Pornography

I don't know why, but I often find British vocalists in the indie/alt/goth-rock genres to sound whiny. And most of the time, that's a bad thing, but for some reason Robert Smith always gets a pass from me. His vocal stylings somehow don't give me the same 'nails on a chalkboard' reaction as similar singers. If you need an album to define goth rock, Pornography easily ranks in the top 5 recommendations. Smith's songwriting is pure poetry, though the subject matter of the album is most likely not to everybody's taste. The guitar and bass work seem pretty standard new-wave sounding to me, but the drums are impressive. That said, not my favorite album from The Cure. It is very much an album I have to be specifically in the mood for. It's not a daily rotation album, but it would serve as a very solid foundation for a genre-specific playlist.

Yesssss, I love this record. It has a dreamlike atmosphere that starts at the very beginning and then continues with that level of intensity. It’s a sad, dark, threatening dream, but a dream nonetheless. The guitars, the vocals, the percussion: mesmerizing throughout the entire album. Until I started doing this project, the only Cure album I had was that comp “Staring at the Sun,” so I already knew and loved “The Hanging Garden” (the drumming! the imagery!). New favorites on this album? Well, the whole thing, really, but especially “Cold” and the intense, chaotic title track.

CI AVVICINIAMO AD HALLOWEEN E QUEST’ALBUM È UN FILM DELL’ORRORE, UNO DEI MIGLIORI DEI THE CURE. PUÒ RISULTARE PESANTE DA ASCOLTARE, SPECIALMENTE L’OUTRO, MA SONO 8 CANZONI SULLO STESSO ALTO LIVELLO E CON UN SUONO CARATTERISTICO. È UN 4.5 TENDENTE AL 4, IL 5 LO TENGO PER UN ALTRO ALBUM DEI THE CURE. 4/5.

Another good one from the Cure, however the sad factor has been turned up from melancholic to straight up depressing. Don't get me wrong, I was still impressed by the technical prowess and a lot of the storytelling on display, however it just bogged me way down after a while. Robert Smith remains a genius, I wouldn't say there's any bad songs here, and I'd still listen to these guys after this, but it's by no means my favourite.

Fell asleep

Eu não conhecia o álbum, mas a energia dele é muito boa. (4/5)

If colin likes it I likes it

3.5

Great album 4/5

Nice album

Coprophagy

I like The Cure, but didn’t walk away from this album with any standouts or real desire to dig further.

This whole album felt like one long song. I like some songs by The Cure, but this wasn't interesting to me.

same as the last one imo. wasn't in the mood today

Not my favourite as far as The Cure albums go. Smith's songwriting goes strong here, as always, but sonically, this album felt messy, jumbled and blurred, just like the cover suggests. Although I do appreciate how atmospheric and dark it is, this stylistic choice is much better executed on 'Pornography's' follow-up, 'The Top', which is also packed with experimentation- a truly thrilling listen. Later works like 'Disintegration' also fine tune this moody, poetic sound to perfection, so although this album had some standouts like 'Cold' and 'A Strange Day', the lack of variation made it a bit disappointing for me.

this trumps disintegration

Great Goth Rock that would influence others to take up the mantle as the Cure would get a bit more poppy after this.

Dark. Steady.

Sound: Murky, claustrophobic Lyrics: Anguished, raw Highs & Lows: Nothing stands out either way; the album is uniform in tempo and mood

This is #day792 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... hell yeah, finally, my first The Cure album on the list. They're one of my favorite bands, so it's hard to revisit this record without bias, but anyway. It's a very special one, full of substance and character. I've always loved its atmosphere: paranoid, unsettling, and nerve-wracking, set against this murky, murderous mix of gothic rock and post-punk. A perfect musical backdrop for an October Friday afternoon. "Cold" is one of my favourite Cure songs ever. Happy to have seen them play Rock Werchter 2019. This is, without a single doubt, a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day793.

it's good? i think? nowhere near disintegration, though.

Held off listening to this until I was able to give it the big speaker treatment back at home. I've very little else to say which hasn't already been shouted from the rooftops. When an album opens with a line like *"it doesn't matter if we all die*, you know you're in for a truly desolate experience. There isn't much else out there, even today, which matches this album's suffocating darkness. It worked a treat for me amidst a canvas of grey skies and torrential rain through my bedroom window.

a bit to emo for me but still a nice moody album

Ikke så nice. Generelt sytete synging som jeg ikke er spesielt fan av, og stort sett utrolig monotone låter der det ikke skjer noe som helst. "Figurehead" er grusom. "Hanging Garden" er ok, men ikke nok til 3ern.

The Cure har sååå mye, bra men har glemt å ta med det i dette albumet. Veldig skuffende ut fra forventninger, så det blir midt på 3 for min del.

Digger The Cure (i riktig humør)! Ikke deres beste album (mangler noen bangere), men jevnt over solid

This is one of those albums where my grade could vary wildly by mood. The album lands when mentally moody on a moody grey day. I don't think I would like it if I was in a content or good mood on a sunny day.

day 12 of not rolling Aja by Steely Dan I kept skipping songs after listening to 3 horrific minutes of each one looking for something that didn’t suck, but I didn’t find anything. “The Figurehead” came close, but not even that saved it for me. That weird riff at 2:00 did me in

Two (2) [II] ⭐️⭐️2️⃣🇨🇼🥈

This is an astounding album, but man you really have to be in a mood to hear it.

One of my fav bands but not one of my fav albums by one of my fav bands, even though it’s generally ranked in their top 2 by most.

Nao é meu estilo de album. 3.5/10

Too depressive for me today

I’m just not utterly mad about The Cure guys, this was good and that’s as far as I’ll go remembering this album

The beginning of their sounds. I can hear so much if their influence in so much Brit and Goth rock and beyond.

Spare me

none of the songs really stood out to me, but i like the cure. 3.5

Pre Listen: I've heard of The Cure, but I'm racking my brain to try and recall at least one song they've made, and I just can't do it. I've known of them for ages it seems, but I really can't name one song they've made. Ah well, no expectations as a result I guess? Notable Tracks: The Hanging Gardens - Album started to really lose me here. These songs blend together. Post Listen: This album felt like something your brain might conjure up if you were going through a heavy Smiths and Oingo Boingo time of your life, and had a fever above 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Strange album. Wasn't the biggest fan of it honestly, but I didn't hate it or anything about it specifically. I think my biggest issue with it was the heavier, slow droning guitar and drums got a little repetitive after a while. The vocalist too was incredibly meh, just started feeling the samsies between every song. Album feels like how depression makes ones brain work; sluggish, uncomfortable, tired, and grey. I figure that's what they were going for, given the albums title and lyrical subject matters, but it's just not the sort of music I look for. There is no "Cure" for a Pornography addiction, other than having the strength of will to quit looking for it. Thankfully, it doesn't take too much strength to stop listening to this album. 2/5

I love the cure. Its just hauntingly beautiful. I find it crazy how early in the 80s this is. Robert Smiths voice is just great. My only gripe with the cure, in this particular time period is that lots of the tracks sound similar which can get a bit repetitive, but I think the length of this album is perfect to make sure this doesn't happen. Not sure I can fault it.

This was good but wasn't quite Disintegration levels of quality. I would listen again.

Not for me, dark trippy rock music.

I love The Cure, but I don't think this needs to be on the list. It's lovely. I personally enjoy it. You only need two albums for this list: Standing On A Beach/Starting At The Sea (The Singles) and Disintegration. So. Personal enjoyment: 5 List-worthiness: 1 Final: 3

The first words uttered on here is frontman Robert Smith declaring that it does not matter if we all perish. That should give you an indication of what kind of vibe this record brings! Not many bands could pull off lyrics that dramatic, but the world this album creates is cold and atmospheric that they somehow pull it off. The bass pulsates while the drumming feels primal and animalistic. The guitar sound is dark and psychedelic. Everything just comes together perfectly. You aren't going to find many hit singles here, this record is meant to listened in one sitting and not listening to individual tracks. Carrying on with the work that Joy Division laid down, this is one of the most defining goth records.

It wasn’t exactly porn.

Feel like I should like the Cure more, but outside of their main hits I can't feel it...

🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 (could be 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 if this were simply an average of each song’s rating but I think the overall effect should count for something) THEY SAID IT! THEY SAID THE NAME OF THE BAND! I think whoever compiled this list does not like The Cure very much, because by any metric of these rules, I’m not sure for the life of me why Pornography and Wish were selected as The Cure’s ambassadors. It seems like this sometimes whole albums are thrown on here because of a few hit songs, which might explain Wish’s presence, but in that case, why not Disintegration or Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me? If we’re going by historically influential sound, how about The Head on the Door? All three of those also qualify as just all-around solid albums, though that’s hardly something this list counts. Really baffling choices both, but choices I’m still up for, because honestly, uhhh, I haven’t listened to them. 
I’m not really all that familiar with Pornography (ha ha hee hee ho ho), but I had high hopes going in given the one song I’d heard, “Cold.” Turns out I’d also heard “Hanging Garden” before, but this was far from the only pleasant surprise—I think I ended up liking just about every other song like clockwork. The overall effect of the album is what really stuck the landing for me, though. It might sound rich to call such a ubiquitous, foundational band “unique,” but I’ve yet to find anyone like them. Even though a lot of people sound a little bit like the Cure, and a few sound even a middle bit like them, nobody sounds a lot like them, that’s for damn sure. Robert Smith’s voice is obviously iconic, definitively gothic, but there’s a lot to be said for the almost tribal drums, the synths, and even the specific progressions of notes that sounds so distinctly “Cure” here. I don’t think it’s enough to carry the momentum of every song out of the general atmosphere of the album—I think these songs seem a lot more simplistic then what’s coming when they tighten up—but it’s still a deliciously spooky soundscape that would have hooked me immediately even if I’d have never heard the Cure before. 1: Bad | 2: Below Okay, No Desire to Revisit | 3: Good, Conditionally (OR Inconsistent Mix of Qualities) | 4: Great (OR Technically amazing but missing the sauce emotionally) | 5: Amazing

I couldn’t sit through this album. The songs just feels so whiny, like a higher schooler throwing a tantrum coz he didn’t get the girl. I do enjoy some of The Cure’s music, but this album was a miss

Brilliant album The Cure at their best

Didn’t like them that much back then and even though over the last 30 years I have gotten into alternative more…still don’t like them.

I like exactly nothing of The Cure. 2 stars or D+.

Do not own it. Everyone who loves The Cure seems to have a different favorite album. There certainly are plenty to choose from. RYM has this album as the 2nd highest rated Cure album - things tend to skew dark at RYM, so this isn't surprising. When I saw them live about 10 years ago, they only played one track from this album: "One Hundred Years". It's a killer opener and sets the tone pretty solidly. The frantic drum licks, the dark, dystopic lyrics...the distance from the New Wave sound of their debut album three years earlier to Pornography seems much greater than the distance from this album to their 90s output or even to their most recent album from a few years ago. "The Figurehead," for example, sounds akin to "Burn" from The Crow Soundtrack. But ultimately, I think that weighing one of the Cure's albums against another is less effective than looking at each album in relation to the time of its release. In 1982, there weren't a lot of other bands creating music like this, at least not with commercial success in mind. I do love Killing Joke's work in the gothic rock sphere and I hope we get one of their albums on this list. "Cold" is a fantastic track with that synth drone...I think it makes a far better closing track than "Pornography." I don't understand why bands put tracks with polarizing features or production at the end of otherwise stellar albums, like "Hats off..." on LZ III or "Pornography" here. Drugs probably. 4 stars

The Cure at their most abrasive. I'd much prefer this list included albums like 'Head On The Door' or 'Kiss Me X3', but this album is undeniably a major touchpoint for the band. It's the sound of real pain and torment. Tribal drums, drenched in reverb and unrelentingly bleak. They lyrics are genuinely harrowing. I'm not sure what the right moment would ever be to listen to this record, but it's high quality regardless.

Not the best album by The Cure, but decent. Super depressing though.

Initial thoughts are that I really liked this, despite it being much darker and more intense than The Cure I am used to. But there is so much emotion and so much to discover here. I think it is a really important album and despite being so dark is also just a musically impressive and exciting experience. I would definitely revisit this. Top Songs: The Hanging Garden, Siamese Twins, A Strange Day, Cold

I was too young to be a real Cure fan and too old to be an emo kid but could have easily fallen into either scene. I like that this album never gives you a pop hook to find your way out of the sadness.

Unfortunately I no longer seem to have in me any of the gloom and doom that would allow me to appreciate this album. I can definitely feel that, in my adolescence, I might have loved to lock myself in my bedroom, blast this full volume and sink into the atmosphere of the gritty rifts and the friendly raspy voice of Robert Smith. The repetitive drums, the sticky sadness and melancholy, slowly dragging the song as if it pained them to do so. The nonsensical lyrics lose you in a maze of gothic spooky tunes, and you feel like your body is getting heavier and heavier. You can no longer move. You no longer want to move. You take a sip from your drink. Everything is futile. Alas, this is not me anymore, I've been infected with ADHD and I can't stop jumping around, moving left and right. I have neither the patience nor the time to sit down and turn into a statue.

Moody AF, loved it

So best case this is like my 4th favorite The Cure album. It's probably their most depressing and isn't as dynamic as the very early or mid era albums, but it's still a perfection of their sound and I like it being on here as a vertical slice of what draws most people to the band.

A top tier album from a top tier band.

Wow, two Cure albums in less than a week! If Seventeen Seconds was testing the waters for a darker more brooding sound, this album is the band diving in headfirst. Making this album must have been cathartic because the following three albums feature a much more upbeat pop-ish sound from Smith and the band. Though I listen to this album rarely in more recent years, as a moody teen this was the perfect album to wallow in my self absorbed drama. The Hanging Garden is a standout for me, and the trio of The Figurehead, A Strange Day and Cold are particularly strong. The title track has always been the weakest for me, and that continues to be true on this listen.

We didn’t have to wait long to dig deeper into the gothic rock sound Seventeen Seconds played with previously. This is The Cure and Robert in their fully realized dark form and it’s outstanding. The whole sound is eerie and entrancing, with standout musical passages back to front. Robert’s tortured performances over intrusive lyricism and storytelling are the core, however, making this a powerful piece of dark artwork. 1 listen Favorite Tracks: One Hundred Years, Cold, Strange Ways, The Hanging Garden

I sort of connect with The Cure and sort of don't. But it's good music, I like the sound, and this is vaguely reminiscent of my early years.

Não me marcou e mais desgostei do que gostei

great album, some highlights for sure but much prefer disintegration. strong 8 to a light 9. first listen tracklist ranking: 1. One Hundred Years 2. Siamese Twins 3. Cold 4. A Strange Day 5. The Hanging Garden 6. The Figurehead 7. Pornography 8. A Short Term Effect

Absolutely huge. Stunning

This album is CLASSIC Cure. Though I’d consider The Cure having several classic albums. As someone already mentioned here, this record is indeed stunning. This is the first album of what some may call the “Dark Trilogy” which consists of “Pornography”, “Disintegration” and “Bloodflowers”. I do not consider the latter to be on the same level however. “Pornography” ends an incredible run of Cure albums. “Seventeen Seconds” and “Faith” that precedes it are equally as stunning. But nothing really sounded like “Pornography” when it came out and nothing really sounds like it today. Robert Smith was deep in drugs and alcohol and the band was in deep turmoil during this time period. They slept in the studio to save money and they thought that this would actually be the last Cure record to ever be recorded. This is the album that basically invented Goth. As one reference puts it, it is a “masterpiece of claustrophobic self-loathing”. But Goth and self-loathing, isn’t the reason why I love this album. This record expresses a very specific mood. I truly believe that people who love this record, understands life and music on a level that the common folk cannot. Though I cannot explain what that understanding is, people who love this record get along on some type of level. And for that it’s a masterpiece.

I ended up skipping this one the first time around for some reason but went back after listening to Disintegration. I didn't like it quite as much but it was still pretty good. 7/10

I’ve always liked The Cure but have never deep dived into their albums. This was a huge surprise. They say this album is divisive amongst people but for myself it was instant Love. Every Track is great. They say this album is too depressing but to me it sounds beautiful if just a bit dark. Haven’t read the lyrics but musically it’s great Top Track SIAMESE TWINS 5/5 Will be buying this album

This was so dreary. I know that's the point, but that don't make it good to listen to

Before listening: I generally enjoy the cure. Not listened to loads of their stuff, so this should be fun During: as expected so far. Feels a little less polished than their later albums, not necessarily a bad thing After: enjoyable, less poppy than some of their songs. You can see where they’re headed

It was decent, sounded like The Cure. I didn't dislike it but they're not really my favorite type of music or whatever.

Struggled to be interested in this at all

I'd say the Cure albums picked for the book are not the ones I'd have gone for, my 3 would have been Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Disintegration and Head On The Door. Guess I like their poppier/ New Wave output given the two I'd swap in. Still, they're a great band, but the critic reviews of this one at the time reflect that it's not very immediate. Dark, gloomy and atmospheric - Robert Smith sounds depressed, apparently because he was. It's a pretty tough listen but certainly makes you feel something Just about a 4 because I think I would listen again, this one feels like it would reveal itself with more effort

The Cure has 5 or 6 albums I really like to play all the way through and a ton of singles I play all the time. This is one of those albums -- but it has none of those singles. It's kind of an odd album in The Cure's discography for me for that reason. Every time I try to add one of Pornography's 8 excellent tracks to a playlist, it sticks out like a sore thumb and doesn't really work. But there's something about them when taken all together that creates a statement I can get behind. It's got such a punchy, heavy feeling throughout that not even the other members of the trilogy (Disintegration and Bloodflowers for the uninitiated) can match. One Hundred Years might be the closest thing it has to a standout track, with driving percussion and a relentless dark energy. The entire album seems to spiral further down into the depths with each song. I don't find myself wanting to take the journey too often, but when I do there's almost no substitute. Definitely great. Definitely essential.

depressing stuff...

This made me feel things I haven't felt before.

It's raw and the energy from the sound of the time it can't escape from you. The songs that the band put together go hand in hand with the feel of helplessness, and longing. It's a standout in their discography.

Every time I listen to The Cure, they get better and better.

On one level, relentless gloom from a band in disarray. On another, a stunning collection of angst driven along by repetitive drums and thumping bass lines.

3 spins of this album. It’s classic cure but not the easiest listen. In terms of light and shade, there’s a lot of shade.

My third (I'm counting them) Cure album and I'm still not converted to the joys of being a goth. 2*

Pretty good

Very dark and dense. Like the drums but it's quite a heavy mood for a whole album.

I prefer The Cure when they’re less… this.

The pace, the ambience, the imagery are all fantastic. However there is something about the Cure that fails to get my juices going, they are just kind of there. Maybe one of those bands you have to live through rather than adopt? That said it improved a lot with listen 2 and 3.. Maybe there is hope, really good album.

Wasn’t their best album, the cure is a lot better than this, I wasn’t really too fond of the vibe I got from this album

I’ve never been a huge Cure fan, and this album didn’t really change that. I’ve always preferred The Smiths when I’m in the mood for miserable British music. Pornography is darker and more oppressive, almost to the point where the whole album feels like it’s taking place in the same dimly lit room. “One Hundred Years” is a strong opener, and “The Hanging Garden” has a great tribal drum pattern that gives it some movement. “Cold” was probably the track that best fit the album title for me. Everything about it feels bleak and drained of color. Robert Smith sounds completely miserable throughout, which I realize is probably part of the appeal. I can respect how committed it is to that mood, but after a while all the gloom started blending together. Nothing here was bad, and I understand why Cure fans hold it in such high regard.

Enjoyed this album

I can't believe I pretended to like this band for a boy. How miserable are they!

The Cure have always been accessible goth-y music and this is a good example of why that is. I didn’t recognise any of the hits, but I wasn’t put off. There’s enough sensibility to be accessible but this isn’t pop music. It’s darker, more interesting.

While I do like a number of tunes from their later years this early performance has nothing to offer.

this isn't friday im in love

The cure has always intrigued me but I’ve only ever listened to their biggest hits so this was a fun album to go through A lot of these songs sound really similar which isn’t necessarily a bad thing since I like the cure sound but it still makes not a lot of the tracks standout I really like all the sounds on the title track Favorites: the having garden, Siamese twins, pornography 3.5/5

6/10

Outstanding songwriting and guitar sounds as always - this sounds like what depression feels like The drummer changed to keyboard after this album, thank god, that was truly rubbish

We're not quite at the cosmic glory of Disintegration, but this is as sharp and glistening as broken glass.

I knew it when I saw it.

It's a very complete and cohesive sound. It's just not for me.

The vibe is great, though the songs tend to blur together in the murky production and it takes a few listens to absorb it. 3.5/5

Really good.