Pornography

Very lush and macabre.

thanks to my daughter, i've become much more of a fan of goth than i was when i was young, so this really struck a nerve with me. great stuff. the lyrics a bit trite, perhaps. but the music!

This is a winner if only for the guitar and drums on The Hanging Gardens. But I like the whole package.

I like this. I've never listened to them but was looking forward to it. It was a little more 80's sounding then I was expected for whatever reason. I can see this growing on me. Will I listen to again: 75%

I love The Cure so much 🖤🥀😭 And I don’t even love their goth era as much as their new wave era, but this is still amazing!!!

Definitely heard of the Cure. Never fully listened to an album of theirs. Looking forward to listening to this. I dig this.

Just an endless moody stonery dirge, but some of the changes are really powerful when they break up the repetition

Solid album. The Cure always had a very interesting sound to them. Not really my cup of tea, but always an intriguing listen.

100 years - sounds like 80s vampire music The hanging garden - this has a fun chorus but I don’t like the dude’s voice. The intense drums create a vibe. The figurehead - ooo this song actually kind of slaps Cold - this song is so bleh Pornography - perhaps my fav on the album bc of how different it is. Reminds me of Ethel Cain’s Preacher’s Daughter. The background grunts def made me uncomfy. That was a freaky little song. I was ready to rate this album a 2, but the final song changed all that for me. It was the first song in this process that made me viscerally feel, and then their vision for this album clicked. This is also the first album I’ve immediately gone for a second listen of.

I’ve really enjoyed the other two albums by The Cure that have popped up (Seventeen Seconds and Disintegration), but for whatever reason, this one didn’t click with me as much today. It started to feel too monotonous by the end. Still really solid, though. Somewhere between 3.5 and 4.

Vivid depths of depression, expressed through effects and vocals that make it palpable

Pretty good

love the cure. this was almost too dark and dreary for me; i prefer the cure when robert smith is just in love and having fun because that's the type of loser i am. but the aesthetics of it, the dark jangling distortion of it is so awesome. it's crazy that this album came out in '82. you can hear its influence in sooo much later rock, basically anything goth and anything with a lot of distortion and pedals. 8.5/10, fav tracks: the hanging garden, one hundred years, a strange day

ohhh my god mfmgmnfgn (listened to this in the car a year ago and had to pretend i wasn't going insane, also tbh the experience would've probably been better alone in a dark room but yeah still good)

On first listen, it's dark, rhythmic, but didn't grab me. Thankfully, it looped back around, and it's a real grower. That enveloping darkness, Lol Tolhursts drumming, ooh it's nice.

Quite an intense album. Enjoyed

The Cure at their darkest and most bleak. Loved most of this one. 4.5

Definitely dope

Creepy atmosphere. I guess good gothic rock.

i literally own this album on CD. Listen to Cold if you haven't already.

Awesome! Best Tracks: Hanging Garden & Pornography.

Really nice, love the bass. Robert Smith's voice is a bit annoying though.

First Cure album and this is pretty good. Dark and twisted but with out the context of other albums in their discography i can’t tell if this is my favorite sonic style for them.

Strange choice for the list as there are much better albums.

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!! Devin will love this!🤣 Not my favorite Cure album, but definitely fits their goth template. Hanging Garden is the best song, One Hundred Years is a good opening track. ***

Glad to see another Cure album on here! And such a provocative title. I haven't heard this album before, but it's more Cure goodness. Moody, spooky, and that dungeon music we all love. Figurehead sounded like Enjoy the Silence.

Incredibly well done album. Grim, twisted vibe, with strong rhythms, haunting vocals from Robert Smith, and cryptic and unsettling lyrics. Not for the casual Cure listener, but a necessary listen for anyone who enjoys their music dark, distorted and nuanced. Fave Songs: The Hanging Garden, Cold, A Strange Day, One Hundred Years, The Figurehead

It's the cure. Dark, depressing, menacing and pretty. A great album if you like that sort of thing. I do. 9/10

Dark, moody and magnificent

Where I didn't enjoy Joy Division at all, this album is fantastic. Dark and brooding, thick sound, depressing content, but works in the context of the album. I loved every second of this and am much more familiar with "happy" Cure than "sad" Cure.

I listened to this and thought it sounded absolutely terrible. Turns out my headphones were broken. So I listened to it again and it sounded great.

Damn near 5 stars. So good.

Comme tous les albums de The Cure: j'aime beaucoup les pièces individuellement, mais je deviens saturée quand j'écoute les albums au complet. Je salue ici le travail des ambiances et des textures.

Just an excellent album. Only surpassed by Disintegration.

Such a great album from one of my favourite bands. I don't give it the love that I really should. Must remedy that.

Listened Before? No Album starts on a discordant note with One Hundred Years. The song remains uncomfortable and ominous for its entire 6 minute runtime. Really like the layering and echo effects employed here and how they made use of simple guitar scratching and a rooted bass line to get super spooky. The Hanging Garden is a bass-propelled song with some interesting overlaid effects. Had this mostly in the background, but this honestly surprised me. I expected a poppier-punk album out of The Cure, and was pleasantly surprised by a bleak post-punk exploration. Very cool effects and instrumentals that make for a largely unsettling atmosphere. I enjoy the title track to close the album, complete with scratchy radio/TV samples and long droning bass (as if a bow is pulled across). This was way more solid than I expected. 4 / 5 and will give another closer listen later. Added to Library? Yes

Never really liked the Cure listening to single songs here and there but have really dug Disintegration and Pornography. Flows well and is just gothic af. Robert Smith rules

The best of The Cure's goth-era records as everything works together to form that "textured mood" (lyrics, sound, production, pacing, etc.)

I’m a fan of The Cure. I’ve been listening to them since high school. But I never listened to them critically as I am doing with this 1001 Album project. I gotta I never noticed, every vocal melody is more or less the same exact melody. The tempo might be slightly different but everything else is the same thing. That said, I still thoroughly enjoy this album. I’ve listened to it a 1000 times before and will listen to is a 1000 times more.

Dark and brooding. Reminds me of every 80s vampire movie ever.

This was intense and dark and worked for me today. I can imagine other days when it wouldn't work.

Early goth music with that dark, brooding quality. The sound tends to be too murky to be atmospheric though.

Post punk? New Romantic? Shoegazer? I dig the vibe.

Pretty good moody

3.5 Not quite as good as some of the other stuff they have but, still very interesting listen

It's like a mission statement. A taste of what they were capable of before reaching the top. Also, immediately before releasing The Top, but that pun was accidental, I swear. These tracks drag you along relentlessly. They can't stop, but they can't elevate, because it's oh so painful to live. I didn't ask to be born, MOM! I will, however, ask to play this album again.

Really atmospheric and good album I wouldn't have found otherwise. I enjoyed this a lot.

love the cure but can’t give 5 star cus other cure albums alone r better

The Cure has never really clicked for me in any meaningful way up until today, but man I actually really enjoyed this. The production was so dark and the instrumentals were so strange and industrial, really really great.

Nice

The cure 👍

Geweldig, crazy grimmig en leuke effecten en geluiden. Would listen agaian

I have a history with the Cure. I adore Head on the Door and Disintegration. It surprised me a little tonight to realize that I've never heard this album entirely. On one listen, not much really stood out to my ears. Hanging Garden and Figurehead were catchy though. But the whole album is a beautiful piece of art that is completely engaging throughout. I feel this is closer to Disintegration vibes sans any pop motive. It might not be often, but there is a place for this album in my library.

Need to have another listen of this one, very interesting

80/100

I definitely agree with this album being on the list. Several tracks are ahead of their time, with the classic 80s reverbed guitar melodies embellished in interesting ways to make them more heavy-hitting, and some of the lyrics fit for a metal song.

Context: I had heard the cure from indie nights out in the early 2000's but only really knew 1 song, "Friday, I'm in Love". Listens: 1 Opinion: I had an idea of what the cure would sound like in my head but this completely expanded my view of what the band was capable of. This is an album that feels like 8 really deep cuts but they are all interesting, moody, and feel heavy. Highlights: - Cold - Siamese Twins - A Strange Day This is a really good album and I am definitely excited to explore more of the cure.

Niet het beste werk van The Cure, maar toch altijd erg tof. 3,5 ster, maar gezien alle andere geweldige muziek die ze hebben gemaakt, rond ik het graag af naar boven.

Zware kost deze plaat, maar oh oh wat is het prachtig!

rating this a 4 because I know that one day when I am feeling incredibly defeated, probably over a girl, I will love this album. as of today its a 3.5ish maybe

More musical wizardry from Robert Smith and the gang. The sonic landscapes are a bit dark but this first album of what would be known as the Trilogy (the other two are 1989's Disintegration and 2000's Bloodflowers) is excellent. The Hanging Garden is a particular favorite. Disintegration, in my view, remains their best album (and one of the best albums by anyone, ever), but you can't go wrong with any album by The Cure.

My first time listening to a Cure album. Very gloomy rock. Songs were long, but didn't drag. Leads voice is very British, but very good. Surprised this is the Monday Tuesday Wednesday song band. This album definitely has a less poppy, more depressed sound.

😎

I never liked The Cure, even though I tried to like them for a long time. Plenty of my favourite bands cite them as one of their inspiration, but somehow I didn't know what is so appealing about them. One of the biggest problems I had with The Cure is the vocal. It reminds me so much of all the terrible post punk bands, that it felt like an allergic reaction. But my first approach to the album "Pornography" changed my view quite a bit. Mainly through the shoegazy background and general depressing sound, that didn't feel forced or overdone. And this time vocalist was fitting really well into the bigger picture. Every song was very solid, no fillers, and a great outro song. You can say I'm finally hooked. I'll give it 4 stars, but if their next album on this list is as good (and I don't doubt there will be couple more The Cure albums here), then it's an easy 5.

Brill. Really enjoyed this.

Great album!

Superbra!" vrf har jag inte lyssnat på detta tidigare?

Goth im Himmel! Aber die Produktion?

not bad, the cure is actually a pretty decent band

It's mopey, dense Cure. I like it it a lot.

I wasn't familiar with this album and that's a big fail on my part. Loved it. I've grown to quite like the Cure over the years, but that's mainly been a result of listening to the more obvious cuts. Well, no more! Didn't recognize a single song on here, but mood and tone for days. I really gotta do more homework on this band. Make my summer gothy. I'll be indoors.

I’m growing to enjoy the new age sound of the Cure. Good guitar riffs, driving drum tracks, was swept away in the listen. Solid 4!

Se pinta un universo, oscuro, extravagante, casi demoniaco, pero que tiene su sentido de misterio que lo hace interesante. Otro gran disco de the cure que no me defrauda nunca, pasan de clasicos, melodias alegres que te emocianan y ahora esto, es inexplicablemente sorprendente 8/10.

My favourite The Cure album, this is just incredibly atmospheric and dark from the off with some of the most sinister sounding synths I’ve ever encountered

I'm getting a trend here... Stripped, Arrival, Aqualung, Myths, Good old boys, etc... they are all the 4th studio album, as is this! This one lives up to the goth rock expectations. Still really good.

Robert Smith is on a whole different level. I know the Cure and like them, but I hadn't heard this album before. Its on their usual standard, which is to say that its pretty damn good. 4/5

Very very solid. Repetitive but still quite interesting.

Dark, moody, atmospheric. I enjoyed this a lot.

Pornography is great. Album cover depicts the feeling of this album perfectly; It's hellish and foggy. I especially appreciate the drum (mixing?) on this project.

put in your black eye shadow, liner, and lipstick, it’s time to brood. a plodding and cerebral album, it lacks some of the shine of their pop gems. however, that doesnt detract from the energy and lo-fi energy. it’s dark to a point, the drums are visceral and sound like theyre veing played in the rain. a strong album. v strong.

Great album and sounds for the period!

Atmospherically gloomy.

Kind of...not that remarkable to my ears in 2023. Probably mind blowing in its day.

Love the atmosphere and the overwhelming sound. I couldn't listen to this at any time. But, playing this loud on a Friday night at home alone with a bottle of whiskey, that would be perfect.

Slaps

Track 1 wins the weekly Spooky Award, previously held by such songs as “Hollow Hills” by Bauhaus & “La Fille De La Mort” by The Young Gods New to all of this album. Closer sonically to “Disintegration” than I expected, but mood-wise has a lot in common with “Seventeen Seconds” HL: “One Hundred Years”, “Hanging Garden”, “The Figurehead”, “A Strange Day”, “Cold” March 31, 2023

En vrai c'est 3.5 mais je ne peux pas leur mettre la même note qu'à Manu Chao

Disintegration is a farce and shoulda been a 3. This is a great cohesive mellow lad

Well now, that was a dark album. I think I’m going to go out and buy some black clothes, hang out at the mall and make fun of the emo kids now. Later! Seriously though, this album had some good moments. The first three tracks and “Pornography” were pretty good. This part of the review was written in a word document when the album was first chosen but I forgot to post it. The next paragraph will be my impressions from a recent listen. It's a year later and I still like the album during today's listen and my favorite tracks are pretty much the same. A solid 3.5 star album that I'm rounding up to a 4.

So angsty and heavy!! I know they pivoted to the more radio-friendly version we all love after this album but I really appreciated hearing them go through the crucible of this record. It could have all crashed and burned, but I think you can already hear the potential for the sound they would go on to dominate, especially in the second half. A Strange Day feels like the perfect prequel to Friday I'm in Love. The album feels like it would have been appropriate to accompany a film like The Crow. Straight-up gothic. Not necessarily my taste but definitely the album I've enjoyed the most since I joined this journey with you all. 4

I think a great album creates its own world and I do feel like that was done by the cure here. There is a consistent and cohesive sound throughout, but one that felt more like background music to me. Maybe if I was more of a lyrics person I would have paid greater attention to what was being said here. It was fine to have on while I worked but at no point did I compelled to stop working and just listen, which all of the 5 star rated albums made me do if I was working while it played.

Love its style.

This is the first album by The Cure I've ever listened to and it was really good. I'm looking forward to other albums by them since I'm sure there's more than one in this list.

I enjoyed it. Everything felt like it flowed together really well.

Moody and gothic, an album that must be listened to at a high volume to feel the beat and the heat of the art on display here

Really good but not my favorite Cure album

Not the best example of the Cure's work. Never less than interesting however

Excellent moody post punk emo. Really interesting drumming with excellent vocals. Had never heard any of these tunes before but really liked the entire album, tough to pick a favourite track but I really enjoyed how they closed it out with the title track. 4 stars

A love letter to pain, an album that starts by saying "It doesn't matter if we all die" and that makes a new music form out of destructive thoughts. One of the great bands and one of their most important albums. Yet not quite perfect.

Donker, donkerder, The Cure. Een album waar niet echt een hit is uit gevloeid, maar desalniettemin een topplaat. Eens je wat in de juiste sfeer bent toch

This is the one eighties record where The Cure maybe went a little too far in the gloom 'n' doom, freakish goth ambiences, sucking out any breathable air out of this collection of mournful songs--"air" both in the sense of "room to breathe" and "memorable or hummable melody". Then again, *Pornography* is the favorite record of a significant subset of fans for *these exact same reasons*. And as such, and given how important The Cure is in the history of popular music, it is still one of the five or six essential LPs the band has released in the first decade of their career. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: less than 700, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens:  approximately a half so far (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter

Better than I remember. Really good album.

Not their best

In high chool in the mid 80's this was the Cure album all the Goth kids loved, this was prior Disintegration being released. It's dark, moody and bleak, just a great record. Though you really need to be in the right mood and setting to really get into. A gray cold January like today was perfect. I like this album a lot and I think it's a great choice since it probably gets lost among the other albums.

Some of my favorite gloom rock! I do especially like Hanging Garden and Siamese Twins, but pretty much the whole record. Moody, sullen, morose…

A quality Cure record. I was already a Cure fan. I don't think this would be the record I would use to change peoples minds about the Cure.

Obvious evolution over the last Cure album we had. Looking forward to more. 4

4,5 so good

Good album but I prefer Disintegration

Not their best, but I love The Hanging Garden and One Hundred Years. I was an 80s goth kid, YMMV.

Very good. I like hanging garden

The record drones and echoes and haunts in a gloomy mist that is next dark and squalling, getting to some of the terror of what might be called modern life (such as it was 40ish years ago), by which one means the fucking dread and anxiety of individual consciousness. And yet we know what they mean and should do our best not to think about how much better this could have been, knowing now that it was going to get exactly that. But this one drones edgily with drums sounding now far away distant, then submerged, and then ominous and relentless even at mid tempo. They were slowly advancing outward from the Joy Division template with swirls and filigrees and elaborate sorts of skewed echoings. "Hanging Garden" is best song overall and "The Figurehead" and "A Strange Day" are the most evocative/predictive of Disintegration, this band's far and away masterpiece.

Very dark sounding, repetitive, and bleak.

So goth, so, 80s? Drums and synths, the lyrics aren’t impactful to me but I never pay attention to lyrics anywag

Frábær

While I love how The Cure mixed darkness and brightness on their later albums, this album is a great look at their unadulterated dark side. Pounding drums and base and screeching guitars abound.

Catually loved it. Always thought the cure were kinda ditzy airheads for moody girls but their earlier goth-rock mood is actually very satisfying. Apparently Robert Smith was going through a sever bout of depression and substance abuse with this one and it gives the whole affair a nice edgey chiaroscuro.

Fantastic Cure album

This was dope

Strangely soothing, albeit depressing at the same time. Not usually my taste but I found the album captivating

I've always enjoyed The Cure's big songs, don't know if they're all singles but have never fell in love with a whole album. I like both early goth Cure and pop Cure, this is obviously the former. Though people bang on about Disintegration and I'm the same with that, just the big songs please. The atmosphere created here is the first thing to hit you. The bass, Smith's voice, the lyrics, the repetitive slow drums. Doom, doom, doom. I think if it carried on like Side A I'd have to turn it off as it would be too much. But with The Figurehead and Strange Days the mood lightens just enough, musically.

4,5

Considering how close the Cure came to imploding during the recording of Pornography, it’s a wonder they managed to produce anything listenable, let alone an album so expansive and gorgeously melancholic. Special mention goes to Lol Tolhurst’s propulsive drumming.

82/10”

great album. so much going on and took me back to my youth

bhe' The Cure cosa dire.... in macchina di notte sarebbe perfetta. Dark, voce figa, un po' simili ma l'album dura poco

3.5/5 good dark rock, but vocals can be annoying

This album was terrific! Although it is not my personal favorite group of Cure songs (for example, I could listen to All Cats are Grey all day), it is very good. I think almost any Cure album is a four for me! Having seen them live in the last couple years, it now brings back memories of that wonderful evening outside listening to some of my very favorite musicians.

Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... Dark repetition, droning on and on ... "That's what I like!"

Iconic. Cure always wins.

The third and gloomiest of their gloom trilogy (17 seconds, faith, this) I saw them on this tour and boy they did not look or sound happy. The first side of this takes some time to get going, but by the time of The Figureheard you are definitely there. Couldn't possibly top this, so pop singles it was next.

This is awesome

Listened Before? N It's incredible to me that these guys have been around so long and making music that is consistently quality, and in some cases influential for the entire time. We all get older, the Cure is timeless. I've never heard this album before, but they're so consistent this could have been released in 1992 or 2002 instead of 1982. I enjoyed it! Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: A Strange Day

Hadn't listened to this in years. As dense as I remember but really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed the dark, moody, and immersive sound, so this to me is a record that's better listened to in it's entirety during a single sitting. I don't know if some songs stand strong on their own, a couple tracks only get pulled up by the standouts surrounding them - like A Strange Day and Cold. As a very casual, singles-only listener of The Cure, I can't help but think that they have material that's much better than this. Still giving it four stars though, if only for that atmosphere it provides.

Cool music, very evil sounding :)

4/5 The hanging garden ist ein banger

What a testament to the absurd quality and depth of The Cure's discography that not a single of my Top 10 Cure tracks are on this record. Despite it being one of their strongest. The songs are grandiose, Smiths vocals desperate, and the lyrics gloomy as ever.

There are few singers out there capable of conveying despair and helplessness in the same way as Robert Smith. And rarely is he more present than on this record. And oh my, does his guitar sound absolutely amazing as always? If you’re used to only listening to The Cure’s more uptempo and (used with quite a bit of restraint) “joyful” later material, Pornography is extremely bleak - as perfectly illustrated by the brutally sparse “Siamese Twins”. This is by no means their most accessible or easy album; but I think that actually makes it that much greater.

Misery loves company, hair spray and lipstick. It must have taken a lot of effort to be this miserable. Best Tracks: One Hundred Years; Siamese Twins; A Strange Day

7/10

Oh man, I love this album. It’s been too long.

Pounding (yet distant) drums, chorused bass, slathered in reverb, this album is the blueprint for proper 80s goth. The last in the Cure’s trilogy of gloom-rock, this is the album where Robert Smith leans most heavily into his depression to create what is probably the ur-text of miserabilism. Ironically, having got it out of his system, he starts producing more pop-like and up-tempo material, albeit with a dark edge and morbid sense of humour, leaving a flock of pale and black-clad imitators in his wake. Not a lot of humour on this one though, it is bleak, bleak, bleak. Which can make is a dreary listen if you ain’t in the mood, but relatable if you are. This is, to my mind, the album that comes close to the true sound of depression. It never builds up too much energy, although it starts as foreboding and builds into overwhelming angst. Noisy, insistent, and anxious, it a smoothed out with a sheen of synth washes and digital reverb to be both spacious and claustrophobic. I used to listen to this a lot when I was 20, but haven’t spun it in a long, long time, probably because I choose not to wallow in depression if I can help it, and this album invokes those feelings all too effectively.

Smith doubling down on the Joy Division legacy. I hear so many parallels. There are about three great songs on this and the rest is a slog. Not my favourite Cure record by a long stretch, but it's not actually bad. Just hard work. 3.5 rounded up I guess.

Cure being the Cure. Not my favorite I've heard from them, but still, nothing quite scratches that gloom-and-doomy itch like them.

Good 8/10

Decent stuff

LP

Depressing, dark, evil, with the obligatory song about animals having sex. Yup, this is classic gothic rock. Honestly, it's kind of incredible how something so off-putting and dark can be made actually listenable and enjoyable. (At least for certain people. I definitely don't blame anyone who dislikes this sort of sound)

ikkje min favoritt cure-album, men fortsatt bra

Dark and slaps

Slaps. Always down for The Cure

One of The Cure's best. Great record!

Great album.

Absolutely stunning and timeless album for being released so early into the 80s. The miracle of this LP is how it defines some of the musical tropes of the decade (see espec. the Cure's trademark chorus-based guitar tones) without making itself a relic of the time – one or two instrumental aspects of each song will date the track to the 80s, but once the full mix prevails that quickly becomes forgotten. Couple this with stunningly dark melodic compositions and proto-gaze wall-of-sound production and you have an album that is both a product of its time and yet timeless in itself. My only complaint here would be that runtimes could be a bit tighter, as each track could cut about a minute to heighten impact, but overall this still stands miles above other LPs of its time.

Bleak. Dark. Depressing. Brilliant

Decent. I think I prefer less of the cure though. They've created brilliant music, but one can be overwhelmed.

Pounding (yet distant) drums, chorused bass, slathered in reverb, this album is the blueprint for proper 80s goth. The last in the Cure’s trilogy of gloom-rock, this is the album where Robert Smith leans most heavily into his depression, to create what is probably the ur-text of miserabilism. Ironically, having got it out of his system, he starts producing more pop-like and up-tempo material, albeit with a dark edge and morbid sense of humour, leaving a flock of pale imitators in his wake. Not a lot of humour on this one though, it is bleak, bleak, bleak. Which can make is a dreary listen if you ain’t in the mood, but relatable if you are. This is, to my mind, the album that comes close to the true sound of depression. It never builds up too much energy, although it starts as foreboding and builds into overwhelming angst. Noisy, insistent, and anxious, it a smoothed out with a sheen of synth washes and digital reverb to be both spacious and claustrophobic. I used to listen to this a lot when I was 20, but haven’t spun it in a long long time, probably because I choose not to wallow in depression if I can help it, and this album invokes those feelings all too effectively.

Legal

Now I get why The Cure is considered one of the most important post-punk bands on par with Joy Division

Certianly an album I'd like to spend more time with. One Hundred Years certainly sets the scene and the whole album comes together nicely.

Dark, gloomy, eerie, scary. This album has to be my definition and picture of the whole Goth scene of the 80's. This is The Cure's fourth studio album and apparently found them not in good shape (drug use, depression (suicidal thoughts), fighting, member leaving). I guess you know where you're headed when the first lyric on the album is "it doesn't matter if we all die." This album did not get great reviews when it came out but in retrospect, has been recognized much more favorable and as one of their best. I admit to not listening to this album until the 1990's when The Cure were well established. To me, they went darker and more gloomy than what Joy Division did on "Closer" and eventually fine-tuned this atmosphere along with their in-between pop sounding experience and songs to make 1989's "Disintergration." Every song is dark and creates its intended atmosphere. "The Hanging Graden", the only single off the album, has a tumbling bass and drumbeat and kind of a searing guitar and is a song they have trouble playing live since they can't re-create the sound. "Siamese Twins" is maybe the best song example of the album's mood and is one of the best uses of a song in any TV show for an episode of "The Americans." "A Strange Day" is the most pop-oriented song on the album with great layered-guitars. Don't know why this wasn't the single? I appeciate this album with each additional listen especially considering where the band went in the future. Without that reference, I'm not sure how I would have interpreted this.

The influence of Joy Division is strong here. This album is a look at the Cure before they embraced a more upbeat New Wave style. Pornography is driving, dense, and foreboding. Robert Smiths languid delivery and depressing lyrics add to the oppressive mood of this album. The musicianship is subdued but almost like a wall of droning looping sounds.

Muito bom.

Tosi solid albumikokonaisuus. Bändille ominainen soundi kantaa koko julkaisun läpi. The Hanging Garden on vitun upee styge. Vaatis ehkä jonku kunnon goottivaiheen että rakastuisin Cureen täysillä vielä enemmän. 4/5

Uh saattaa olla kakkossuosikki Curen levyistä Faithin jälkeen. Tunnelma on vaan upea.

Great album but not exactly one to take you to your happy place. Unless, of course, your happy place involves chronic depression and a debilitating drug habit.

Does not work as pornography.

J’aime vraiment de plus en plus The Cure. Un peu répétitif par moment, mais les sonorités et les ambiances sont vraiment intéressantes. C’est drôle que le début de Siamese Twins ait été réutilisé sur Pictures of You sur Desintegration. J’ai l’impression aussi que le riff a été réutilisé sur un autre album plus tard pour être développé autrement, mais je ne trouve pas où ce matin.

The epitome of gothic rock. It's full of anxiety and dread, with creepy and romantic lyrics, Robert Smith's yearning voice filled with desperation and chaos, and a wall of stressful noise that overwhelms you. Excellent synths and use of feedback and sustains, creating a haunting atmosphere that seems to drag on for eternity. Huge Joy Division vibes. It's fast paced and full of engaging sounds; you can dance to many of these tracks. Tracks are the perfect length for their theme, being slightly longer than your average pop tracks. Yet there's only 8 tracks, and they're all strong entries. The more accessible tracks are in the first half, but it only takes a few listens to appreciate the genius behind them all. "Cold" is probably the darkest song I've ever heard... that drumming is so hollow, and with the ice imagery, it sounds like they're playing in a fantasy-esque dark ice castle. I can't be the only one who finds the abruptness of the closer really unsettling.

This is some dark stuff

I love the Cure. I had the chance to see them at B'ham Uni in 1980 and didn't take it, and have regretted it ever since.

Siamese twins and the caterpillar were highlights.

really enjoyed it. the instrumentals are great.

Yooo

HarD

Grr… mom brought me the wrong dip sauce for my chicken nuggies… she just doesn’t GET me… goth 4 life

Zornography

A classic!

As the darkness fell across the land so began his descent into the deep well of desolation. His love that once had been the shining beacon for his life has become the crimson eye of despair. Yeah, go to Whitby, listen to some cure and write some gothy shit. Only saw about 10 goths while I was in goth central, half of them were Japanese so could just have been baby metal fans and one of the goths I saw was mooching round in a pair of knee high boots and a pair of Kecks that left half her arse hanging out. Quite the juxtaposition with the scent of fish and chips and the penny slot casinos.

I just cannot stop wanking to this. Fuck me, my dick hurts. Somebody stop me. Don't stop me. I need this to feel alive.

If this is the cure, what was the disease?

Opener sets the tone, with just wicked, haunting guitars and drums so distant in the mix, like they were recorded down the hall in another room. A little less droning, a bit more melodic and touch more energetic than Seventeen Seconds. Still brooding but not as comprehensive a gloomfest. Is this record to emo what Gregorian Chant is to contemporary classical music? 3.65 but a reluctant 4 due to lack of hits and because their best work was still ahead.

Dark. Gloomy. Synthy. Really good. 8-9/10

Introductions to The Cure are mostly their brighter and more jovial offerings. "Pornography" however is a bit dark and moody with a seriousness throughout. In a way, one almost wonders if this was The Cure at all as nearly all subsequent releases were brighter, more in-line with the decade trends. With that in mind, this album is incredible albeit the subject matter indicating a certain depth that should be uncomfortable. Misery loves company, and misery may in fact love this album.

Goth, man :(

A great vocalist and a great sound. You're transported away to a forest of danger and melancholy. Great stuff

Liked this a lot, a darker diversion from the pop-Cure and all the better for it.

Much darker than I thought it would be - the album felt more of an overall mood than any specific standout tracks, I enjoyed it.

Love The Cure. Just have a place in my music heart for that darkness. Had not listened to this album, and it has a different feel than the overly played "LoveSong", "friday I'm in love", "just like heaven" type of tracks mostly associated with them. Definitely enjoyed.

Good, but you definitely need to be in the right frame of mind to get this one.

Great stuff from The Cure, one of their darker, bleaker records

Thought I knew it and didn't like it, that 1980s one TWO three FOUR drum beat on a few tracks was annoying, I'd probably enjoy a remixed version. However after repeated listens decided it was quite good.

Really liked this album. Had only listened previously to a handful of tracks by The Cure. Especially liked The Hanging Garden. Album was a bit dark and moody with great instrumentals.

Much better than I expected. I appreciate the darker notes.

Jesus, just go see a therapist. Best track: Cold

The force of the rhythm section is honestly breathtaking

Liked it more than I thought I would. I might actually like The Cure.

Heftiger Sound

Another overlooked band by me, the Cure is great

Dark and moody, a fabulous album from start to finish, with Robert Smith’s characteristic vocals present throughout. Musically more down tempo than it’s sister album, Seventeen Seconds, but showcasing the band as they rise to become a global presence. Top tracks: One Hundred Years, The Hanging Garden, Cold

I love the Cure and it's really easy to get lost within any of their albums. Pornography is brilliant, though no my personal fav. I do struggle with the title track though (not the best ending to an album)

Another Cure Album, much darker than Disintegration, but still fantastic.

The Cure before they discovered the playfulness that gave them hit singles.

Really unsure what to rate this, I think its probably better than I give it credit for m, but Jesus it's dour. Will have to come back to this again one day

Wow. This was really good. A great sonic journey. 4 stars.

Sad boy hours. I like it.

Ovo je u top 3 definitivno najboljih The Cure albuma. Tako mračan, ritmičan, depresivan, hladan album, ujedno pun ljepote ako se to može tako i navesti. Ako si fan ovog benda, ovaj album moraš ispoštivati.

Le pongo 4 estrellas por lo que significa. No es que me haya parecido espectacular, pero cuando terminó el disco Spotify se siguió con rolas similares y me puse a pensar que este disco es parte de la base para un gran capítulo en la base de la historia musical global. Amén.

Excellent Cure offering. It captures the melancholy perfectly. Not my favorite from the trilogy cure album, but it is still a remarkable piece of work.

The first Cure song I ever fell in love with was "Burn" from the Crow soundtrack, and this whole album sounds like that, so I am very much on board. Digging the abject gothiness of the whole thing. Fave track - "The Hanging Garden", perhaps, or "A Short Term Effect". I like this album as an album, though, rather than discrete tracks.

Plenty of classic cure angst but lacks the hooks of other records. Still a great moody and atmospheric record though

I'm not that big a fan of The Cure, didn't knew any of the songs of the album, but it's quite interesting. Somehow raw, feels kind of unfinished sometimes, but overall is nice.

sounds like the talking heads if they were trying to not sound like the talking heads. also has a similar but unique sound to molchat doma. good album, added one of the songs to my playlists.

the cure fans when they google pornography not my favorite cure album but solid enough

So doom-y and quite a bit gloomy. They're all just so genuinely affected and the music just drones on and on and somehow becomes more all encompassing. Like a hug from a demon. Real goth stuff.

So this led me to the album before this from the Cure which I liked more, but I thought the cure sad tones really come through here

In Conclusione: Aspettavo un po' il momento in cui avrei incrociato i The Cure su 1001 perché sono un gruppo che non ho mai approfondito, che mi ha sempre intrigato e che però quando ho incrociato con qualche pezzo di solito mi ha deluso. Dall'aspetto, dal nome, da come ne parlano i fan m'ero sempre fatto un'idea dei The Cure ma poi quando mi capitava di sentire dei pezzi erano molto diversi da quello che mi sarai aspettato... ma non questo album! Finalmente i The Cure hanno un senso per me. Devo dire che l'ho apprezzato davvero molto, col tono dark e un po' marcio che mi aspettavo e che non ho mai ritrovato. Stilisticamente è un blend davvero molto interessante e personale di influenze ed è impossibile non sentire come poi a loro volta hanno influenzato una generazione di musicisti venuti dopo di loro. La produzione non è il massimo forse ma non per i soliti motivi anni '80 (o forse sì?). Forse i suoni elettronici sono un po' acerbi ma è difficile capire se fosse intenzionale, sicuramente oggi avrebbe avuto un'altra estetica. Comunque so contento di aver trovato pace coi The Cure.

E' stato un ascolto impegnativo ma che mi è piaciuto e sono un fan della produzione. Lo stile canoro è al limite per me ma comunque funzionale alla musica. Sicuramente è un disco che riascolterò spesso.

did listen

bacaninha (jack bauer nao curtiu)

Excellent!

dark as fuck, but really enjoyed that. will listen again.

decent but pretty weird. 7+

Nunca he entendido el fandom extremo que causó The Cure en las culturas underground, por así decirlo, a mí me parece poco entrañable y no me atraen sus ocasionales sonidos sucios, quizás porque es un poco como lo que me pasa con Lana del Rey en el pop, quizás si le bajaran un poco al clonazepam más frecuentemente me llamarían más. Por otras parte, el disco tiene sonidos interesantes para mi antigua alma gótica y me recordó a una crush de la prepa a la que le gustaba mucho esta banda. Canción favorita: The Hanging Garden, porque es la que tiene un ritmito más pegajoso según yo. mood: con el litio al cien, pero recostado en un lecho de muerte.

Alright, very chill emo Vibe

Das titelgebende Stück ganz zum Schluss ist schon irre großes Tennis, verstörend, lauernd, droney. Und dabei ist es nicht das einzige Highlight in einer an Hits armen dafür aber fast durchgängig hochkarätigen Songauswahl. Gitarren zerschneiden mehrere Schichten wabernden Trockeneisnebel, Drums unmenschlich monoton eben doch menschlich leidenschaftlich und immer mit einem klein-perkussiven Extra-Kniff; die Eskalation in den Strukturen und eine wirklich großartige Stimm-Modulation flößt selbst nüchtern ein sehnsüchtelnd Bauchgefühl nach heftigem Rausch ein. Das ist irgendwie schon das Beste, was Dark Wave kann. Headphones please! 4.1

Depressive self-indulgence; less fun than the album name suggests. Music is still awesome. 8

Nice blast from the past and to reminisce about high school. Definitely different from the Cure everyone (thinks) they know, me included.

I didn’t really know what to expect, but it was good.

Chilling, ethereal, and sometimes hypnotic - this is a good first look at a genre that has been much imitated since this release, but in the opinion of these fresh ears, not replicated. STANDOUTS: -One Hundred Years -The Hanging Garden -The Figurehead -A Strange Day -Cold

Siempre he tenido una relación extraña con la música de The Cure. El género del goth como tal me agrada bastante en muchos otros grupos y ellos creo tienen merecido su lugar. Su música por un lado tiene muchos sencillos que musicalmente suenan casi a pop y por otro pueden estar entre los mejores para dar variación emocional y ponerse la camiseta del género. Este es creo un disco bastante dificil y no es para nada de sorprenderse que cuando haya salido no hubiera pegado ni tantito. Aquí no hay un solo sencillo, no hay casi variación tonal, todo el disco sale de un pozo de desesperación y depresión. Las letras tienen a una persona que se siene incapaz de volver a sentir felicidad, lleno de autodestrucción y como si fueran su última declaración al mundo. En realidad se siente como si fuera una foto del punto más bajo en la vida de Robert Smith. Se toman esas letras y se pegan a una música que de verdad te desgasta, el bajo y la batería podrían ser los mismos en cada canción que no te das cuenta. La guitarra simple siempre discordante al resto de la música y la voz atascada de eco. El disco debiera ser aburrido pero de alguna forma todo se mezcla en algo casi empoderante, casi a decirte "mira que tan bajo se puede caer, da gracias de no estar ahí." De nuevo, no es un disco agradable ni facil, se siente el combustible de drogas, alcohol y depresión del que salió y el bajo estado mental en su creación. Sin embargo quizá justo es esto lo que debería de ser este género y menos "Friday I'm in Love." Amalgama de tortura que puede a veces sentirse indulgente pero es preciso en ser un proyecto grande de rock gótico.

#2 behind disintegration

I have never heard this one before. It definitely sounds like they are still developing their “sound”. I understand why it came up in this list. I would have to listen to more before I could find songs I like. Nothing reaches out to me like other artists and songs in the past.

Awesome 80s.vibes

Good music. Not the best to be listening to over Sunday brunch, just a lil grim.

Great!

Aunque parezca raro creo que este es el disco más oscuro de the cure en muchos sentidos. La música es lúgubre, las letras son sombrías y crudas

This is the kind of Cure that I like, not so much the more new-wavey stuff. This albums feels like it came from resentment and pain. Gleefully miserable. Also more experimental than I was expecting, which was pleasing.

Not my favorite album from The Cure but a good listen nonetheless.

Good listen. I remembered some of these songs but had never heard the entire album.

Surprised by how much I liked it. Dark pre new wavy cure

Very dark and melodramatic. Liked the opening track, "Siamese Twins".

Good record

Amazinf album the cure is goated 8,8/10

ahhhh I wasn't paying much attentionnnnnnnnn it sounded good but dark.

не лучший альбом конечно the cure, но все равно слушается приятно - 3.5

Tasapaksu, raskas kuunneltava. Ei huono, mutta vähän sellanen ajatuksenvirtainen. Yksikään biisi ei erottunut edukseen. Toisaalta hyvin yhtenäinen kokonaisuus. Maailmanlopun tunnelma.

Räväkkä alku ja sinnikkäästi läpi levyn jatkui toi ”kummituksellisen” 👻 rienaava äänimaailma. Jotenkin jumahti kuitenkin vähän semmoseen taustamusamoodiin ja lopulta parasta oli just se avausraidan intron komppi 🥲

Kitarat vallttavat kovin kauniisti. Mut laulaja taas jolisee. Aika synkkää, paha clash kesäpäivään mut tavallaan tykkään.

Ei parasta Curea, mutta onhan se nyt kova!!

Ok but not compelling

Oh, I love some The Cure! But I'm not disappointed enough to find this a great record. ;-)

It's okay. Not the best of The Cure

Not fully my style of music, but I do think that they nail the vibes that they're looking for. It does feel very goth without being "emo" so to speak. It definitely comes across as a genre-defining kind of album, but some of those often end up not sounding all that great looking back. And I think that's how I feel about this album. I don't love it. I did enjoy it, but I'm not sure it's that good of an album. Favorite Song(s): Siamese Twins

I currently have a ticket to see "The Cure" in a few weeks. I bought it last year when I was going through a Cure phase. However, I feel rather indifferent to the band right now. I was hoping that re-listening to this album would change that but it didn't. My favorite album by them is ironically Bloodflowers, followed by Faith. One thing I can definitely say about this one is that it is the best kind of moody. It has a concept and it sticks to it. The feeling of existential dread permeates from one track to the other. It is gothic and it is nihilistic but it loses steam fast only to return and stick the landing. I guess if it was autumn or winter, I probably would have resonated with it more. The Cure just don't pair very well with summer heat wave. I'm even considering selling my ticket. There's still plenty to appreciate here including some fantastic tracks. They just require a very specific mood though. The best tracks are "One Hundred Years" and "Cold".

Was never a Cure fan, but many of the songs on this album are better than I remember. Good for short listens

Best was solid but I just couldn’t connect with it. It was dark and grungy which I liked.

Депресняк. Поспал под конец альбома, пойдет на любителя.

As someone who isn't really into The Cure, this just feels like a less developed version of Disintegration. Still enjoyable though.

Not for me

3.44 for Pornography. It was teetering on 3.5 but the title track sunk it for me. just random noises and weird backwards speaking ruined the whole atmosphere. Overall, this is much different than The Cure we hear later on in their career. Like you would not expect this group to go on and do a song called Friday, I'm In Love after hearing this album, but I love the early darkwave synth and guitar layers. Robert Smith's haunting voice is beautiful. A solid album but not one I'd plunk down money on the jukebox to listen to all the time.

Gražu, bet jų dainos labai vienodos.

I accidentally listened to Disintegration. This one wasn't as good.

A bit slow for my tastes, but alright Standouts - 3/5

This is what I've come to expect from The Cure. Pretty good emo 80s rock though I rarely seek them out. If you've heard Burn from Tge Crow soundtrack you know exactly how this sounds.

Невеликий фанат продакшену на цьому альбомі. Якийсь тут звук, не знаю як сказати... неакцентований, водяний... не знаю як це назвати. Ще монотонність альбому не сподобалась, особливо барабани. Ударки просто грають один і той же біт протягом піснень без змін. Мені така однорідність не подобається. Але не дивлячись на це все, мені альбом все ж сподобався. Є в нього якийсь вайб. Оцінка: низька-середня 6

Well, second The Cure album in a month, too. This is more the classic sound that I remember when listening to the The Cure. It is dark and gloomy. In retrospect it sounds almost comical in the extent of its emotionality. The Hanging Garden was one that I remember hearing in a certain clubs. It feels messy, noisy and almost ready to fall off the rails. There is a sonic beauty to it when you can immerse yourself. A younger me might find this more cathartic but an older me has been bled dry of those high emotions. Maybe dessicated me has less use for the rich loam of dramatic depression and the bloodletting of inner turmoil. For all the shade that I could throw here, it is important that I recognize that this is the soundtrack of someone hurting. It doesn't sound like parody but someone who is in a pain that doesn't feel real. And sometimes you can dance to it. It definitely affected others coming after. I guess I'll give it a three.

The looming, scary darkness of "Cold" was a real highlight.

Ooh, first track is very Cure but much more moody/gothic than their bigger hits. It's a bit rough and ready and doesn't have the shimmer or polish of more famous Cure. The Figurehead has a Depeche Mode feel to it? Still love the vocal style. Best track - A Strange Day 3 stars - I love The Cure and this album is clearly seminal for their sound, but knowing what they were capable of later and it leaves this album in the dust.

I had never heard this album before. Where Joy Division left off, it seems the Cure picked right up and then dropped the Joy Division sound again. Pornography was made when everyone in the band hated each other and there were a lot of drugs around. The music sounds like this album was made when everyone hated each other while taking a lot of drugs. This is probably not my favorite sound for the Cure. Not that I only like their pop-oriented music but this is all so dreary and the drums do not seem to differentiate on each song. My favorite songs: One Hundred Years The Hanging Garden Siamese Twins Strange Day

Very emo not really my kind of music, but it’s alright

I liked 'A Strange Day'

Not much to say. Kinda ethereal. Will revisit the text here someday.

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

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.

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

Yeah, this is fine

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

One Hundred Years The Hanging Garden A Strange Day Cold

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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.