll never really "get" it in that regard, but it is a good rainy afternoon album.

I let it run on the background while working I’ll listen to is as an album when I need to focus, it’s good

me gustó mucho pero se me hizo bastante raro en algunas partes

i gave this one a relisten. i’ve always liked the cure, never loved. always found their LPs to be a a bit inconsistent. although when they make a good song they make an amazing song which is why i never wrote them off. this album is considered one of their best, but id disagree. a pretty okay A side and a great B side. there are maybe two songs on here that i would consider great. also i think i prefer the cure when they write pop songs over their goth songs. i just think smith’s songwriting really shines when he’s writing pop music. moodiness and vibes can’t hide boring songs

Top album. Really great experience for bad mood lovers

ну бляоь сомнения присутствуют

'twas good

Best Track - "The Hanging Garden"

There are quite a few people who consider The Cure’s “Pornography” to be the dark masterpiece of the 1980s, a high point in the discography of a great band. And then there are those like me, who have always considered The Cure to be grossly overrated and who couldn’t relate at all to the band’s dark, depressive and sometimes morbid style, even going so far as to regard it as a caricature. Let’s put it this way: “Pornography” is not a Cure album (unlike, for example, its successor “Japanese Whispers” or the later “Disintegration”) that can convert a Cure sceptic like me. All the preconceptions I have about The Cure are confirmed here: a contrived gloomy atmosphere, whiny vocals, depressive lyrics, mindless post-punk with the same old chord progressions and unimaginative arrangements. The album really isn’t for me.

3/5

Another album where all of the songs sound exactly the same to me

I really am liking the guitar on the first song, the vocals are cool, sounds a bit diff from the cure's normal stuff but I still am enjoying this sound.

eh thikai

sure they sound cool but not super interesting idk 2.5

Ein typisches Cure Album 3/5

Album

I get it. It’s dark, brutal, brooding. But also a bit boring. The intentional droning sound makes it sort of drown out at times

Frekar dark og emó, en ég heyrði góða parta þarna.

The whole album, particularly the tracks: One Hundred Years, The Hanging Garden, and The Figurehead feel so ephemeral or transition-esque. One Hundred Years was a really good start. Really felt the gothic vibes in this album.

very gloomy, very dark, loved it!

all the songs kinda sound the same but I like them - more of a low 4

Not a perfect album, but very atmospheric

2 for 2 on the soph hoodies. Not a cure album I was super familiar with, but it is excellent. Might be the gloomiest album Ive heard - feels like the last spastic moans of a man about to take himself out of the game. As truly Gothic as it gets.

Glad we got this on a rainy day it made me feel very cool

Hell yeah… The Cure is scary… yes

All the weird tempo shifts on a Short Term Effect?? OH MY GOD w/ the motorik rhythm, yeah. COVER MY FACE AS THE ANIMALS DIE!!!!!!!! IN THE HANGING GAAARDEN what I love about Robert Smith is how fucking evocative he’s able to be with the instrumentals. At first I was like WOW IVE NEVER HEARD ROCK MUSIC THAT SOUNDS LIKE THIS and then I was like I Own an Unknown Pleasures Tee Shirt Still,, this rips!!! So fucking cool and dark and eerie this one is!! Hell yeah!! The Cure!! The drums are so dominant,, I loveeee

i had listened to this many years ago and enjoyed it but never came back to it (with the exception of one hundred years) because i preferred disintegration. i'm glad i got the chance to relisten, especially today, because the weather was so perfect for it. it's a really overwhelming album; the self-hatred is so suffocating, i understand why xiu xiu covered one hundred years - "creeping up the stairs in the dark, waiting for the death blow..." 'a short term effect' is definitely the weak point here for me but the rest is excellent. 4-4.5 for me

sure. i mean sure. not a single jazz record but sure. what i'm gathering is that by 1985 (circa head on the door + pre the other albums i've listened to) the cure had Basically completed the process of degothing and re-alting. which sucks. cause i love a lil bit of goth rock. a LITTLE BIT. most bands know no moderation. robert smith and co. got it like that though. thinking of that one old tumblr post about emo vs goth vs punk. there really is a perverse beauty in it all. tl;dr the best goth rock has more shoegaze in it than people would like to admit. 3.8-4.2. first two songs are peak. the line between meandering and aesthetic waterboarding (positive) for the rest is. there. cold (arp solina mentioned pt 2) goes full on into enhanced interrogation techniques. ts would've done numbers (if my childhood friends weren't so locked into the screamo/metalcore teenage rebellion soundtrack) for middle school me. don't blame them at all. 2014 kellin quinn Mogs 1982 robert smith.

The cure is always a 5 star even though I am not currently in a the cure mood i have to give it 5 stars

The Cure early days were just pure gothic depression and intense desolation. How not to love it?

Very atmospheric. I think I like the cures poppier stuff more, but I still enjoyed this.

Solid album

Just about the moodiest mood of all the moods.

I understand that this is a depressing album, but I couldn’t make out any of the lyrics so I’ll have to rate based on how bored I was with the music.

The Cure is a unique band. In a way they are "alternative" like college radio and in a way they are on the edges of experimental pop. I will not read about or place them in a genre because I honestly have always felt they stand alone in style. I happen to like their style, and am thus, a fan. Once upon a time I saw them live and it was pretty great. This particular album as a whole is not my favorite but it is still trademark Cure so sure. I would choose a different album as an introduction but if you already know of them, than you will understand my rating. I feel like THIS album among others is a three, but overall, I feel I am also rating "The Cure" as a band, thus I will shoot this up a star. Please be advised to listen to other albums before judging solely on this one.

Like most stuff with The Cure for me... it's eh. Not bad but not good, just kinda in the middle.

Yeah, this isn't my favourite Cure album, it's very dense and lacks immediacy. It's on my shelves. Heard before ✅️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ ★★★☆ (6/10) Total reviewed : 314 Already owned : 70 Purchased : 15 To buy : 4 Nope : 225

Sin más, no me ha encantado

Dark AF. New wave start. A quilombo at the end

The culmination of their initial four album 'gloom' phase when very cool people liked them. They tended to release singles separately to albums and the fact that ' a hundred years', 'the hanging garden', 'siamese twins' and 'a strange day' are now fan favourites is evidence of how well the album has weathered. The band was in a drug fuelled mess at the time and Robert was severely depressed - no surprise there! Nice to hear synths and a nice expanse to the atmosphere in the production, with a new wave drum sound. After this came 'love cats' and the start of the hits phase. Smith was also moonlighting with Siouxie and the Banshees on guitar as well.

Didn’t hate this, but did not love it.

omgg stop yelling broo

Dope

This whole journey and the third Cure album I had to listen to has taught me that they really suck.

My gripe with the Cure has never been the music, it’s actually just recently that it’s become Robert Smith. The dude still wears lipstick and he now looks like an old lady wearing lipstick with the lipstick slightly smeared in the wrinkles around his mouth. Which, gives it that “look at me, I put my makeup on in the dark” look. The songs sound the same but are different. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s not a problem just don’t expect to be blown away

I listening to this record on a drive through the Texas Hill country. While listening to this record, I felt like I was living in it. I’ve been really feeling this general era music. I used to consider 80s one of the weakest eras of music, but I’ve been completely proven wrong. Joy Division, New Era, and The Cure have all become favorites. This record in particular really sucked me in. From the jump on One Hundred Years it’s incredible. The Guitar tone doesn’t miss, and it carries a vibe that never really stays away from at any point in the record. I was blown away.

I listened to this for the first time in earnest a year or so back, and it didn’t do a whole lot for me then. listening again now, I have more appreciation for the tones and sounds they pulled off, but still feel a sense of fatigue after hearing those minor key structures repeated for minutes longer than I’d like. Robert Smith’s voice also gets a little much after a while for me. I know people love The Cure, so I’m hoping one of their records hits for me.

A lot of drama, not enough action. Much prefer Disintegration.

Denso, heavy, con un montón de aristas, sin pulir... Me ha flipado.

Dark. Moody. Lyrics are bleak. I was enjoying the start but after a while it all kind of blends into the same song

Moody and gothic. Just what you’d expect from a Cure album. Nothing really stood out to me though.

*These songs drag and feel very similar

Not my favorite Cure album, but an extremely good one. Rocked harder than I expected. Could definitely see this one as an influence on industrial music.

classic cure, true essence of boyhood in this album. upon a re listen im sure the lyrics will reveal themselves better. shoegazey, timeless, a greatly grungy and dirty album made for walking about

Not sure when this album falls in their discography, but it’s definitely “them.” A good representation of a great band with an unmistakable sound. None of my favorite songs, but still solid.

Not what I expected based on the other albums. But equally enjoyable.

Idk man. I guess it's just the style, but this makes me feel gross to listen to. I feel like I'm at a basement show and I'm not having fun. It's too slow, too grungy, too icky for me. Idk

At some point several years ago I realized that The Cure is probably my favorite ever band, not through any conscious choice, but because there’s no other band that I’ve been listening to for as long and that I still always get something from listening to them. That said, Pornography isn’t an album I go to often because as compared to their other albums because it’s a hard listen. But here’s the thing about The Cure and why they’re such a great band: they can write a great poppy love song as well as they can write dark, atmospheric, jagged gothic post-punk, and both expressions of the band, and everything in between, feel genuine. It’s a treat to get this one on a Friday and have all weekend to listen to it.

It’s better than 17 seconds

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Couldn't ask for more toms. I'm hearing Bowie and Tears for Fears in this dark chamber rock album, great contemporaries of the Cure. Parts of it were great, but as an album it felt one-noted and I got bored pretty quick. 5/10

Album is a little less my vibe than Seventeen Seconds is, but still a good album. Darker, more Goth Rock. 3.5 probably.

The drums and lyrics were great but the music of the songs felt indistinguishable.

Well don't mind if I do! I love this band. This is one of those bands that needs to be background noise for me to fully begin to immerse myself as a fan. I've tried several times in the past to like them, but actively listening was kind of boring? I've put on the essentials playlist on repeat now a bunch and slowly been picking up a song here and there that I like. Methodically become a fan over time. As I continue to listen to these guys, I enjoy it more. This album is great. A great alternative to the typical 80s music (which I love, don't get me wrong), but still captures the time. I hope I would've been a fan if I was a teen in the 80s. Maybe Lisa Frankenstein would have a crush on me...

Full dark ambiance and atmosphere. Drums and Bass so huge and foreboding as the Guitars scratch, howl and wail. My favorite Cure album.

I just did not get into this one like their others.

Good

Would I listen again: probably not It was kinda like a horror movie in parts and I did not like whatever that last song was.

One of the best the cure albums, I like the vibe

Loved this album. It is dark, moody and timeless. Unmistakably The Cure. It reminded of Disintegration, released at the other end of the eighties.

This album really met my needs today, given I feel like a ball of defeated anxiety. I also got to tell people I was listening to Pornography, which was itself a huge bonus. As for The Cure, there are other albums of theirs I hope come up on the list.

Toujours bon The Cure. Ça reste solide avec le temps qui passe.

Le début wow, une ambiance assez hypnotisante, des guits et du synth comme je les aime. Et j'adore la voix de Robert Smith. Je veux plus de The Cure! Comme The Smiths j'aimerais bien apprendre à les connaître.

Ah du bon Cure bien dark et dépressif. C’est ça du vrai post-punk 80s. Son principal défaut est de ne pas être Disintegration, leur magnum opus.

One of those bands that is instantly recognizable for their unique sound. There's nothing like Robert Smith and the Cure.

It was alright. Goth rock at its peak I would guess

Production on this is insane, never heard anything like this. And the voice of main singer is phenomenal. Might be new The Cure fan. Beats are so malicious it is crazy but I like it.

I like The Cure. This album is good, but not my favorite of theirs. 3.5/5.

Je to moja najobľúbenejšia kapela... Tak budem nekritický... Jeden z najobľúbenejších, zároveň najmenej počúvaných albumov od nich...

It's definitely grown on me over the years, but I still prefer their following era Fav tracks: A Short Term Effect, One Hundred Years

Uno de los discos más oscuros si no que le más oscuro de the cure y el que puede ser considerado como el inicio del goth me gusta las texturas que logra crear la banda aunque en momentos deprimente el discos como un todo lo considero uno de los más completos de la banda

Quizá el disco más oscuro, ambiental y gótico de the Cure.

underrated the cure album imo🏋️‍♀️

4/5

This kinda washed over me, mostly in a good way. Nothing stood out but i enjoyed the experience.

Nothing to write home about

This is not olivia rodrigo’s the cure! I would say I know a fair amount of their song but none of the names from this album were familiar so I was intrigued what it would sound like. I loved the intense energy on this, especially in The Hanging Garden and The Figurehead (and A Strange Day). it was so menacing but also catchy man I loved the drums. every song starting just made me think YES give me more of that Lol Tolhurst. I’m sure there’s more of their albums to come but this actually really encouraged me to dig deeper before then As an aside, I asked my dad what he thought of this album because he’s always been into the cure and some of their more obscure stuff and he asked me if I knew Just Like Heaven and I was very offended.

Not my favourite Cure album but it’s a fantastic and bleak look at depression and anxiety. It’s harsh and difficult to listen to at times but that’s part of its charm.

Good

A lot of it sounded the same to me. Listened to the whole album, but no song stuck out to me.

A bit heavier than most Cure songs I know. Worth a listen but might not be something I’d listen to again.

Music from The Cure is very moody and atmospheric. And because it's moody, you're not always in the mood for it. This album is okay with some pretty brilliant bits throughout, but I'm probably not going to be listening to this one much outside of this project.

I love it and I don’t care what that says about my mental state!!!

A foundational Cure album. This is one for those who liked the Cure BEFORE they heard "Just Like Heaven." Robert Smith has always been a great songwriter, and the moody atmospherics of this album raise the game.

It was good but nothing crazy

i love the cure. this is not one of my favorites of theirs.

Not a huge cure fan I didn’t recognize the majority of these songs

Don't think I know any of these songs, more Joy Division than what I've heard. Dislike the tinny 80s drum sounds, liked it less as it went on, but atmospheric dense 80s rock. 3.5 rounded up Heard before? No Owned: No: 67/270 (24%) Will I get: No

I can tell what's the appeal, I can tell what they influenced and how that includes some of my favorite artists and bands, I can tell how groundbreaking this kind of sound was at the time, but I just can't bring myself to rate this any higher. Entirely and completely competent, but not all that captivating for me personally. That being said, it piqued my curiosity for the rest of The Cure's catalog on this list, whenever that comes.

Heavy man. I very much appreciate the way these songs are structured. Undergirding it all is some of the coolest post punk drumming I've evr heard, upon which is layered dense slaps of atmospheric guitar, echo-y bass and incredibly expressive vocals wailing some of the darkest lyrics I've ever heard (check out 'The Figurehead', oof it's bleak). The atmosphere is something you need to be in the mood for though, because it's fairly unrelenting. Great? Yes. Enjoyable? Ehhhhh

I love the Cure, but Disintegration has way better gothic drama, and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me has way better pop melodies

Why did I like lowkenuinly ascend?

Phasers set to yawn. I preferred their early, funny ones.

decepcionante

Robert Smith loves kissing and things kissing. I like the atmosphere of this release brooding and with a lot of cool synth textures. Unfortunately it’s a little boring, nothing really stood out to me on this record. Maybe some October day I’ll throw it on and it’ll click more. I enjoyed the tracks ‘A Strange Day’ and ‘The Figurehead’. Back to back tracks on the album that called for my attention the most, however the final track was the most interesting wish they had done more experimental tracks like ‘Pornography’ on the whole record

Not sure why I never got into them even young. Nice dark album.

There’s nothing really wrong with the album, but I was just bored by the project no song really hooked me in it was very quick to not even notice that it was over. I mean I did walk around a lot while I was listening to this album so maybe I wasn’t fully locked in but now there was nothing really here not the best first impression but again it wasn’t terrible.

Solid album

Not the kind of porn I’m in to. Generous 3.

I love pornography

Created a moody vibe which is good if youre in the mood for it. Which i am. Sometimes. Not today: Guitars get repetetive and samey and Smith's repeating of lines meant it was all a bit samey. Was hood for what it is.

Not as many hits but overall it’s good Think if I’m giving this a 4 I’m breaking the rules and going back and changing disintegration to a 4 too. Sue me I like the cure now

I liked it, not sorrow like Desintegration, but good and dark.

Those four stars are a bit of a stretch for me. I really like this album, but when I mean that, I mean two, or maybe three songs: One Hundred Years, The Figurehead and Pornography. And Disintegration is just so much better in every way, that this one feels feels a little bit inferior.

It’s called pornography because even if you found some moments of worth in the experience you mostly just feel sad afterwards

1001 albums to hear before you get emo goth and make a satanic ritual 73# Been wanting to listen to this for a while, I'm glad I'll have to do it now. Love the cure, but besides of Songs of a lost world, Disintegration and some hits they have (well that's quite a start actually), i never listened to another album of them much. I guess the Songs of lost world is more of an experimentation and more spacious than what this will be. Ok, wow this was really the sound of their Songs of lost world but more despair to it, not just a trip to space, i was not expecting that. Spacious guitars that make you levitate. Repetitive long songs, almost drone. This is so depressing and it feels like it, but i find myself just happy for listening. I guess i feel happy with the despair of another man, whoops.

Exactly what I expected from The Cure before I started this project. Dark, gloomy songs from front to back, but with some great rhythm and guitar work. I also do enjoy Smith’s vocals. Not as good as Disintegration.

A high 3

Не поціновувач таких к'юрів.

Я в цілом disentegration фанбой і похмура атмосфера pornography ніколи мене сильно не чіпляла. Але зараз переслухав цей альбом і якось прям сподобалось набагато сильніше ніж раніше.

Weaponized gloom, industrial-strength sulking, and enough atmospheric despair to fog the windows. Yet Robert Smith still has that magical voice that can transport me straight back to teenage bedrooms, posters, journals, and feelings nobody understood. Miserable in theory, weirdly comforting in practice.

pornography of cures represents the fall to the bottom of addiction in the problems of the mind and the brain. It represents something disgusting and rotten that you can't stop looking at.

1 stern

Man, if I hadn’t heard Disintegration first, I’d probably enjoy this a lot more. I hope Robert Smith is having a great day today.

Oh, the last album from the Cure already?? We haven't even hit 200 albums yet... That aside, I'm loving the Cure more and more because they do such a great job creating and maintaining the atmosphere for their albums. Case in point, the first song sets the stage for a morose vibe. And overall, this record sounds like Seventeen Seconds but with more emphasis on the reverberated drums.

Sounds like walking into the 80s!

Sorry cringer not bad

I love the cure, just not this album.

Kings of emo. Love the moodiness - just wasn’t in the mood for it today.

Full Album Thoughts: Album Rating: 2 (C) My thoughts on Strange Days is where I checked out. Highlights are The Hanging Garden and Cold, but they aren't wort the rest. Ow, The Edge. Track Thoughts "One Hundred Years" C+ I dont really like the singer's vocal delivery, its a bit to whiney. I like the soundscape, its dark and moody, I see it tagged as "gothic rock"... But there is just something about that higher pitched slurred singing that turns me off. I am afraid this is going to be a long listen. "A Short Term Effect" B- There is something about the chorus and echo and reverb that makes you feel like you are drowning. I actually think as the vocal echo goes on it going down in pitch is a neat effect but I just, dont care about the discordant solo. This is music as listened to from beneath an underpass. Is this pop-noise music? "The Hanging Garden" A- This is more up-beat with the drum fill and the thumping bass. I am actually locked in on this one. I think there is something here, but somehow it feels more stripped back even though it is doing a lot with the phaser/flanger effect whatever that is. "Siamese Twins" B- Yeah I guess I am just not that into Emo Music. I mean, I keep saying in these that the drums have a real sense of drive, the guitars lead some wild swimming soundscapes, but its the drawl of the vocals that just takes me right out of it. "The Figurehead" C I feel like the song writing is layered but to what end? You stack these arpeggios ontop of a this very simple bass one note drone, and then modulate between a few of the chords and it just... it feels oppressive. That, I guess, is the end. But its not something I actively enjoy listening to. "A Strange Day" C+ I have run out of things to say. I have checked out yet again. This shapes up to be another 2 out of 5 album. The songs all kind of blur together. Their mushy production doesnt help much with that. The songs are fine to listen to in isolation, nothing outright offensive, but back to back to back to back they all bleed into one another and there is nothing that stands out. "Cold" A- For two seconds I thought we were going to get something orchestral. Then the garbage cans came in. Wait some kind of like organ? Synths? What is this? Where did the rest of the muddy guitar droning go? This is the start to a John Carpenter Movie? The weird clattering? "Pornography" D of all the cliche's, I was not ready for backwards recording. A long closer needs to start strong and this never even gets going.

Yessssssss

gothic novels

love it. very witchy, very rainy day very autumn night, very grrrr Loved it. Comd is my favourite (but i already knew it so it doesn't really count i guess)

Perfectly fine album that didn't impress; there are better albums by this artist

Very goth, very Cure, very good. A 3,5

I found it started a bit weak but then built as the album continued.

A solid 4 - I love their sound

Clumsy use of a drum machine, but settles into a couple spinning with echoes of Seventeen Seconds.

The Cure maintain a gothic, foreboding vibe for the full length of the album. There isn’t even a shard of light. It is an affecting, daunting listen which feels like the natural end point of a form of exploration the band started with the equally patient Seventeen Seconds. Pornography ups the levels of atmosphere though with a greater commitment to keeping the sound pent up, never letting any air in. Its consistency is in complete opposition to the debut and the poppier more single friendly eras to come. It is potentially The Cure at their most aesthetically distinctive.

Pornography is some kind of 4, it lacks the melody of their later gothic masterpiece Disintegration and it doubles down on the darkness hinted at in their early stuff - i think it’s a great record but find it a little stifling and suffocating to truly love it

Meh

Yep, this was about as good as it got in 1982. Still has the 80s production glaze, but at least there is some depth and emotional space in the songs. It still sounds at home in the indie pantheon of the modern era. Very cool album from a desolate period of music.

Eu não fecho com rock inglês (só alguns)

Classudo

Far too angsty for my liking.

Definitely not as easy album to listen to, but my god what a masterpiece. It creates an atmosphere that is unmatched. Would I listen to it again anytime soon? I don't know, because it goes into something dark places. But my god, for what it is trying to do it is perfext. Robert Smith, to my surprise and my partner's glee, is a genius.

Me copo

Eh, I'm not really feeling this one. It's low energy 80's synth rock and overall it just feels muddy and simplistic. I don't think it's bad per se, but I cannot see myself ever listening to it again - I would probably turn it off if someone put it on. It's right between a 2 and 3 for me. Might be 3 just because I didn't hate it... IDK

I’m a fan of this sound. The guitar solos throughout the album are also keeping me going. Won’t be listening through the entire album again, but this was nice to listen to.

One which washed through me.

not my favourite cure album, but it’s the cure so i like it

I think my prime cure days are behind me. I like some of the components that make up this album. In some ways it should be a slam dunk for me as a person but as a dad pushing 40 now I can't take it as seriously as I might have before. The Cure has to be on this list in some capacity. I don't know how, I'm not a superfan but they definitely have something to their sound.

no me encantó, guardé dos temas nada más

Une joie de pouvoir réécouter cet album!

Love The Cure, but not their top work. Still a solid 4. “Pornography” feels less like an album and more like a storm‑lit chapel where despair learns to sing. It moves with the gravity of a ritual, each track a candle guttering in a room thick with incense and sleepless thoughts. The drums don’t simply strike—they throb, like a pulse you’re suddenly aware of in your throat. The guitars smear across the mix like bruised watercolors, and Robert Smith’s voice drifts through it all like a ghost trying to remember its own name. There’s a strange, terrible beauty here: the kind that early ’80s gloomy new wave chased but rarely caught. The Cure didn’t just capture it—they bottled the fog, carved the ache into stone, and left it humming with a kind of sacred dread. “Pornography” is the sound of shadows learning to speak, and the echo they leave behind is still cold to the touch.

80's music for sure

Seems like one of the original indie bands. 3

The goth masterpiece. It still doesn't matter if we all die...

amazing travel to the past with an ageless sound

Sounded the same as every other cure album.

Slurred saaie emo "muziek"

It's good. It's not Disintegration.

Dreamy and so well crafted!

There’s a difference between darkness as atmosphere and darkness as endurance test, and Pornography spends most of its runtime on the wrong side of that line. Robert Smith was apparently in a genuinely difficult personal state making this record, and the music reflects that with complete commitment — dense, claustrophobic, and relentlessly droning in a way that leaves no room to breathe, connect, or find any foothold emotionally. Where Seventeen Seconds used minimalism to create space — repetition that occasionally surprised you, atmosphere that invited you in — this one fills every inch of sonic territory with layered guitars, bass, and drums pressing down from all directions. The intentional overwhelm is clearly the point. The problem is that intentional overwhelm isn’t the same as emotional resonance, and the record mistakes density for depth. “Cold” is the one exception worth naming. It opens with actual space, a cool organ line, and tribal drums that give the music a physical pulse rather than just relentless weight. It stands out so sharply from everything surrounding it that it accidentally makes the case against the album’s dominant approach — one track with room to breathe reveals everything the rest refuses to allow. Glad to be done with it. A 2 that reflects genuine disengagement rather than hostility — not the worst listening experience on this list, but comfortably among the least rewarding.

Not my favorite by The Cure - I look forward to their shoegaze-ier music coming up later on this list!

(2/7) a lot of 80s new wave recently, this not as good as recent selections, nor among the best of The Cure

es un si para mi

nice, but macabre

ive listened to the first 4? by now, so far its ok, idk why I'm not into it, just i liked hanging garden. ok this is day 2s thoughts, listened to strange day to pornography. cold is by far my favorite track of this LP 🤓☝️, pretty tuff and I think it works much better as like a vibes song. overall album I think is a 3/5, I wish it leaned more into the instrumental soundscape vibe if that makes sense.

The Cure’s Pornography doesn’t just sound dark ... it feels like summer, but not the kind of summer people romanticise. It’s the heavy version: airless, slow, and quietly suffocating. The kind of summer where you return somewhere familiar and it no longer fits the same way, where the days stretch too long and everything feels slightly off. There’s a thickness to the album’s sound. the pounding, repetitive drums and dense production don’t just create gloom, they create pressure. It’s not cold isolation, but heat that lingers, making everything feel sticky, tired, and inescapable. Instead of hiding in shadows, the unease sits fully exposed, like something you can’t avoid under a bright, unrelenting sky. In that way it kinda feels like Pornography becomes something like “sunny spooky”: not darkness creeping in, but light revealing too much. It captures a very specific feeling to me, of being back home in the summer, a little older, a little disconnected, and not entirely sure why everything feels so heavy. It’s not dramatic despair, but a quieter kind of emptiness, one that hangs in the heat and refuses to move.

very bad . albums was good though

If you were to ask me if I liked The Cure, I would answer yes. I certainly had a few albums bought back in the 80's that I loved. But apparently I missed this one, and after listening to it today, I'm fine with that. It's dark, and just not that listenable for me. Oh well.

i am confusion

Saw The Cure and was excited for some good music. Listened to the album and hated my life. Cheer up guys!

I dont like :(

Dark and atmospheric. Seems to run out of steam through the back half, but great energy on side A.

(notes)

Its all so bleak

I’ve made it known that I’m not particularly fond of post-punk and my experience with the Cure (along with Cure-like artists) so far hasn’t moved the needle in a more positive direction. However, something about Pornography kind of works for me. It’s a bit odd because pretty much every track is fairly repetitive and sounds just like the previous – that would get really grating under normal circumstances, but I think it helps this album establish a unique, depressingly hypnotic loop. I was still considering giving this one two stars toward its end, but I started to imagine how much I’d probably enjoy these same songs if they were translated into an electronic/dance context and that made me more open to a middle-of-the-road score. I still wouldn’t call myself a fan of the Cure, but their fourth album has helped open my eyes to what post-punk can be when there’s someone at the helm with a strong vision! Highlights: One Hundred Years, The Hanging Garden, Siamese Twins, Pornography

Why does it feel Robert Smith is constantly yelling?

While still a great album I’d put this about my fourth favorite album by The Cure. Everything is good but nothing is amazing, song wise. The bass player is amazing, always nice chunky tones and right in the pocket.

Without ever listening to a cure album I’m not a fan. So with this being the first album of theirs for me to listen to fully I wasn’t expecting much. And this confirms why I’m not a fan. It’s just so dull and dreary. What I have learned is; if that’s all it takes to be a drummer in a band, sign me up

didnt really enjoy this. All songs sounded the same. I feel sadder than before

One of the classic goth rock/alternative/modern rock albums and perhaps the most influential Goth Rock album to come out before 1983. Early in the career of The Cure, this was easily the most complete album they had released. Many of these tracks have become modern day standards in the Goth scene. Definitely belongs on the list. After their albums DISINTEGRATION, HEAD ON THE DOOR, and KISS ME, KISS ME, KISS ME, add this to the list of albums that propelled them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Also notable, after the death of his real life fiancee by a drunk driver, this was the album that became James oOBarr's soundtrack while he wrote the seminal indie comic The Crow, and you can hear exactly why. Faves: Honestly, the whole album. Yes, even the cacophony in the final half of "Pornography".

I got joy division, deer hunter and the cures pornography 3 days in a row. What a stretch of sad sacks. Morrissey will be next I bet. I like some of the cure but that was just sad drums for an hour or whatever.

Disco muy monótono, estuve escuchando todo el disco y no se cuando acaba una canción y empieza otra, me aburrió mucho

Not really my type of music.

3,5

genuinely pretty good, I really like the vibes its like walking down the streets and chatting with an old friend

Interesting. Like a dark, reverb heavy British rock band. Definitely unique.

Mycket utan det instrumentala är fett men jag har svårt sångrösten. Svag trea landar jag nog på.

Är 100 % gothare känner jag. Mycket härlig dissonans i riffen rakt igenom. Ibland känns det som att Robert Smiths otroliga röst är det enda som skiljer det från black metal. Mellanspelet i the figurehead hade lika gärna kunnat vara dissection eller nåt.

Jag överskattade min musikaliska kunskap. Trodde jag hade koll på the Cure men har inte hört någon låt från den här skivan tidigare. För dåligt! Hade behövt en till lyssning här, men min instinkt säger trea?

äntligen lite emo

En besvikelse. Rakt, slamrigt och kargt men inte på ett bra goth-sätt. Låter nästan som vilket band med toårsemos som helst. Man fattar ju dock att potentialen till pampet på Disintegration finns här.

It was not my type. I respect this band; it's one of the greatest, but this disc wasn't good for me.

Not a fan of goth rock, this is no exception.

all songs sound the same disappointing and boring

This is the third and final The Cure album from the 1,001 for our listening group (and the fourth I've heard myself, adding 2024's Songs of a Lost World). I've found I somewhat enjoy their sound, with everything landing in the 3-4 star range. I found Pornography to be on the weaker side (and Disintegration was their best).

Uhmmm This one was weird and I didn’t really fuck with it…(I’m a fake cure fan </3). Will definitely have to relisten and also listen to some of their other albums back to front to get a better understanding. I’ll just keep it a buck. I do love a short album and I felt this one was cohesive. 2.3/5 Fave song: A Short Term Effect

me gusta la paicodelia intrinseca que tiene la musica de the cure, como que te deja un par de cables pelados y cruzados en la cabeza. igual despues de la cuarta canción se me hizo un poco repetitivo el disco, pero este no es el mejor disco de la banda, así que me lo banco. sí estuviese deprimido le doy las 5 estrellas, pero ya me terapié así que toma tu 3.

I wanna be Robert Smith

muy bueno

Heard Before? Yup. Notes: - like most Cure albums, it takes one idea and runs it into the ground. - the bass, drum and synth parts are shockingly repetitive. this can drag songs pointlessly or act to drive them while highlighting the vocals and guitar. - i really enjoy the dissonant, off-time guitar parts, especially on "Short Term Effect". - production uses the reverby-yet-claustrophobic 80s sound to maximal effect. Verdict: Having not been a tortured teen for many years, this rarely suits my mood, but it certainly nails that sort of moaning desperation. Listen Again: Eventually I'll get around to it.

3eme album de The Cure proposé par le générateur. Cet album contient 2 de mes morceaux préférés du groupe : - 'One hundred year' +++ - 'The hanging garden' +++ que j'avais découvert dans 'Concert: The Cure Live' de 1984. J'aime beaucoup la basse+batterie sur cet album. Et j'ai apprécié les originalités harmoniques surprenantes ('The Figurehead'++) ainsi que l'atmosphère sombre et unique de cet album. Il n'est pas loin d'obtenir la note maxi, mais certains morceaux sont un peu plus faibles ('A Short Term Effect' par exemple). Le live de 1984 reste mon préféré du groupe. => 4.5/5

Horrible

As promised, as sad as it gets. Not my vibe, not the place I am or want to be. If for some reason I end up there I will rise the vote.

Goths rule

Its dark and deep. Instrumentally interesting. Robert Smith voice and artistry a great addition ...but then thats where it stays and sticks. An average that never really care to take off.

Hmmm…generally like the cure, but this is too dense and depressing to resonate.