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Disintegration

The Cure

1989

Buy At Rough Trade
Disintegration
Album Summary

Disintegration is the eighth studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 2 May 1989 by Fiction Records. The record marks a return to the introspective gothic rock style the band had established in the early 1980s. As he neared the age of 30, vocalist and guitarist Robert Smith had felt an increased pressure to follow up on the band's pop successes with a more enduring work. This, coupled with a distaste for the group's newfound popularity, caused Smith to lapse back into the use of hallucinogenic drugs, the effects of which had a strong influence on the production of the album. The band recorded the album at Hookend Recording Studios in Checkendon, Oxfordshire, with co-producer David M. Allen from late 1988 to early 1989. Following the completion of the mixing, founding member Lol Tolhurst was fired from the band. The album became the band's first commercial peak, charting at number three in the United Kingdom and at number 12 in the United States, and producing several hit singles including "Lovesong", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It remains the band's highest selling record to date, with more than four million copies sold worldwide. It was greeted with a warm critical reception before later being acclaimed, eventually being placed at number 116 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called it the "culmination of all the musical directions the Cure were pursuing over the course of the '80s".

Wikipedia

Rating

3.8

Votes

12246
Genres
Rock
New Wave
Post Punk
Indie

Reviews

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Tue Apr 19 2022
4

I know exactly who you are if this is your all-time favorite album. Your favorite film director is Tim Burton, but you don't want him involved in adapting The Book of Mormon into a movie. Jim Steinman's death hit you harder than you expected. You never considered cigarette smoking a habit and still refer to it as a "hobby". You became a Seattle Mariners fan only because they've never been to the World Series. The only Seattle Mariner you can name is Ichiro. You know that former NFL Running Back Robert Smith is agnostic but refuse to learn where he went to college. You think Anne Rice was overrated but own all of her novels. You remember what getting dumped felt like when you were 21-years old, and you've written it down so you always will. You once started a "Dear John" letter by writing "By the time you read this, I'll already be dead" just for shock value. You shake your head any time you hear a story about Morrissey. Shoplifting.

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Tue Sep 14 2021
5

When I was a kid my older sister was a goth. She loved The Cure (and she really loved Robert Smith). I was into rock music; AC/DC, Motley Crue, Def Leppard and other bands of that ilk. As far as I was concerned Rock was cool, Goths were ridiculous and my ears were to remain closed to The Cure. Since then this band remained elusive to me. That is until earlier this year when I listened to Seventeen Seconds for the very first time. I immediately seen the error of my ways and began exploring more of The Cure. As a lifelong the Cure fan of approximately six months now Disintegration has already become one of my favourite albums. It’s a mesmerising album, seductive and atmospheric this is the band at the peak of their powers delivering a gorgeous, an epic laden album.

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Sun Jan 09 2022
5

Disintegration sustains an atmosphere that is gloomy, yet thoroughly gorgeous. It somehow manages to feel both claustrophobic and seductive. Thirty years after its release, Disintegration still holds up. The songs are written and produced excellently, with a clear direction to preserve the general moodiness.

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Tue Mar 09 2021
5

Admittedly, I actually listened to this album 2 days ago, so this is great timing! I love this album, I think it's one of the most melodically rich and textured new wave albums out there. The synths here are so full and heavy, they're layered perfectly with the guitars and drums that give each song a meaningful impact. Everything here sounds like it would work well in a film soundtrack. I feel like the way the vocals are layered into the songs was a precursor to shoegaze, the way they melt into the songs make them sound so dreamy. The lyrics match the melodic, pretty, romantic and emotional melodies. I guess part of the reason I can see these songs being in movies is that they're crafted as these kind of sentimental beautiful romantic stories. Overall I love the rawness, the layers upon layers of melodic components and overall great feelings this album inspires. I just want to end this review by saying 'Lovesong' is one of the greatest songs ever created.

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Mon May 31 2021
5

Powerful, dark, orchestral, ambient album that's super depressing. At first I didn't know what to expect, and I didn't think I'd like it very much, but it was engaging and fascinating from front to back.

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Sat Aug 07 2021
5

Hands down my favorite Cure album. This is one of the most sonically gorgeous albums I've ever heard and is exquisite on headphones. The atmosphere is so intricate and detailed it's like your ears are on drugs. The contrast of the shimmering/stereo panning chimes and then the deep hit of the bass/synth at the beginning is like a 1-2 punch that just immediately knocks me out. The first two tracks are my favorites and pair so well together. Reverb, delay, and EQ all brilliantly balanced in such a way that they create this practically narcotic effect on me where I just want to shut everything else out and listen to this album over and over again in the dark as I go in and out of consciousness. I want to stay in it forever. The contrast of elements throughout the album from delicate to saturated and intense is so thrilling and dramatic in the best possible sense. A masterpiece.

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Tue Mar 09 2021
4

Starting the week with a classic! I can't remember if I've listened to this in full before, but I know I've seen it on many a list of great albums. Very quickly I could hear how influential this is--it sounds like a blueprint for so many alternative/emo/dreampop artists that followed (like Mazzy Star, M83, even Hatchie). Probably not the first of it's kind, but it feels seminal. Deep, spacious instrumentals, and Robert Smith sounds perfectly ethereal (though I didn't love his vocal performance on "Lullaby"). It's a long album, and the tracks are long, but I don't mind at all. It gives time for me to settle into these tunes. I liked a lot of songs on here, especially "Pictures of You." Man, that's a perfect, beautiful song. I really dug this album immediately, and I can see it growing on me even more. Definitely deserving of the classic status. Favorite tracks: Pictures of You, Lovesong, Fascination Street, The Same Deep Water As You. Album art: I recognize this one of course. I don't love it, but it's cool. Trippy if you will. Makes the album seem way older than it is. If that's Robert Smith in the picture, he looks like a creepy ghoul from Carnival of Souls. 4.5/5 (potentially a 5, and I hereby symbolically downgrade Rio and ArchAndroid to 4.5)

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Fri May 21 2021
4

Beautifully gloomy, atmospheric and grand. An intimately claustrophobic but seductive album that rewards repeated listening. It's main drawback (if it has one) is that it feels a tad too long, but this doesn't majorly detract from what's a pretty outstanding record overall.

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Sat Sep 11 2021
5

Brilliant, moody, atmospheric, introspective goth rock. A haunting and memorable experience. It’s a soundtrack to your feelings.

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Wed May 11 2022
5

This album goes into the (very small) pile of albums that are so good I can't listen to them anymore. I still remember the eeriness of listening to the end of the album slowing down as my walkman batteries died.

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Thu Sep 09 2021
4

Wouldn't be the cure without being too long and too self-indulgent. That said this is my favourite Cure album so far

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Mon Nov 15 2021
4

This is the music that sits in a corner by itself at a party waiting to be discovered. This album makes me relive, uhhh revile, high school and this album was played perpetually from the sidelines amongst my group of friends. Robert Smith, the personality, overshadowed the music within. When Disintegration came out it was difficult to enjoy this album without dressing up like Robert Smith or Edward Scissorhands. But today, separating the Robert Smith-goth fans from this music is pretty easy. Time has moved on. There are some great takeaways from this that even today I'll listen to. That intro to Fascination Street is incredible, Pictures of You, Lullaby and Last Dance all are on some playlist of mine somewhere. Disintegration is a late-80's early 90's piece of nostalgia that, no matter how terrible high school was, I'll always want to remember.

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Fri Feb 12 2021
5

I do believe they refer to this as a fucking classic

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Thu Jan 14 2021
5

Masterpiece. Depressing. Goth. 10/10 1. Lullaby 2. Plainsong 3. Lovesong

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Fri Jun 11 2021
5

Goddamn beautiful. Deserves every bit of praise it gets. The production, the songwriting, the personality and everything that comes along with it. It flows so well from one song to the next, it feels like one giant, wonderful experience. And that is what albums should strive for: experiences. I've had a string of 3-star albums for a bit now so this will break the streak, and I couldn't be happier that it did.

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Fri May 14 2021
5

This is my favorite album from the Cure. Go ahead. Put on some headphones (this is a headphones kind of album), sit in a dark room and just listen. The album is filled overlapping waves of sound that can fill a room. The album is dark, but comfortable. Favorite tracks include "Lullaby", "Fascination Street", "Pictures of You", "Plainsong", and "Disintigration". I will listen to this one again, and I might make someone listen with me. 5 stars

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Fri May 21 2021
5

Just such a good album. It's clearly one of the top albums for the band, as well as one that defines a particular moment and genre of music. People who love the Cure mostly love Disintegration, but it's also the sort of album that someone who doesn't really like the band and who doesn't listen to any of their other music might still have in their collection and love. It's also pretty perfect as a complete album, the songs are great but the flow and feeling of the whole thing is also clearly carefully considered.

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Thu Jun 23 2022
5

This must be my college-age heavy-hitters' week. "Disintergration" is the The Cure's 8th album and a return to the Goth dark side. Robert Smith was depressed at turning 30 (oh boy) and the band was not happy about the "pop" success of the previous two albums. This prompted a return to Goth and a more depressed style of music. However, this album is not a totally depressing album; some of these songs are actually happy (to me). But, yes, there is an overriding atmosphere of darkness. Also, Smith had lapsed back into taking hallucinogens to deal with his depression, affecting the music (more on that later). I've always felt this album was their culmination combining their earlier Goth and recent pop. There's a few ways you can go with songs on this album: the popular, more upbeat or those representing the more deep, dark atmosphere/mood. Let's do both. When I think of The Cure, the first song that pops into my head is "Pictures of You." Just a great rhythm, Goth guitar progression and chorus and of course, the lyrics (smashing my pictures of you). The most Cure Cure song. "Lovesong" was written for his future wife and has a great innovative music base with its bass/drum/ guitar intro and synthesizer chorus and bridge. "Lullaby" might have my favorite lyric of the 80's: "Spiderman is having me for dinner tonight." A great example of combining LSD with "Nightmare on Elm Street" thoughts....throughout the song actually. The title track "Disintegration" is my favorite song for capturing the album's mood with a killer bass line and dark groove. Some people say The Cure reached their peak with this album. Maybe. I think they have a couple good ones after but no doubt, this is a great one.

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Tue Jul 12 2022
5

Easily one of my favourite albums ever! While being one of The Cure's darkest albums each song fits perfectly into an overall theme of despair, a feeling Robert Smith was famously experiencing at the time, with an intensity unparalleled by many artists. The title track is my personal favourite, with its consistent tempo it leads you further and further down the rabbit hole commanded by Smith's powerful lyrics, while songs like Lovesong and Lullaby marry the elation of love with an underlying feeling of dread through the fear of losing that love.

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Wed Aug 16 2023
2

I honestly tried to like this. It's just so damn boring to me. I listened twice thinking I must be missing something, but still just hmmmmmm. Not for me I guess

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Fri Apr 01 2022
1

Whiny goth/emo rock. It was crap in the 80s and is still crap now.

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Thu Jan 21 2021
5

I love Lovesong so much. And Lullaby- so eerie and beautiful. Very into the rest of the album, too. Cool atmospheric 80s alt-rock.

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Mon Feb 08 2021
5

Like the soundtrack to the most quintessentially 80’s movie ever. I love it.

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Fri Jun 04 2021
5

So atmospheric, that guitar effect which they so heavily use is like an electric harp from heaven.

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Tue Sep 14 2021
5

Their absolute high point and peak for me - I used to laugh at the goths dressing like Robert smith and wrote the cure off as a teenager. Thankfully i wised up as I got older - lovesong and fascination street are two of my absolute favourites but this album is full of brilliant tracks - plainsong, pictures of you, disintegration, lullaby… an easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Mon Jan 31 2022
5

A peak point in the Cure album discography. It might not feature the very best the Cure songs, although it has one or two classics on it, but this album is however not about individual songs. It is more a flow of music from the opening track till the last tone of the last track, hence complete without any unnecessary fillers. True perfection.

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Tue Feb 08 2022
5

This album is a walk—no, a romp, a wallow—through a moonlit garden at night, except that the garden is on a planet of lush, thick magic, and the moons are red and blue, mingling to purple, making the petals of alien flowers glow.

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Mon Apr 25 2022
5

5 stars. Loved it then, love it now. Somehow, this sadsack never came off like a phony. This album was necessary for a fifteen-year-old kid with big feelings and nowhere to put 'em. Good stuff.

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Sun May 22 2022
5

Oh my gosh, what a first album to get. Truly one of my favorites of all time, an absolute CLASSIC. Re-listening right now :) Love the atmosphere it generates right from the get-go. There's just something comforting about the two minutes or so of Plainsong, right before it decides to rip your heart out. Pictures of You just makes me cry. Not sure why, but as soon as it starts, I just well up with tears. Absolutely gorgeous song, especially the instrumental bits. Closedown's opening is a great break of pace from the previous two, but it still blends in with the rest of the album's recognizable tone. Reminds me very much of King Lear - in that it's something that I think will grow in relevancy as I age. "If only I could fill my heart with love", what a haunting last line, even as the song continues for at least a minute after it. Ugh and then Lovesong! Honestly, if you ever need to refresh your belief in the concept of True Love TM, this song (and Robert Smith's relationship with Mary Poole) should help you find it again. It's also a nice breather in such a heavy and gothic album. While Last Dance wasn't on the vinyl, I'm gonna include it here anyways. I'm not the biggest fan of the vocals on it for some reason, but I love the backing instruments, especially whatever's going on in the bass region. Lullaby creeps me out still to this day. I love it, but something still sits in the back of my mind, freaked out. The bass on Fascination Street bangs so hard. Honestly, on this re-listen, this is probably one of my favorites so far! Robert Smith's vocals on this are *great*. Forget what I said about Fascination Street... the bass on Prayers for Rain is even better. I love love love love love this song. It drags you under and just keeps going down. I could listen to this for hours. The outro with the backwards notes is a nice touch. 9 minutes... this song is 9 minutes of depression and I LOVE IT. The Same Deep Water as You just vibes so hard. Sure, the thunder is cheesy but can you really have a Cure album without a bit of cheese? Disintegration's beginning is a good change of pace once again from the 9 minutes of slow gloom - granted Disintegration has its own special brand of gloom. Huge fan of the instruments once again, they really complement Robert Smith's voice on this track. Especially the steady, hyper pulse that creeps underneath it all. Such a good track. Again, Homesick isn't on the vinyl but damn it, this is MY listening party and I'll choose if I listen to it or not! As always, the instrumental parts of this album blow me away. The Cure does such an insanely good job of creating an overall atmosphere on this record. Vocals and lyrics hit on this one too!! Untitled's beginning blows me away again for some reason. I love Robert Smith's vocals on this too, they lock in so well with what the rest of the band is playing and it just works as a fantastic end to such a depressing album. Stellar song, stellar album, stellar band.

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Fri May 27 2022
5

The Cure is just great. This is Robert Smith and the boys firing on all cylinders.There's a great mixture of the lengthy, moody tracks and the great pop leaning tracks that can occupy your skull for days. There's just so much to love from beginning to end. Just thinking about the album makes a medley of songs pop into my head. Man, I love The Cute. I love me some 80's UK sad boy music and they are on the Mount Rushmore of that...very specific genre that only exists in my mind. Jesus, I have to go listen to the title track now because it's just won't get out. Smash that 5 star button!

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Sun Jul 10 2022
5

Makes me want to lie in a field with headphones on and float away

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Mon Feb 06 2023
5

One of my favorite Cure albums, and immediately transported me back to the time when it came out. Which was kind of a relief after Just Like Heaven started getting played at frat parties. Back to gloomy songs about being cold, dark, and alone. Probably in the rain.

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Mon Mar 27 2023
5

I've always been a sucker for moody and ethereal post punk, and The Cure are easily one of the best to every do it. Every track on this record carries so much emotion and creates a whole soundscape of overwhelming melancholy. And it manages to do this without every becoming dour or static, despite an impressive 77 minute runtime and only one track below 4 minutes its hard to get bored listening to Disintegration. The album blends these beautiful overwhelming ambient walls of synth with jangly guitar riffs and strong baselines, its truly the kind of album you need to listen to with no other surrounding stimuli and just get lost in the world the band have created. All of this is perfectly topped off with Robert Smith's beautiful vocals crafting images of long lost romance and forgotten emotions, his voice perfect for the dramatic and gothic world of Disintegration. This is probably the easiest 5 I've given so far. Highlights: Plainsong, Pictures of You, Fascination Street, Prayers for Rain, Disintegration

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Wed Aug 09 2023
5

"Disintegration is the best album ever!" (Kyle Broflovski, 1998). I would go as far as that, but it is definitely out there.

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Tue Nov 23 2021
4

I mean, it's The Cure so it's WAY too dramatic for its own good. That said, this is a remarkably solid album for a) 1989 and b) The Cure. "Lovesong" and "Fascination Street" have both been covered so many times I'd forgotten that the original recordings are as good as they are. And they really are quite good. Overall, pleasantly surprised by how well this album has stood up over time.

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Mon Dec 13 2021
4

Definitely long-winded, but the Cure here manage to avoid falling into feeling bloated and land squarely into a dreamy, moody hypnosis. I dig it. Great for these rainy days going on.

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Thu Dec 28 2023
4

I have never heard this in full before, despite knowing the highlights from their Mixed Up versions. I was really into The Cure at a young age (before this!) and the late '80s/early 90's stuff passed me by. Sounds fantastic as a whole, would probably have been into it in a big way at the time if I was paying attention!

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Fri Feb 12 2021
2

I was never depressed enough as a teenager to get into The Cure.

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Tue Nov 07 2023
2

I like the cure but this was a touch too whiny for my liking

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Tue Jan 19 2021
1

No patience for the Cure. Who cares.

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Sat Jan 16 2021
1

Did not like it. Long, boring and drawn out instrumental intros on each song were a turn off. Probably won’t listen again.

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Tue Mar 16 2021
5

Love this album. One of my first CDs and listened over and over.

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Mon Mar 22 2021
5

The only Cure album I dig as much as Standing on a Beach

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Wed Oct 14 2020
5

Wonderful album. Rob Smith is a genius.

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Wed Mar 10 2021
5

Goth rock with hints of pop softness, and I love it to pieces. Important to me at 17, important to me now.

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Mon Jan 18 2021
5

Want to give a 4.5 but eff it. They'll get a 5. A few all time face songs and the non-faves are still nice to listen to. No duds. Someone please kiss robert smith.

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Tue Feb 09 2021
5

One of the best albums ever.

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Mon Mar 01 2021
5

Second best album of all time

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Wed Jul 21 2021
5

5/5 - Yup, this is THE Cure album.

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Tue May 18 2021
5

No bad songs. Classic cure sound. Amazing production as you’d expect. Love song and Fascination street great singles. Album actually gets better as it goes on

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Mon Aug 23 2021
5

Having long hated The Cure's radio singles, I have been pleasantly surprised by each Cure album I've listened to, with this being the best I've heard so far.

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Thu Aug 26 2021
5

Absolute classic gothic rock. Influenced many of my favorite bands.

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Thu Sep 02 2021
5

Yes yes Yes. Love the Cure and this album. 5 stars.

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Thu Sep 16 2021
5

ну классный альбом чо, такой не веселый ниразу и депрессивный, но слушается круто. понравился

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Wed Sep 22 2021
5

One of the best albums in the world of all time!

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Thu Sep 30 2021
5

I really liked this album. It's super gloomy and moody, with some great-sounding drums and swirly atmospheric guitars.

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Fri Oct 01 2021
5

Just gorgeous atmospheric brilliance. Can't fault it. I think Lullaby is one of the great indie songs

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Mon Oct 04 2021
5

The whole is most definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

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Sat Oct 16 2021
5

Perfect and fresh sounding pops rock for it’s time.

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Thu Nov 11 2021
5

Creo que ya tengo que admitir que sí me gusta The Cure, como todas sus vibras darks y de letargo, sentir morir mientras escuchas algunas de sus canciones. Muy buen servicio, no skips. 9/10

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Tue Nov 16 2021
5

it's brooding, moody, atmospheric and amazing how they can take a 9+ minute song (same deep water) and just keep you entranced. They also have dark energy when they need... that dirty bass line on fascination street has a great groove. Fabulous album.

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Thu Nov 25 2021
5

Enjoyed start to finish, beautifully gloomy and gothic will absolutely be listening again

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Tue Dec 07 2021
5

Très solide album, aucun moment faible. On voit beaucoup comment cet album a influencé tellement de genre et je comprends le statut culte du band.

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Fri Dec 17 2021
5

I still don’t know if this is my favorite Cure album, but goddamn is it perfect.

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Mon Dec 27 2021
5

One of my favorite albums of all time.

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Wed Jan 05 2022
5

This is a watershed album. It is remarkably coherent and engaging from beginning to end. The Cure’s goth edged post-punk is unique and influential. This album gave rise to some of the most enduring music of the last 30 years

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Sun Jan 09 2022
5

King of the Goffs in not actually that goff shocker. It's just really good indie/rock/pop/whatever music. Happy face emoji. Sad face emoji. Panda bear emoji.

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Wed Jan 12 2022
5

A truly amazing album. Melodically interesting, beautiful lyrics. The mic is instrumental and lyrics based songs added for a fantastic range of sounds and vibes. Loved it

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Mon Jan 31 2022
5

Listened to on 1/28/22 4.5/5 stars Favorite song: Pictures of You Very beautiful songs with lots of instrumentals - would for sure listen to the album again and again

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Fri Feb 04 2022
5

A particularly gloomy period for Robert Smith and The Cure that resulted in some truly spectacular gothic rock.

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Tue Feb 08 2022
5

This album had some great vibes. Just chill all around.

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Fri Feb 11 2022
5

Great album among the best! Standout tracks “Pictures if you,” “Lullabye,” and “Fascination Street.”

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Tue Feb 22 2022
5

Superb. The Cure explore a range of angsty emotions in a lengthy masterpiece

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