Reviews (page 4 of 12)
I like the Cure, but probably more their later stuff. This album is the last of their darkest gothic rock stage, before they switched to the lighter new wave genre. It's very interesting and paints a truthful picture of the bands mental state at the time, but don't listen to it if you are feeling down, this album won't help! The music is still sophisticated, but it definitely wouldn't be my pick of a Cure album.
Very goth/emo, I like the spacing in between the lyrics so you can appreciate each instrument and their contributions.
9/10 – Great
Excelente 👌
Good but wanted more
i love pornography
If I'm looking for some melancholic goth rock, The Cure always tickles my fancy. Like most Cure albums this is outstanding. I have a lot of old friends and memories associated with their music. I like to bust Dimerys chops about some of the glaring omissions from his list, but he gets a lot of albums right too. I was thinking about starting a podcast called WWDD? What Would Dimery Do? Of course the answer is always, 'add another Bowtie album' but I'd try to get more in depth than that. But anyway, I enjoyed this a lot today and listened to a few of their other albums, their latest is killer too.
It was an ok album, wasn’t offensive but didn’t knock my socks off
Very good album. Oppressive. Dark. Almost painful at times. I really liked "One Hundred Years", "The Figurehead", and "A Strange Day".
Never been a big fan of The Cure, and this album is very much what I might’ve anticipated hearing from them earlier in their career. To be sure, there are some good songs on here. The album got off to a great start with One Hundred Years, and I really liked A Strange Day. But outside of that, a lot of these songs just didn’t hit for me. That’s especially true of the title track, which was just bizarre. Overall, a three star album
I mean, its alright
I liked it for the most part.
The Cure rocks!! The best goth/early emo for miles. Their lyrics and production stand out.
0/8 bekannt 6,5/10 Beste Songs: Siamese Twins, the hanging garden, one hundred years
I like this album; it's way better in my opinion than Seventeen Seconds, but still has tons of dark and gothy gloom to it. There's elements of songs here that remind me of the song Burn from The Crow soundtrack which is probably my favorite Cure song. Not being super familiar with their catalog, I could see this as one I come back to while getting into more of their stuff. 3.25
Initially didn't care for this, but I warmed to it over the listen. It's still not 100% what I'm looking for from The Cure, but it's got some good stuff. 3.25/5
I liked the Hanging Garden a lot but otherwise really did not like this.
Not their best.
4/5. I’ve gotten this album as a very coincidental time, since as a personal project I’ve been listening through the Cure’s entire discography recently. And Pornography sees them when they reached their first peak in my opinion. This album is the culmination of the dark, gothic sound they were building with on albums like “17 seconds” or “Faith.” The opener “One Hundred Years” immediately sets the dark tone of this album, and it proceeds to fully envelop you for the rest of the records 43 minute runtime. My favorite song though might actually be the slow-burner in the middle “Siamese Twins.”
whaaat mais c'est super connu The Cure ? jamais entendu parlé, genre personne ne dit : "j'écoute the cure et toi?" bref. Sinon l'album m'a fait complétement arrêté le porno, je suis sobre depuis 1h quand même ! ça mérite un 4 non ?
Trop bien The Cure quelle ambiance de fou. Comme dirait Sydou, j'adore la pornographie !
I FUCKING HATE SPANISH SPEAKING PEOPLE I HOPE THEY ALL DIE TOGETHER WITH ALL THE INDIANS AND PAKISTANIS MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER AND LESS POPULATED PLACE
yes.
classic cure 10/10
I was not a big fan of The Cure back in the 80s, so ai was surprised I enjoyed this album as much as I did. It felt fresh and energetic. I didn’t know any of the songs but I liked pretty much all of them.
God I love The Cure. This album is fantastic, though I will say I love Disintegration more. It’s haunting, depressing and bleak but it’s so good. I’m really going through it right now so this album probably came at a perfect time
I’m kinda confused how this beat out some of the other cure albums but I am a pornography enjoyer lol
The Cure are so much fun to listen to.
Long songs, but decent
It was boring.
fav songs: a short term effect cold droning, repetitive, bleak 60/100
enjoyed
Not for me
Just not feeling this one and I like most of what they do.
One of my favourite albums. Love it, love it, love it.
4/5
This was such a low quality produced album. Much better stuff from the cure out there.
I feel like such a fake fan of The Cure not giving this album a proper listen until now, knowing this is a favorite of many fans. On my first listen, I thought is it bad that I prefer Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me over this? But I gave the album another listen and holy shit, this slaps. I pick up on more layers the more I listen. Reminds me a bit of Joy Division. Favorite song is A Strange Day…how could I have slept on this for so long?! Honorable mentions go to One Hundred Years and the title track.
Is repulsive, evil, and the main reason why there is an increase in misogyny, particularly in the digital age.
una vez le hice el amor, a un dracula con tacones
I found this album quite annoying. The singing is where it was most annoying, but I was also annoyed by the music itself. A Strange Day was my favorite track, and even that I wouldn't be all that excited to return to.
5/10
8 - GOOD
Robert Smith writing this whole ass masterpiece in the throes of depression quand j’arrive à peine à me beurrer une toast when i’m in a Mood™ is nothing short of iconic probablement mon album préféré de The Cure après Disintegration chansons préférées : Cold, The Figurehead, Pornography
this was fine, idk!!! sorry to every man ever. ik y’all love the cure down like that.
Listens: 3 or 4 Standout Tracks: The Hanging Garden, Siamese Twins Third Cure album on the List. I really didn't get Seventeen Seconds, like, at all. Maybe it was just too new and foreign to me at the time. I fell in love with Disintegration, eventually, but not immediately. I think I latched onto the idea that there were a lot of hallucinogenics involved in it's production (apparently). Pornography falls somewhere in-between. It's moody, its brooding and dark. It's growing on me. I originally gave Disintegration a 4, which I think at this point needs to be bumped up to a 5, which would probably make this a 3.5 or 4.
I can see why people like them but not something I would litsen to Favorite: the hanging garden Least: pornography
Heh...wasn't even that dark to me.
Not available
Monotonous and depressing. I don’t like his voice very much.
Medio rarete tbh. Ya no pegó tan hard como Disintegration. Corto y eso lo hizo bearable, pero no rescaté un solo tema, lo gótico definitivamente no es lo mio.
Huge fan and this is widely considered their darkest output (and one of the best as well). It's doom and gloom start to finish, a front row seat to depression and self destruction. I always wondered why they titled it Pornography when there's hardly a hint of any eroticism or sensuality present. Maybe it's referencing the obscenity of excess, drowning your mental health issues with drink and drugs? In any case it's an amazing album.
really interesting work, especially for 1982. I had prevoulsy only heard The Hanging Garden on The singles lp. The other songs were equally good.
Garbage
I sincerely hope there’s more cure albums on this list. This is an interesting album but far from their best. Great dark drum sound especially in the second half.
by no stretch my favourite cure record, a bit too dreary even by my emo standards
Brilliant brilliant band and Robert Smith is a genius. This one is light on his but the sound and the mood are great
One of my favourite Cure albums. When my sister brought this home I would have been maybe 12 or 13, and the cover art, lyrics, vocal effects and backmasking made it scarier than just about anything I'd heard before. 37 years on and this still floors me - it's not one I'd put on while in a really dark place, but I think it's among the strongest collection of songs Robert Smith ever put together. One Hundred Years in particular has just about everything in it that made prime era Cure so perfect - doomy guitar tones, bleak lyrics, danceable drum machines etc.
Nostalgia, sweet nostalgia. I enjoyed the Cure’s hits but never really explored their music so this was all fresh ground for me. Stands up pretty well.
I’m not sure why this sounds like heavy metal to me. Not a fan.
Kinda surprised I didn't like this one.
grows on you
el sonido me encanta jajaja, no es nada revolucionario o que me cambie la vida y si pudiera realmente le pondría como 3.8, pero. El sonido de the figurehead es cautivante y ese bajooo ughh, su voz también es muy agardable.
I don’t dislike the cure but this dark depressive album genuinely sucks. So goth, like chill out. The production is also just incredibly boring. Last and titular track is completely unlistenable. Great to listen to when you wanna kill yourself.
When to listen: In a dark, dark depressive hole. It's a tough listen, no song stood out they just kinda mushed together, and it was simply not my style... so it's hard to rate yet here we are
Early emo. So whiny, I can't stand his voice.
Thoughts before listening: The Cure's dark, sexy album is how I've always heard this described. I'm not sure I've ever really listened to this despite being a big fan of their other work. It's the Cure so I'm sure I'll love it. Review: So is this Robert Smith's answer to industrial rock or something? Looks like this came out in 1982 so perhaps it's more accurate to acknowledge the influence it had on those later bands while embracing the darker sides post-punk ala Joy Division. I know the band is considered goth rock, but they have always balanced the dark, brooding songs with bright pop tracks. This album basically hits on a dense, metallic crunch out the gate with "One Hundred Years" and never lets up. I really like it although I am missing the hit. I think I prefer the other albums a bit, but this gets 4-stars.
It's what I expected from The Cure. Meh. 2.7/5
If the Cure is the textbook goth band, this is maybe the gothiest album there is. I mean, Robert Smith's vocal delivery is always a throaty full-throttle tortured yowl across all of their records, the music more mopey than... well, I don't think anything gets mopier than a Cure album. All the things you expect to hear in a Cure record are here - Smith howling, tribal-sounding tom-heavy drums or drum machine, flanged, swirling guitars, flanged, trebly bass - but unfortunately nothing that sounds as inspired as Just Like Heaven, Fascination Street, Boys Don't Cry, The Forest. It's all pretty bleak and a little dull. Which is unfortunate, because there are other Cure albums that are also bleak but still dynamic - Disintegration is also on this list which I'll agree is the best choice, along with Seventeen Seconds, but it's puzzling that this gets preference over Kiss Me, Wish, or even Faith.
I’m a big fan of The Cure but I didn’t really enjoy this album. They are never totally unlistenable, but the themes of this album felt too moody and weary, even by their standards.
I’d say this release should be on a list titled “1001 Albums That Will Fit A Specific Mood, Once, At A Specific Time” If it were, I’d have rated it higher. I enjoyed my casual listen nonetheless
Some decent melodies and riffs, but this never came together for me.
No complaints
Creo q con este álbum descubrí q la música goth no es lo mio xd A strange day debo decir hasta ahora la única q he disfrutado, el resto se me han hecho medio aburridillas Ya, cold tmb bkn con esos tonitos tipo ghost of the opera
I didn't hate it, but I also didn't really enjoy it. I have never really listened to the Cure. So I always found it odd that they were seen as the quintessential 80s goth band when the only songs I knew were "Friday I'm In Love" and "Lovesong", which are much more conventional pop songs. But yeah this album felt like a goth or proto-emo album. Glad I heard it. But I don't really have any standout tracks.
Oh you goths. This was pretty good, actually.
This doesn't do it for me. There's something about this specific scene that I find boring. It's not bad, but it's not great, either.
80s new wave/gothic vibe. Definitely too sad of music to casually listen to lol, but the if one song came up on a coffee shop I’d probably vibe
Favorite Track: The Hanging Garden
Depressing goth rock. It does set and keep that mood. Another album more historically important than must listen. Not my style and too depressing lower the grade. 0 songs added to playlist
I thought I had previously dealt with depression but clearly not, if this is what depression sounds like.
is da Cure so obv is perFECT
Hello darkness
Not a big fan, vibe is off and couldn't really resonate with the setting.
Meh, not my vibe
woof! bleak! goth vibes!
I tried once again but i cannot find the Cure even remotely enjoyable.
Ok album with some okay songs, just kinda mid and a blur of slogginess
I dont have an outspoken opinion on the cure. This album sounds like what the goth kids in southpark listen to. I could dig if only a few songs had the very present echo effect, but its presence on atleast half of the songs makes it sound pretty samey to me. Not an experience that was outright negative, but kinda boring. 4/10
It's that standard slightly goth 80s pop as from the other albums of the cure. It had a bit more energy and I liked it for it, still not really my thing though.
Nog jiet geluisyerd
So apparently a list of 1001 albums I must hear includes THREE albums by The Cure (and not even their best, according to the reaction to a user-added fourth) but NONE from Warren Zevon. This particular selection has a dark repetitive sound that is broken only by the long, noise-laden final track that feels like a desperate attempt to keep the entire effort out of the EP range.
Didn’t really like any of the songs.
Not bad at all - very cold, gothic and depressing (everything I understand The Cure to be), but I might not be in the right moment in life to fully enjoy this (it's sunny outside at the end of the day :).
Incredibly dismal, depressing... and great! I haven't listened to The Cure's earlier stuff for a while and it was good to revisit.
Some greats on this.
⭐︎3.8 日本国内の様々なヴィジュアル系アーティストが影響を受けていると聞いた。ダークで耽美な世界観が特徴？あと、ドラママシーン。ただ、似たような曲ばかり。歌詞が分かればより世界観を楽しめるのかも。メロディで印象に残るタイプではなかった。
I liked it a lot. Raw cure sounds. Big drums and lots of emotion in his voice.
A part of the eleven year run of epic Cure albums An atmospheric wall of sound, while the the most uplifting collection in the Cure archive, its still a fascinating creation that hold up in 2026
Great record! Right out of the gate with probably my favorite Cure track which is always nice. I've always enjoyed their darker material, but the later stuff is amazing too of course! Feels a bit weird listening to this in the middle of a July heatwave, definitely a Fall/Winter record, but I can't complain! Always great to hear a record I already know I enjoy. Been a very long time since I've sat down with this one.
Denso e intenso
Good album with a few songs I really liked. Overall not my style of music though
Overall: 8/10 This is such a relaxing album. It helped me chill out on a very stressful morning and I love it for that. It doesn't quite reach the heights of Disintegration but it gets pretty close. I could see myself napping to this (that's a huge compliment). Fav Song: The Hanging Garden
Hmmm not this cure… Sick! Haha
Chart Performance for Pornography sure was an interesting wikipedia subtext. Also something about killing an arab, Netanyahus already on that mr the cure dont worry. The Instruments sound really cool, the british man however, does not.
Pretty cool noise. I think I'd enjoy more if I was having an existential crisis, I'll have to remember to put it on next time
Very dark maar ook very nice
7/10
9/10
It's a scarlet, blood moon tonight — no lie — and it seems appropriate... Pornography is an entry in the 1001 book and The Cure's discography that is often viewed as more important (5) than it is likeable (4). And yet, being The Cure, it's still very listenable even at its most intense, complex and darkest moments. The gloomy guitar laden with effects on the opener One Hundred Years portends the dark wave on the horizon. Striking sustained notes on bass while the rhythms both programmed and performed propel the song. Even at its densest, there's a starker tension in these tracks than what you might find on other records. And while it's not like you couldn't find darkness in songs before and after, this record features some of the darkest lyrics written by Robert Smith as he confronts meaninglessness, exhaustion, failure, longing and turmoil as he teeters on the abyss and tarries with the void. Dust on the lips of a vision of hell. It's a weighty and intense record — the merlot of their discography? Hanging Garden is perhaps one of the more 'single-worthy' tracks and it's still filled with delay, layered atmospherics; this time the bass and drums are in motion together. The lyrics lean hard into gothic imagery. All of Side A is forward and confronting you while Side B retreats into itself only as a trick of the light and shadow. The more cavernous mix on The Figurehead, The Cold, and Pornography steals some of the presence of instruments in a dreary aspect, flirting with cacophony. This shift falls along the now absent fault lines of flipping a slab of vinyl. The problem has an easy cure (!); just push the volume up starting with The Figurehead. Just like you might with a black metal mix, and now you can hear that wall of sound in hell. In writing their end with this album, The Cure ultimately wrote through the ending and into something else. You can still hear the gesture of final statement in it and perhaps that's why it's been as lasting a document as it has. It might just be that in confronting meaninglessness they were able to find meaning even as friendships frayed and bruised would set like a blood moon in the darkness of the night.
Yea this ones pretty good. Very depressing album but yea pretty good. My fav tracks gotta be the figurehead. 7.4/10
3/5 Disappointing for an album called "Pornography", apparently there was a lot of depression and drug use in the band at the time of writing this album and it kind of shows in the way that addiction can make your life bland and one-note, even if that note is edgy and chaotic. After the first two songs, I found myself asking "Is this song over yet?" Yes, yes it was. This is, in fact, the fourth song in a row you've asked yourself that question. Trés blah, might add one or two to a playlist for whenever I don't want to listen to music, just have it on. Next!
Couldn't spend as much time as I wanted with this, but overall I'm not a huge Cure fan and this didn't really change my mind. I appreciate it more than I like it and can see the influence on industrial/goth that came after. Call me crazy but I like when Robert Smith writes a melody. Opening track is a banger though.
Pretty good, not sure where this slates in the Cure's discography. But it was consistent and enjoyable.
Review Relentless, suffocating, and emotionally raw, this is The Cure at their bleakest and most uncompromising. It feels less like an album and more like a psychological descent set to tribal drums and reverb-soaked dread. Favorite Song “The Hanging Garden.” The pounding, ritualistic drums are hypnotic, and the tension never fully releases, which makes it addictive in a strange way. My Rating 8.8 / 10. You admire the atmosphere and commitment to darkness, even if it’s not something you’d play casually on a sunny afternoon.
all the songs sound the same to me
bom bem bom encaixou como uma luva nesse dia 1!!
Meh
This one is truly a masterpiece in giving the mood. Not the good one. Not the sunny happy one. Dark, gloomy, morose one. Not the best album by The Cure, not even the second or third in my opinion, but what it surely has is consistency and coherence. This one will surely make you start questioning your own existence and the world in general.
it’s not what you think ! ✋🤚
Spooky Scary Halloween Punk!?!? :0 Oyf. This was bad. Never have I ever heard such basic, boring, pathetic drumming put on display for an entire album. Jesus Christ, I thought the glam rock bands were bad. Holy Uninspired. Also Smith's vocals sound like they were recorded while he was pushing out a monster on the pot. So guttural. I did not enjoy this. Fave track: - A Short Term Effect
It doesn’t matter if we all die!
I guess I thought in the past I like The Cure without having actually listened to much of their stuff but I didn’t really enjoy this. It had some ok moments but mostly I felt it all kind of sounded the same and just kind of obnoxious, although I can’t necessarily pinpoint why. Some parts are cool though, some of the sounds, but yeah overall I was kind of waiting for it to end a little bit.
I don't know that I can get around the strange vocal inflection, but the music is pretty interesting. I like the drums. 3.8.
Music for my younger self. I don't think I'm this depressed anymore, or maybe never was. Rage was and is more my style. Nothing on this album surprised me or awed me. Is it possible that The Cure was so successful they unknowingly became a cliche? It was exactly what I expected before I hit play, and that may be a testament to their vision, but it doesn't mean I like it. 2/5, to help support all of those Hot Topic kids who needed spending money in HS.
*long, contemplative, shoe-gazing sigh* The Cure have always been an enigma for me, one that I generally like in small doses, so the 8 track, 43 minute runtime seemed adequate. I have their Greatest Hits, and with a quick comparison of tracks I was shocked to find that this album had NONE of those, which made me wonder how, of all their albums, this one made the list. Intriguing. *pouty side glance* From the moment I pressed play this was familiar. Synthesizers, discordant guitar, driving bass drums (almost tribal at times), and then those first lyrics, "it doesn't matter if we all die" told me I'd been here before, even if I'd never heard this album. Pop sensibilities that strive to hold you at arms length. A slow, methodical, melancholy flock of seagulls. Cryptic, nearly nonsensical lyrics with emotionally charged word choices. Death, slaughtered, scream, blood, moon, dream, scream, cry, etc, etc... And in the middle of it all, Robert Smith's droll, angsty, reverberating whine making every song, regardless of tone and tempo, sound vaguely the same as the one before it. No track by track breakdown to see here, just a cartoon dog sitting in a room filled with fire and smoke... I mean, I kinda liked it. But you know... *exaggerated eyeroll* Whatever.
"None more black." Variety: 2 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 3 Emotionality: 5 Now we're getting into familiar territory. Going into this one it's worth mentioning that The Cure are a top 10 band for me. They are one of the few acts I will seek out live performaces, rarities, B-sides and the like from. While this one has never been my favorite release from them, historically it has gotten a LOT of play. It has been a while though, so let's see how well it holds up. THE TRACKS - "One Hundred Years" - Top Cure track in peak energetic doom and gloom mode. Up there with the best of Bauhaus and Sisters of Mercy as far as danceable misery goes. Works perfectly over top of that upside down video of the bats that makes it look like they are in a goth club. You know the one. - "A Short Term Effect" - Best synthesis of all the aspects of this album all in one track in my opinion, veering into a muted psychedelia at times which adds a weird tone I'm mixed on from moment to moment. - "The Hanging Garden" - Possibly the epitome of a Cure track? Definitely the one I might use as the barometer to tease out someone's openness to the darker side of the band. I feel you either start singing this in a mocking Robert Smith voice ( like my wife did as she passed by my listening post) or you bob your head and barely restrain yourself from doing the shuffling South Park-goth dance. - "Siamese Twins" - Nice slow down. Driving rhythm section is the star here, but the mood... The pure pancake makeup, eyeliner and smeared lipstick experience on full display. "The Figurehead - If "The Hanging Garden" is pure distilled Cure, then this is the low hanging fruit whose seeds have blossomed into a the stereotypical Cure sound. While perfectly fine to my ears, its also nothing special. I could drop this into the middle of a half dozen of their albums and not sure most casual fans would notice it was out of place. Cool, sinister guitar hook surrounded by Robert Smith Mad Libs. "Strange Day" It's... fine. The intensely percussive beat here loses something right after The Figurehead. The wobbly synth hooks me in though. "Cold" - Possibly the most atmospheric track here. Dig that cello-organ-glockenspiel combo. Could easily imagine this one running over the credits to a modern Dracula movie. Sounds like practice for Disintegration. "Pornography" - Never been the biggest fan of opening ( or closing for that matter) noise collagey stuff on a track. That being said, this does at least slowly build OUT of that noise and into something, giving it a steady rising feeling of almost galloping forward out of the muck. "Fight against the Sadness, Artax. Please!" HIGHLIGHTS - "One Hundred Years" - "The Hanging Garden" - "Cold" LOWLIGHTS - Impossible to mine any pure stinkers, but gun to my head and I was forced to trim 6:16 or thereabouts from the running time, "The Figurehead" fits the bill nicely. - Not a knock on the album itself, but also would not recommend this as the intro point to a Cure newbie. - Not the biggest fan of the mix on "Pornography" and much prefer some live versions I've heard where you can actually hear Smith a lot clearer. There's a perfectly good song buried under all that noise. FINAL THOUGHTS There are a lot of bands I love that I still only consider "greatest hits" bands. Meaning I might rate a lot of their songs very highly, but when I listen to them it'll be in playlists of 4-5 star songs culled from their discography. As much as I love Prince as an entity, for example, I rarely find myself listening to a full Prince album front to back in order. The Cure are an exception to this. I've found that looking their discography in aggregate, I much prefer to listen to their stuff via the album experience. I also tend to vaguely classify bands into two camps - vibes bands that ooze atmosphere, but who don't ultimately have much to say or whose lyrics might even be mostly nonsense filler ( The Beatles, Soundgarden, Beck) and acts who are message based, with distinct lyrics that tell a story ( Elvis Costello, The Decemberists, Bob Dylan). The Cure ( as well as Depeche Mode, Alice in Chains, The Kinks) for me fall into that sweet spot in between where we not only get tons of atmosphere, but there's no slouching in the lyrics department either. Should you choose to pay attention to them at all. But it's never required. I can just as easily zone out and take in a Cure album as I can slow down and pay close attention to each track. There is a spectrum however, and Pornography falls just on the vibes side for me. As far as Cure albums go anyways. As much as I like the album as whole, and I can totally see the influence it had on dark melodic rock that came after ( some consider this to be peak Goth), it does not have as many high highs as my favorites from them, and in the end suffers more from the sameyness that in most cases causes me to dismiss stuff from less revered artists. While I'll never take this one out of rotation, it might be a while before I get back around to another full listen. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - No notes. You be you, Pornography.
"It doesn't matter if we all die." This is the opening lyric to the opening track, "One Hundred Years" and captures the reputation of the The Cure. It is also the nihilistic tone that permeates this entire album. An album of intrusive thoughts, repeating repetitively, exhausting and animating in equal parts. Robert Smith is trying to get these thoughts out of his head, if they end up in yours, well that’s just collateral damage. Sorry you entered the blast radius. Beware of bleakness. "I will never be clean again." According to the tales of the the recording of this album there was heavy drug use, confrontational episodes, and an all around depressive atmosphere. Well, you've got an album that reflects such origins. The result is a singular sound, with one track blending into and sounding like the next. "Is it always like this?" It is an album of messed up rockers playing music despondently because what else are they going to do? Be respectable? This wasn’t meant for you. It was never meant for you. You’re just peaking in. That sound you hear. It’s a sound that rises from the haze, the middle of their mess. It is the sound you get when you point a camera and microphone at that mess to record the degradation. It is, in a word, pornography. "Waiting for the death blow."
Sounds a lot like The Cure, that's for sure.
Goth misery. Not my thing
Apt soundtrack for a dreary Thursday morning commute. Haven't listened to a Cure album start to finish previously, but this was wonderfully moody and visceral.
I didn’t love it. Dark and whiny. Generally I love The Cure though
A great album that changed The Cure’s direction. I have been a huge since day and see them probably more times than any band.
Yeah The Cure is good. This is a good album by The Cure.
While The Cure conjure an impressive sound thats bleak, heavy, and even dreadful, I can’t bring myself to enjoy it much more than admiring it from afar. I often hate reading reviews on here about albums I like which boil down to “yeah this just isn’t my cup of tea”. But this just isn’t my cup of tea. I can hear the goodness, I have a hard time getting into it 2/5
Love the cure but struggled with this. Pretty dark, without much of the joy of their later stuff
increíble, teatral, excelente
Less accessible than they'd be before and after, but no less excellent.
2/5
no lo he escuchado todavia
Gothy.
Not for me. Distorted and depressing, I recognized the quality but could not make myself enjoy it.
Only because it isn't my favourite of theirs.
Very good, but not my vibe; really liked the last track, which was definitely the weirdest.
erm...sorry but i didn't like it that much :(( but the backgroung music it's still cool tho !!
gostoso pra ouvir se vc ta numa rua de madrugada
Inte deras bästa. Jämn och spännande till och med banbrytande, men saknar den hit-förmåga visat upp på andra skivor. En stark trea.
Loved this, been loving whatever I hear from The Cure, could be a 5 need to listen again
Nothing in particular stood out to me.
I had never heard this one before, and have no idea why? Really strong tracks, great production, awesome.
Hmm not a fan. low larynx but not classical or theatrical. Too casual although it is on purpose. I’d prefer something more in tune.
not that ive listened to a ton of The Cure, but after this album i can fairly say im a fan of their more poppy music. this album was a sad one for sure, and it wasn't really resonating with me
Nothing offensive when listening to this one but not much stood out, just seemed like 45 minutes of the same droning guitar sound with different lyrics from time to time. I can’t tell if I don’t like The Cure as much as I thought I did, or if this album isn’t their best and may not deserve a place on this list. I’ll give it a three because I wouldn’t be opposed to giving it another go.
I guess every other day of the week I'm depressed.
Good
Not my fav. Probably just not in the right mood for this.
Oh no, I had no clue how much I really didn't care for Robert Smith's vocals. Or at the very least, how much I don't care for them here. I think there are some songs by The Cure out there that I do like, but they are inarguably poppier than this. I don't want to take any importance away from this albums themes, but as a listening experience I just can't get on board. The instrumentals are fine, I love the kicking drums, the sparse but foreboding strings, and the occasional organ. But every time Robert Smith opens his mouth here I start to wince. Even without the heavily leaned on reverb, his range is not very large, and it's a droning style that just doesn't ever sit with me. Lyrically, it's dense and wandering in a style that is not dissimilar from a lot of alt rock I've listened to. It's somebody's bag, but not mine. Highlight: Cold (Or at least the first minute of it) Lowlight: Siamese Twins
Incredibly haunting and beautiful
5/5 You already know it. I'd be a fake goth if I were to rate this album any lower than 5 stars. The lyricism, messaging, musicality, it's all so cohesive and my god this shit is so depressing but so poetic. Everybody say thank you Bobbert.
Слишком мрачный
it might be too early in the morning to listen to the Cure. So far very gloomy. IT DOESN@T MATTER IF WE DIE NEED TO FIND THE CURE TO THIS SICKNESS Was great but is exacerbating my bad mood
Like The Cure, not familiar with this album but will listen again
Overall this a phenomenal album. Compared to their previous albums this one turns really dark and really gothic. And you can tell that straight away with the first song on this album which has got to be one of my favorite songs on this album. This album just captivates you straight away with the very dark and heavy guitar coupled with Robert Smith’s fantastic vocals.
very dreary; glad this project gives me a chance to listen to the cure, but i don't know if i'll go back to this unless i want to be depressed; 3 stars
почти никакие песни не понравились
Kinda always have thought of the Cure as goth Muppets in the best possible sense,, satirizing the thing while revealing a humanity inherent to the thing. The first two songs are a bit much but when they settle into the pop drama groove they do so well, it is delicious.
Dense and absorbing. The tribal drums (perhaps inspired by Smith’s nascent work as a member of Siouxsie and the Banshees around this time) and picked bass lend a stark urgency to Robert Smith’s bleak lyrical visions, reinforced with swirling guitar, foreboding synths and occasional drum machine beats. Dark, moody and completely immersive, Pornography marks a distinctive musical statement and a wonderful distillation of The Cure before poppier elements entered the picture.
This was one of the first 10 cds I bought after getting a CD player as a graduation gift in the late 80s so my rating will always be colored by that.
i like the cure but didn’t really like this
This was awful. His voice does not go with this type of music. I actually like the dark vibe the rest of the band are creating but his vocals, as if someone just wandered off the street and started waiiling to themselves
The album was very different from what I'm used to with The Cure. The tone was much more somber, and I admin I don't know what to think of it at the moment. I do admit that it was enjoyable, at least.
Thank goooodness I was finally given something great. Moody & sits on the shadowy side of music
Incredibly ANNOYING music. This is bad in inexplicable levels.
Wow, this was a little depressing and a little dark. I will say that they did a fantastic job at creating an atmosphere that envelopes you, bringing you into the album's world. The guitar, bass and drums were a standout for me. I found them to be super well done and very complimentary to the dark aura.
Cover My Face As The Animals Cry 1001 Albums Generator 227 (2/16/2026) As a guy who has the correct opinion about Disintegration, which is that it's pretty good but definitely bloated and a tiny bit overrated, I was excited to finally hear the second Cure album that is often mentioned in "favorite albums of all time"-type lists, Pornography. And really, it is quite similar to Disintegration. Robert Smith is still very sad, drums and guitars are drenched in reverb, and basslines are strong. There's less of that kind of jangly sound that appears in Disintegration's higher energy songs, and the higher energy songs here are much more punk than I remember that album being. The Hanging Garden is the best example of this, with its beat being driven almost entirely by quick, strong toms and bass. My only real problem with this album is that it all starts to feel really same-y and the final song, Pornography, is pretty weak and weird. Overall, it's not bloated like Disintegration, but it also doesn't hit the highs that that album does. 4/5. Favs: One Hundred Years The Hanging Garden A Strange Day Least Fav: Pornography
Cool, steering 3, maybe 4
This is not their best, but i dig
One of their darker albums It’s a good album if you are in the mood for it, but you might not be in the mood for its all too often. 3.3
I like The Cure and this album is fine but I much prefer the dreamier, brighter sound they did later than the bleak gothy stuff in here.
Compelling and engaging for the first 5 or 6 songs, with "The Hanging Garden" as a high mark, but others like "Siamese Twins," "One Hundred Years," and "The Figurehead" are excellent too. I love the sound and mood of it. I didn't discover The Cure until ~1986 via the Head on the Door and Standing on a Beach, but this gothrock sound was a big part of my teenage soundtrack. Still, by the end of this it feels soo same-same, and I'm bored/exhausted. 3.5 Compare it to the Head on the Door, Kiss Me, and Disintegration: yeah, this is dull and narrow.
Always knew The Cure but this is my first time listening to an album of theirs. Its quite the experience sonically. At times it sounds like if I was on a Gothic drug trip. I found it surprisingly enjoyable despite the dark atmosphere and depressive lyrics. However as enjoyable as I thought it was it did tend to drag towards the end and become a bit one note. Still I am looking forward to the other Cure albums in this generator. 3/5
I was unfamiliar with this one and I can see why.
This is definitely a classic album, but for whatever reason, it was never one of my personal favorites. On the other hand, this album has always remind me quite a bit of Joy Division. Obviously, Robert Smith and Ian Curtis are very different vocalists with distinct voices and deliveries, but if you strip the vocals away, the music itself shares a lot of the same DNA.
6/10… goth rock / dark wave / *1982
A dark, composed (mostly), almost doomy sound. Really gives meaning to the name "gothic rock". In terms of instruments, the bass is generally strong but a little quiet, and the drums and vocals are the "post-punky and uninteresting" that was standard in the early 80s. The songs are pretty slow and repetitive (excluding The Hanging Garden), but none are explicitly boring, except possibly Siamese Twins. The music would certainly be fascinating if it was experienced with drugs – and partly for that reason, the album art is on point, mood-wise. Feels like something you'd see from emo rock or a fan-fiction novel (but not pornography). Speaking of which: the title track isn't boring per se, but it's confusing as heck. I can't work out a situation where you'd ever intentionally spin that mess of garbled noise. One Hundred Years approaches this sort of "doom rock" sound, not so different from what the Beatles pioneered with I Want You (She's So Heavy), though I feel the Cure could work on the musical ideas a bit. Having those two alternating chords for most of the 400-second track length is pretty dreary – but then maybe that's exactly the point. A Short Term Effect and The Figurehead are very similar to One Hundred Years in terms of texture and overall atmosphere; the mood only really starts to shift with The Hanging Gardens, whose guitar and drums are jumpy and frantic. Very exciting to listen to, and a great pick-me-up at this point in the album. Again the bassline takes the cake, though props should also be given to the panned spacey synths that the band seems to adore. No idea how you'd capture that sound live. The track Cold absolutely nails its sound, though I do wonder if it was helped by me living in Scotland in winter while listening to this record. 3/5 Key tracks: The Hanging Garden, Cold
This was better than Seventeen Seconds, but still wasn’t as good as some of the Cure’s hit songs. I enjoyed the vibe of the album, it definitely was depressing. 4 for me, but I would give it a 4.5 if I could.
Even in the heyday of my obsession with The Cure this album was a bit much for me. Its relentless mood and full dedication to an aesthetic make it remarkable and one of the most thematically consistent Cure albums. However if you’re not invested by the first song, it’s unlikely that’s full listen will change your mind. Personally I like my maudlin with a dash of pop and melody.
Simile a seventeen seconds ma forse mi è piaciuto di meno
Admittedly enjoyed all of this but never went gaga. Kiss Me x3 and Disintegration more my vibe.
SIMPLY THE BEST!!!!
Opening track might be the best thing they've ever done
Not my favorite stuff by them but even still just so so so singular.
not totally my "thing" but its pretty undeniable for what it is as a canonical entry in the goth rock canon
Not Their perfect album, but definitely costed to listen to.
This one is so dark. It was fun to listen to because I know more about The Cure's hits and I don't think I'd heard any of these songs since I was a kid!
Bueno, creo que The Cure no me gusta mucho
Not my favorite Cure album lyrically but I love the atmosphere
Cool
1. biiiien long, sympa sans + 2. sympa mais tjrs pas exceptionnel 3. mieux!! bons drums, bonne énergie 4. retour sur un cure guitare, sympa mid 5. ok 6. meilleur son jusqu’à la 7. ok 8. pas trop d’intérêt Sur l’ensemble pas trop fan, ça se ressemble bcp, sans vrais moments de haut appart le 6. qu’est cool. 2.5-/5
2/5
I am really impressed by the cure since I started this project. I know they are a huge influential band but I've always dismissed them as sad whiny goths. Objectively though - their sound is so uniquely them. This album seems to continue in the same vein as Seventeen Seconds. Maybe a bit more polished. I still prefer Seventeen Seconds. That album just sets the mood differently and probably a bit more groundbreaking than this one - sonically and thematically. Anyway this is a solid album if you solely focus on the sound and the uniqueness.
I had heard of the Cure, but I hadn’t gone out of my way to listen to them. This album wasn’t for me, but it’s cool to expand your music knowledge.
I appreciate the bravado and the vision but I can only listen to isolated tracks from this. It's overall too dark and oppressive.
I like the layered and gloomy sound design, but it's definetely not my style. It gets tiring pretty fast.
No es mi estilo pero no está mal. Hay alguna que otra canción que se puede disfrutar.
It's satisfyingly bleak and dark. But also gets a bit samey. Not sure if I'd return to listen again, perhaps.
Yeahhh, I don't think The Cure is for me. I don't really like Smith's vocal style. I have nothing against depressing nihilistic lyrics but I'm left wondering why the band is even here; this album would be better served with just Smith doing spoken word poetry backed by weird ambient synth noises. There's just no variance to the songs either. It's a very monotone noisy album with a one track mind about suffering through life. I guess that's the point and helps drive the narrative home, but jeez. Its hard to imagine the band getting more "poppy" and mainstream after this album. Must be terrible. Standout tracks are "One Hundred Years" and "The Hanging Garden" - easy to see why this was the only single off the album, the bassline actually kicks pretty hard in this one. It's a weird self-portrait of depression with a couple redeeming qualities, so it's a 2/5 for me, but wouldn't listen again.
my favorite the cure now???????????????????????
I like The Cure but not so much this album.
I’m a Cure fan. I know this one is well loved by most fans, but for me it is average in their discography. Still good though.
cool
I think I finally understand the appeal of Pornography (the 1982 album, not the stuff you are banned from watching in the office). This was the first The Cure album I've ever listened to. I didn't get it upon first listen, that was two or three years ago. Then I listened to "The Head on the Door" and "Disintegration," both of which I consider top 100 albums I've heard. I think it's safe to say that I've had a taste of both The Cure's poppy, accessible side and their dark, gothic side. And so I went back to dive in their discography chronologically. Giving this album another chance after I've heard so many different stuff really gives a new perspective. I'm able to grasp the reasons why this album didn't hit me the first time. Such as: I was not familiar with the dark imagery in gothic rock. Back then, I wasn't a fan of the "raw" production unique to this era of The Cure. I was not ready to appreciate the little sound collage experiment in the title track. But now it's all coming to me. This is the dark cloud that represent the atmosphere gothic rock is usually going for. This is the perfect conclusion to The Cure's dark era. ------------------------------------ This album is more like an 8 out of 10 to me, but giving this album a 4 wouldn't be a proper demonstration of my love for The Cure, considering the albums this website chose to represent Cure. So I'm giving it a 5.
I'm only familiar with The Cure's hits. This was similar but somehow those songs weren't hits. Unclear why.
One of the top 5 albums of the 80s. Reminds me of my old people
Moody. Dark. Maybe 3.5
What a beautiful album. Such a luscious sound that is honestly one of one. Glad to finally fall in love with this band, as I've always kinda just admired them from afar. 9/10
A kind of classic rock vibe that is dark and unpleasant. Vocals leave me wanting. The instrumentals were pretty cool but several songs had intense dissonance that I found pretty unpleasant.
I just don't like the cure-type music that much..
Somehow I've never listened to The Cure before, but this was pretty great.
Ci sta, molto chill in realtà.
8/10 The Cure are one of those curious bands that are essentially impossible to pigeon hole. Play someone unfamiliar Boys Don’t Cry and Close To Me before sticking this album on, which was released exactly half-way between those two singles, and they’d be hard-pressed to believe that they’re by the same band. But they do what they want and that’s to be applauded. This album is a dark, brooding, throbbing examination of depression and drug abuse, and it wears its heart very much on its sleeve. It’s a dense and textured record that washes and grinds away over a fairly relentless and insistent rhythm section that gives the album a tempo that juxtaposes against that desolate tonal blanket. In some ways, that insistence can be a little draining, but it’s a very accurate artistic representation of the seemingly unending sensation and darkness of depression. You can, just about, hear the melodic talent that Robert Smith has in his armoury, as there are moments where his vocals work their way towards an almost poppy sensibility, but those moments are relatively fleeting and, if anything, enhance the stark hopelessness of the albums theme. I feel like an album like this is one that you really need to listen to at a volume that allows the full weight of the record to push down on you, as that oppressive ambience really needs to be given the opportunity to overpower and consume your senses in order to deliver it’s full impact. It’s an album that, to me, is probably greater than the sum of its parts. There’s not many individual tracks that have stuck with me, but the overall weight of the album is one that has left an impression on me that I can’t quite explain. If art is designed to evoke or echo an emotional response, the Cure have certainly achieved that goal and, while it’s not an album for everyday listening, at least for me, it’s probably a worthy companion for those times when the weight of life is becoming overwhelming. One Hundred Years - It’s a hypnotically insistent start. That drum machine drives it along from underneath a swirling and throbbing wash of distortion, delay and reverb. It’s one of those tracks that is fairly compositionally simple, but the sound design and production elevates it into something that wraps itself around you and envelops you in its atmosphere. There’s actually a little bit more range to the different sections than might first be apparent, and it certainly creates a very compelling, dark vibe. A Short Term Effect - If you were to grab a poppy new-wave band and keep them chained up in a dark basement for a month, this is the kind of song that they’d probably create on their release. There is a poppy sensibility to the vocal melody and underlying chord structure of this, but it pulses away under a sea of effects modulated guitars that tease away at the edges of that structure, never losing it completely, but doing it’s best to pull at the threads, which is only enhanced by the dissonance of the piano that drifts in and out. The Hanging Garden - The tempo ramps its way up now. It’s fairly frantic underneath Robert Smith’s vocal. There are some nice little production tricks here with panning and depth of the vocals and some cool reversed tonal sounds that shimmer out at you. It all builds in energy and weight of sound as it moves along. There are moments of stark respite from that wash of sound, but it continues to be rhythmically persistent throughout. It perhaps drags on the idea a little too long, but it’s still a solid execution. Siamese Twins - Again, this really throbs its way along in an insistent manner. It’s fairly harmonically stark, but the bass and drums give it an underlying thickness and weight that balances against the starkness in the higher frequency range. It perhaps plods along a touch too much, but I think that relentless pulse is a very deliberate artistic choice, like time driving forwards with complete indifference to the human experience. The Figurehead - This is less rhythmically in your face, but remains insistent in its delivery. Again, it’s very darkly evocative and the instrumental and vocal parts, aside from the drums and bass, weave in and out in a wash of reverb and effects, building a fascinating, ever-moving cloud of sound. It actually manages to pull out something quite hooky in there too with the “never be clean again” vocal motif. It’s a slow, brooding effort, but it’s really good. A Strange Day - There’s a nice modulating synth line in here that adds extra weight to the rhythm section. Again, this has got almost poppy new-wave sensibilities to the melodic writing, but it’s set against something that grinds away underneath it in a very brooding, un-pop music way. There are moments when it teases an emotional uplift in the chord structure, but it cycles round and round and never finds it. Again, solid atmospheric song writing and production. Cold - This is super heavyweight in the bass and then becomes gothically melodramatic when the synth strings come in. It’s fantastic sound design that really builds a fantastic bed of atmosphere. As with much of the album, it’s very insistent, but there’s a particularly unique drama about this track that makes it more bold and forward than most of the other tracks. There are also some lovely pieces of reverb and delay heavy sound design that add ear candy and depth. Pornography - This is almost a sound collage that takes place over that trademark brooding and insistent underlying bass and rhythm, although the drums take on quite a different tone here. As a sound design piece, this is great and it ebbs and flows as a soundscape, evolving as it goes. I could imagine this being quite impenetrable to some people, but this conjures such a dark, menacing vibe, with an edge of frenetic insanity that I find at really compelling. Tone sort of drifts in and out of the fuzz, but that droning anchor keeps everything pinned together really nicely. It’s a really cool way to end an album too.
FUCK I love being goth and depressed
suicidal but sexy
Difficult to rate but
8.5/10 I really enjoyed the dark lyrics and how heavy the instrumentation feels. Pretty good vocals too.
Meh Cure album
This is a band I don't get the hype about. They aren't awful but it is so electronic and distorted I can't really hear what they are saying. Its got its own sound and is a little different but I don't really enjoy it. Sorry Cure, you are just meh to me.
I listened to this several times. I don't dislike it. It has it's moments. The percussion is what I like best about these songs. They have a dark brooding mood. It's okay and could grow on me but it general, goth is just not really my cup of English Breakfast Tea.
The Cure really are two very different bands: dark goth some days and sunshine art pop others. Pornography sits squarely in dark goth land. I remember buying this album used decades ago and I couldn’t get into it because the mix was so low and muddy, but ultimately that’s the sound they likely set out to achieve. A good remastering does wonders for my spoiled ears. This sound didn’t click for me until I used the song Cold in a Halloween mix where it fit in perfectly. Time has been good to this album. While it sounds totally 80’s goth, it still sounds cool and original. The Cure are truly a great band.
Well this was incredibly uplifting. I don’t really have anything bad to say about it. I mean sure, it’s full of despair, but the songs were full and powerful. Not an everyday kind of album, but when the mood strikes, and I need another reminder that we’re all going to die…sure. 3.5
It's not terrible, but none of the songs made much of an impression on me.
Too messy, loose and vague and didn't really stick.
Overlong despite the 44 minute album length. Cool to see its influence on other bands but far from my preference.
#2 Certainly an intriguing album, where darkness and depression just takes over and walks you through an absolutely unbearable journey. Repetitive for sure, but that fits the insanely gloomy mood, maybe even adds to it. This is something that I enjoyed discovering, and it was a good one-time listen, but I would not want to revisit. A strong 3 will have to do for this one.
Deprimerend (“it doesn’t matter if we all die”) en verontrustend (“something small falls out of your mouth and we laugh”). Zo begint dit duistere album, en de rest van de looptijd bevat weinig tot geen lichtpuntjes. In mijn ogen niet de beste van The Cure maar man ze slepen me wel mee. Ik hou van de stem van Robert Smith, en die werkt wat mij betreft het beste in deze donkere context. Highlights: One Hundred Years, Cold, Pornography.
Beetje dramatische muziek allemaal. Wel kort album, had ook beetje weinig tijd dus niet super uitgebreid geluisterd.
Enjoyed more than I thought I would. Some interesting songs in here
The goth thing doesn't really speak to me, it just feels boring and samey. Maybe I'm not depressed enough
Decent 4,5
This is still my least favorite Cure album I've listened to
I like their sound, but didn't care for any of the songs
hate the cure. i liked the very end of this because it doesnt sound like the cure
I LOVE THE CURE! :3
Gothic rock, post-punk, neo-psychedelia.
4.5
i've got a lot of room in my heart for depression music. great bass tone, surprisingly good enunciation on the lyrics, fun percussion work. good stuff.
Kind of nice, although very "The Cure".
Intresdsante Musik, gefaäält mir nicht so ganz den die Stimme ist nicht meines
Sounds really raw and real but not in a good way. It’s like the production was done in a garage with a.m single mic. The sound of the record is horrible. Every single song sounds similar. The drums are flat and are just a bouncing rhythm section. His voice is overwhelming.
I liked, but didn't love this album. Maybe too many similar sounding songs, but goddamn do I love Robert Smith's voice. Disintegratration is still their top album to me, but this was a nice album to hear their earlier sound.
Great band, not a great album. Didn't feel much listening to it, nothing that really stood out. Pretty forgetable for a band that usually feels so unique.
The Cure is not for me and this album proved it!
3,5 - Düster, atmosphärisch, aber ich könnte kein Lied danach nennen. Ist auch nicht schlimm, da es insgesamt ein toll anzuhörendes Album ist. Highlights: One Hundred Years, Siamese Twins
I've been a Cure fan since I was 13 so yeah I loved this record. This was the record where they started to coalesce around what would be the signature heavy goth pop sound that is the Cure. A couple of key songs, 100 Years, Hanging Garden, A Strange Day and mostly solid album tracks. Not a fan of the title track, but this is the sound of Robert Smith coming into his own. A few years later they perfected the sound with the incredible trio of Head on the Door, Kiss Me, and Disintegration, all of which should be here before Pornography (but only one of which is actually on the list)
I was so bored 😴
First time hearing, but left impression!
The Cure for insomnia, maybe! this one is a Robert Smiss! the last time i consumed Pornography this bad i called for a wellness check on the performers! at least when they named the first two tracks One Hundred Years and A Short Term Effect they accurately described how long it'd feel and how long it'd stick in my brain, respectively!
Good test run for Disintegration
mid
The hanging garden is my pick of the album
pretty good
Didn't really listen, come back to someday, did half of it,
Feels strange to "like" an album like this. Drugs, band drama, depression. Obviously to like a piece of art it doesn't have to be overtly positive. Or overtly anything. I guess I'll steer clear of asking myself if I "like" this album and frame it more as "is this album good?" Which also feels absurd. Who the fuck am I? Anyway. Whatever. I listened to this album at least 5 times in a row. Wanted to keep listening. Apparently I like the darkness. Is darkness cool? I just really dig the huge atmospheric sounds and drums and passion. 4.5
My god the caterwauling. That album had no point.
Solid album, happy to have seen the cure in here. I don’t think this is their best album! But a good listen through and I should purchase the record!
Ig I don't like The Cure
pretty good, nothing really stood out though.
Sonntag, 01.02.2026/ Mittwoch 04.02.2026 ~ Nachmittags ~ In der S1 auf dem Weg in die Magnet-Bar am Rosenthaler Platz/ in der Philologischen Bibliothek der Freien Universität.
Dienstag, 03.01.2026 In der Ringbahn und S1 auf dem Weg zum schwimmen im 'James-Simon' Stadtbad. Ringbahn und S7 auf dem Weg zum Eislaufen auf dem Schlachtensee. Ringbahn, M6 Tram und Spaziergang durch den Volkspark Friedrichshain auf dem Weg zum Filmtheater Friedrichshain um 'One Battle After Another' nochmal mit meinem Vater zu schauen
8/10
Not as strong as their others but ahead of its time
I enjoyed it. Would be good to mix some songs in to a house cleaning mix
Dark evening, fog, winter, snow - is when you listen to the dark post punk rock
Courtney: great, but a little repetitive Craig: good, was hoping it would be better
New wave is a great subgenre
Years since I heard this album. Not as strong as it seemed years ago. The hallmarks are there but only a few songs are very strong.
nothing bad about this album in my eyes, however I also don't think there is much to write home about, it earns a C+ or B-
Good
I love the instrumentation; it's very much the goth vibe, dark, moody, and reflective. The lyrics however, slide off my brain like water off a duck's back. It took me a couple listens to hear anything other than the music, really. When I did hear the lyrics though, I did like them. This does make me curious about other goth music, but maybe with a vocalist whose lyrics I can follow better.
I listened to this album while building a shelf, hammer and drill in hand. I wore a Jane Remover crewneck covered in bones. My only exposure to The Cure before this album were the songs Boys Don't Cry and Friday I'm In Love, both of which are very different vibes from Pornography; I had this described to me as "the goth album", and I now understand what that meant. The vibe and aesthetic curated by this album is unrelenting, a total commitment to this anguished sound, mixed super rough and heavy with layers upon layers of reverbed sound. Picking out individual songs was hard on a first listen, not because the transitions are particularly hard to notice, but rather because this album hits you with an unrelenting and all-encompassing atmosphere that completely washes over you. Even if this album is not necessarily a vibe I am always seeking out in my music, I can absolutely appreciate the maximal effort on display here, achieving this gothic rock sound at its furthest possible extents. If ever I find myself in search of something goth and heavy, then this is the album I will come back to. Highlights: One Hundred Years, A Short Term Effect, The Hanging Garden, Pornography
I liked this, though it was very repetitive
Continuing my established tradition of giving four stars to vibey early Cure records.
Didn't like the first half but really like the second half
Not my thing
Not my favorite of The Cure’s albums, but it has such an amazing way of launching you into a groovy, dark and probably slightly depressive atmosphere. Definitely a work of art! Can’t wait to see them on my birthday this year.
a great dark and moody album for a rainy day. also helps that it’s my dads favourite cure album. cold is one of the best cure songs imo
Another album that I think I could grow to love over time. The songs definitely feel like they’re blending together at times, but I love the instruments.
cured
Dark & moody and I love it. The Cure at (almost) their finest (Disintegration is still their finest). Favorites: One Hundred Years, The Hanging Garden, Siamese Twins, Cold Would I listen to it again: Yes
Okay, not me
It was alright. Robert Smith's voice is an acquired taste. Not mine.
Not bad pretty decent
A very mid and boring experience. The music does not resonate with me in the slightest and most of the album just felt it's the same slow depressing and dull style throughout.
I think I’m too happy and whimsical to enjoy this album. I’ll try again when I’m spiraling
I could get into The Cure if it weren’t for his voice. It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me. I just hate it. The music is cool… they vary their sound a bit and they’re good musicians. Just that voice.
I've had a pretty mixed relationship with goth music over the years, first loving it, then getting bored with it, then being indifferent towards it, and then slowly drifting back to (selectively) loving it in the last decade or so, and through all those phases The Cure has been one of the few goth bands I've continued listening to. Yet until today I don't actually remember listening to this one. This is quite possibly The Cure at their darkest and most fkd up. A lot of fans class this as one of their greatest albums, but if I'm being honest, I can't see it myself. Sure, it's a good album, but it feels way too self-referential, way too spaced-out, to be a truly great album. It carries a lot of the hallmarks of early Cure, with the distorted guitar and the almost tinny electronic-sounding drums, and for that alone I'll be adding a copy to my physical music library, but It doesn't quite hit the full five stars for me. My rating, a steady 4 out 5.
3.5 Front loaded, became quite repetitive in the 2nd half but last track was different.
Mediocre album, nothing great nothing bad 5/10 3/5
sem palavras pra descrever.
I am all in favour of the list including a band's most distinctive album, and this is The Cure at their most Cure