Disintegration

I’ve never heard anything from The Cure that really impressed me. Every song on feels unnecessarily long and bloated, so by the end you’ve somehow spent 72 minutes listening to Robert Smith whine over the same gloomy background. Most of the album felt like songs that should’ve been four minutes getting dragged out to six or seven for no real reason. “Lovesong” is the one decent song here, and even then I’d rather hear the Adele or 311 versions.

I once described hearing the title track for the first time as the closest I've come to a religious experience in a long time, and honestly the album stands up, what a hell of a thing. Also very fun listening to Fascination Street (I'd forgotten what a banger that is) and thinking "Yup, this sure was what the boys from Arab Strap were listening to in their formative years."

In some regards, the greatest album ever made. In others, it's close to the greatest ever made. Point is it's one of my favorite albums of all time and where The Cure peaked (of which I'd argue they have many). THIS is the kind of album that this book revolves around, an album that LEGITIMATELY speaks to the human condition, to our sense of emotion and what music itself makes you feel on top of the words accompanying it. Yeah that's pretentious idgaf though lol 11/10 record "Make it through Closedown without crying challenge (impossible)"

Bit of a masterpiece, isn't it.

When I was sixteen I was on a student trip to Ireland and there was a girl I met there who I liked and who was big into The Cure. I'd never heard the band, but during the week when everyone was supposed to have a home stay with an Irish family, I fast-talked myself away from the program organizers and took a ferry and a bus to meet a friend in London, but before I did that I had one night on my own in Dublin and The Cure were playing and I thought it would impress this girl if I went to see them so I bought a ticket and went to the R.D.S. Simmonscourt Pavillion, and sat through All About Eve (who I did not like) and Shelleyan Orphan (who I liked even less) and I was very bored and lonely and regretting my life decisions and I considered leaving but of course I couldn't do that before actually hearing some of that girl's favorite band and I moped and felt sorry for myself, and then The Cure came on and they played the first big chords of Plainsong and I fucking died and was reborn. I never had another concert experience like it, I danced like a fool through the entire show and my entire self was changed. Nothing ever happened with the girl of course. This is the greatest album of all time.

One of my favorite albums of all time.

2.5

A bit slow

4.5

just not for me.

As I was listening I had this pegged at 4 stars...looking like a really good album. But then the last 4 songs take up over a half an hour and I had to take a star away. Too self indulgent in the end.

뭔가 생각보다 듣기 힘든 느낌의 앨범이었다. It was an album that, contrary to what I’d expected, felt rather difficult to listen to.

01) Plainsong - 9,5 02) Pictures of You - 10,0 03) Closedown - 9,0 04) Lovesong - 10,0 05) Last Dance - 9,0 06) Lullaby - 10,0 07) Fascination Street - 9,5 08) Prayers for Rain - 9,5 09) The Same Deep Water as You - 9,0 10) Disintegration - 9,0 11) Homesick - 9,0 12) Untitled - 9,0 TOTAL: 9,38 (94/100) Current ranking: 31/1078

3.5/5

not my style, but it has very watered beats and rhythms

I remember listening to this quite a bit at the time, and lots came back strongly. Not half bad.

Masterpiece

This is a good record but it's not a masterpiece. There is not enough variety in the material and some of the songs are too long. The trilogy from seventeen seconds to pornography is still the best stuff they ever produced. Anyway as I said still a good record. 4 stars

Going into this album with absolute 0 prior knowledge of the band. First impression after a couple songs: good god, these songs just drag on for forever. And they take so god damn long to get into it. Lovesong: okay, I really like this. And it’s much tighter than the first few songs. Hoping this album is more like this. Lullaby: what a sick groove ruined by awful vocals. Fascination street: awesome. After the full album: lots of ups and downs on this one for me. I think most of the downs just have to do with length and songs dragging too long. I like a long song or two on albums, especially when they build. But when every song is long, it makes the good ones less impactful. Overall, it’s between a 3 and 4. Going to round down.

Yes, it's an absolute classic, and so many people have it as their favourite album in this 1001 list. I've loved The Cure for many years, including many of their cracking songs from this album. I'm just not sure about giving it a 5, for me I just don't get it, I don't love all the songs and they can be quite similar in Robert's own way. So, feels harsh giving it a 4, but it's a harsh 4 for a beautiful album.

8.9

Very interesting, some songs feel like magic, and others like being falling from the sky

10/10 No notes

Loved it

This album came out at the end of my sophomore year in college and I've listened to it, conservatively, 500 times. It's tough to rate because, while it's a great album, it's barely in The Cure's top five from that era.

I loved. this album is so good. i will say it is kinda funny that almost ever song has this big grand opening

Favorite songs: Plainsong, Pictures of You, Closedown, Lovesong, Last Dance, Lullaby, Fascination Street, Prayers for Rain, Untitled

Banger

Didn’t mind this one. Famous sound “come on Eileen”

THE CURE. chill. haunting. cool.

Obviously this is a great album, like a post-punk, synth bath. Moody and beautiful at the same time. I’m not QUITE as crazy about it as some people, some of the longer tracks I grow slightly tired of after a while, but a great album by a great band.

such a good album. the songs all blend together so perfectly revoking the same emotion of uncertainty and that raw emotion of sadness and hope. my favorites are plainsong into pictures of you, it has such a pretty transition into the next.

Always tried my best with the cure and never succeeded, however something clicked on this listen, still feel the latter part of the album dragged a little though.

Album cover is perfect for this artist and album. I very much dislike both however. This artist just is NOT for me at all. I can see the quality but I really dislike the lyrics and the vocals. The vocals in particular are just awful to me. I really do not like the whisper / nonchalant singing, it is just so disingeneous, I cannot describe how repulsive they are to me. I only give a 2 because I can respect The Cure, but obviously Olivia Rodrigos song is better than ANYTHING this band put out. Best Song: Lovesong. Worst Song: Disintegration.

Never really listened to the cure, and now I know why. Everything that sucked about the 80-90’s

Is this supposed to be Gothic Rock or Dream Pop? Is it more 80's or 90's? Glamorous or edgy? This album represents, in my mind, a transition between these eras of music. It incorporates instruments and flares from dance music earlier in the decade, while at the same time looking past the peppiness of the 80's. Personally, I believe this aspect — the instrumentals — is wonderfully well composed. An initial surprise was the dark, cracked vocals. Often, these are contrasting to the song's background, and sometimes it adds depth, and sometimes it confuses the message. In songs such as "Plainsong," "Pictures of You," "Lovesong," and "Disintegration," these elements combine for a great listen. However, in a few others, I found the instrumentation not able to make up for the flawed singing.

Probably the best The Cure has ever been - I was debating 4 or 5 stars, but when my response to that was too listen to it three times in as many days then it's probably got something going for it! Srriously moody, miserable in all the right ways, and Lullaby for some reason just gets stuck in my head pretty much constantly

One Cure album I liked, one I've hated, this one I don't really care about.

This gave me flashbacks of sobbing to Lovesong as a young twenty something experiencing my first heartbreak. Great album.

Pictures of you is enjoyable, not my usual type of music but has a decent beat and is "atmospheric"

3.5 rounded down. A couple of livelier tracks, and a decent enough overall feel to it, but ultimately too same-y and dreary.

Starts off really well but dragged in the 2nd half

Wie ein Albtraum

Die traurigste Platte mit dem traurigsten Lied (Lovesong) meines Lebens. Als mich meine langjährige Freundin 1990 verließ war ich am Boden zerstört, und diese Musik war damals die Begleitung für meinen Schmerz. Und macht mich selbst heute noch traurig.

Every now and then you get an album that is a treat to listen to because you already love it, and this is one of those instances. So many great songs off of here, like Fascination Street, Lovesong, Disintegration (my favorite), and more. My only real complaint with this album is that it is rather long, with some of the songs being 8 or 9 minutes even. For that reason, I’d say it’s a 4.5/5, but I’ll round up to a 5. This is absolutely one of the best and most interesting albums to come out of the 80s.

7/10

I agree that it’s a classic, but Pornography (the album) is better (Still a 5 though)

Tenoutta tenn

The title track is absolutely peak

מה זה החרא הזה?

Decent - wasn’t a fan at the time, but hard to dispute the quality of the album with 2-3 standouts

Definitely has a dark vibe, and kinda gothic/new wave. I rlly like this album, very atmospheric, and I feel like the album cover best encapsulates that atmosphere. This is a good album for a gloomy, rainy day.

It’s okay, some good songs but overall too long of an album but I guess that’s what happens when a guy makes a brooding album. 2.3

great album. well over an hour of ethereal jangley goodness. definitely gets pretty samey but thankfully it's a sameness i'd be happy to listen to for a whole double album 0/5, not enough lovecats favourite songs: pictures of you, lovesong, fascination street

Nyt laittoi tämä nettisivu parastaan. Aivan fantastinen albumi. Laatu pysyy suorastaan erinomaisena alusta loppuun. Vaikka pituutta löytyy hieman keskivertoa pidempään, tuntuu siltikin että yhtäkään kappaletta ei olisi voinut jättää pois. Tällaisten helmien takia tätä projektia lähdettiin tekemään.

Very rock-y, definitely good songs, but nothing that particularly grabbed my attention as something I want to listen to again. I could definitly see how each song could be loved by someone, but its honestly not my style.

I absolutely love this album. I already knew the cure and have liked their popular mainstream songs but this record was different than I thought. - I like that it was very instrumental and had a consistent theme - Favourite Tracks: Pictures of you, Lovesong, Lullaby, Fascination Street

Maybe not my favorite cure album (although it sometimes is), it is certainly peak cure insofar as ensuring that they were no longer confined to the bedrooms of us sad weirdos. Heavy MTV rotations, bedroom posters, and mixtapes. They never sounded this big before, and though my post disintegration familiarity is not so thorough, that they never would again. The cure changed my life.

My favorite band and album 10/10

MASTERPIECE Jeg lytter gerne hele dagen til 2 minutter lange introer til en rigtig omgang whining 5.0

mesterværk.

So orchestral and nostalgic. Surprisingly really enjoyed the long intros. Really moody, cohesive and introspective.

The same deep water as you and love song are my favourites! Now in my all time favorites albums

A bit depressing and samey, not one I'd hurry back to!

already heard, one of my favorites, was literally listening to seventeen seconds when this generated

Yea its a good but depressing listen. I respect this but I dont enjoy it that much. The huts are the highlights

Masterpiece

Cool, moody, synthy sound that outstays its welcome

Really good from start to finish. I've never really listened to The Cure before aside from 3 or 4 songs. I knew this was their biggest album so I figured I might like it okay but it was even better than I expected. I feel like I shouldn't like Robert Smith's voice but something about it works really well with the rest of the music. There's a really full atmospheric sound from the very beginning that sets the pace for the following hour plus. Definitely worth a relisten. 9/10

Just like heaven

This is a desert island album, top 20 or top 50 (it’s hard to say for certain where it fits exactly for me.) I listen to this album periodically, probably at least once a year or more. 5 Boolean: True

I loved the Cure in the 80s when I was in high school and college, and I still listen to a handful of Cure albums from earlier in that decade. That said, I missed this album when it came out and I don't miss it now. Lovesong is quite good, but strangely--because I was out of the country in '89 and didn't hear this LP--I first heard Adele's cover before I knew it was a Cure song. The rest of the album just sounds like...the Cure. Nothing special, nothing different, just a well-known sound repeated on a too-long album. Not bad, but not great.

i love this album so much. listened in the buzz of the studio on an unusually warm october morning

Great album that wrapped up the 80s in fine fashion. The soundtrack of my summer in Berlin.

nem hallgattam vegig mert 3 kibaszott ora, de so far nagyon elvezem Prayers for Rain utan a kovi szam introjaban eso hallhato #noticing

Love love love the cure

I just had Pornography to listen to yesterday, so it's funny to get The Cure back-to-back. I'm cool with that. I really love The Cure. This is beautiful from start to finish. Hell, even the artwork is beautiful. This is The Cure's masterpiece. 10/10 no notes.

Волшебно, светлая печаль и спокойствие, как проснуться на рассвете после ночи рыданий

I liked it, i think i like the smiths a bit more than the cure, but still this was good. maybe my only critique is that his voice is kinda annoying.

Just an amazing album by The Cure. Lovesong >>>

The first time I listened to this, a few weeks ago, I wasn't really paying attention and couldn't really appreciate it. I liked it, but didn't really understand why it was so highly regarded. I wrote "Pretty good", gave it a 4, and that was it. So I revisited it and actually listened to it. More than once. And fuck, it's good. What struck me is that it feels like something that would have come out in the late 2000s. The Cure was definitely ahead of its time. Three songs in particular have stayed with me : "Lovesong", "Lullaby" and "Fascination Street". They're among the best songs I've ever listened to. However, I can't say the rest of the album, especially the second half, captivated me as much. I find that later half a bit meandering. I guess it's hard to follow such a fantastic first half, but it does mean that the album, as a whole, suffers from it. It's not bad at all, just not as good as it could be. Anyway, I get it now.

12/20

Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life (yesterday’s album) was an easy 5 star. Disintegration was a surprise 5 star. And what an absolutely perfect, gloomy, rainy, fall day to listen to such a hauntingly atmospheric album.

Cure min goat som første?? Vildt nok Twinkly yay. Episk soundtrack starter. Faktisk den bedste måde at starte den her rejse på. Ved allerede hvad jeg kommer til at rate den.

lullaby was my favorite! unfortunate that the word spiderman is not so creepy anymore though

felt very fall, didn't fall in love with any new songs though

Dark, moody & ethereal drowned in 80s synthwave emotion. Tracks on the backend run a few minutes too long, but I’m not upset by the length of the project on a whole, coming in at a little over an hour. A stellar and captivating listen from cover to cover.

Oh no… not The Cures Disintegration album!!! How will I ever make it through this album??? Ok, seriously for a moment. This must be one of my all-time Top 20 favourite albums, and certainly my favourite Cure album. I brought it the day it was released and it’s been a firm favourite of mine ever since. It’s filled with fantastic tracks and so much atmosphere. Love it, love it, love it. I listen to this album so much anyway, and did so only a couple of days ago, but will never have enough of it so was more than happy to play it again today.

In the 80s I think there was an assumption that if you liked "alternative" music, you liked The Cure. I assumed I did too though I never really listened to them that much. I had friends that were very keen on the early albums and heard the ones that occasionally got played on the radio but that was about it. Based on this one, I don't think I do like them. It's just a bit one mood and that mood is pretty bleak. I did't find it very interesting either. The title track is great and Fascination Street had some promise but when I saw the next track was called Prayers for Rain my heart sank 🙂 I can't give it a 2 - it's The Cure! - but based on my chances of listening to it again, that's probably the true score.

In the end I prefer the faster (more upbeat?) cure songs. Quite often this album sounded like whispered mumblings from someone sat in in the window seat of the bus watching the shops flow past. (Creepy which I guess was the aim?)

I don't visit this album much anymore, but from the first time I heard this, I knew it was a special record. Fascination Street was the first song I remember hearing while in high school

An LP I've known since it was released & keep on coming back to ever since. The greatest LPs manage to maintain a mood throughout despite having a range of songs, this is one of the greatest examples of that. Plainsong is an ambitious start, the sound of being out in the olde English countryside in the wind, rain & dark. The sound of the guitars on this LP is stunning, uniquely Disintegration throughout with amazing drawn out melodies. There's no rush with this, this is The Cure being confident at the top of their game. Robert Smith's vocals & lyrics are stunning but giving the music time to breathe. It's emotional but understated, not over the top. Love the synths on this too. It all just comes together here, so wonderfully balanced. The Same Deep Water As You the standout for me. Love the guitar sound & melody on this, like no other band. A lot of this LP is about the lengthy guitar solos & the sound production of those guitars. The LP cover art matches the sound. I wouldnt describe this as sad or depressng, more pensive & reflective. 'Untitled' tucked away at the end is one of the best tracks.

Lovesong is 5 star, but the rest is fine.

listened to this album about three times, still couldn't tell you a single song, all blended together, not great vibes but good music if that makes sense, really love the album cover, and isn't that everything

Ok, I think this made me understand The Cure hype. Fav Tracks: "Pictures of You", "Lovesong" and "Disintegration".

too long and uninteresting im afraid 7/10 best song - disintegration

A little too goth for me and none of the songs had hooks that really grabbed me.

Really inspiring. I loved the long instrumentals at the beginning of many of the songs. In my mind this band was always a meme of itself, but I actually found the production and vocal performances to be slightly understated in a really endearing way.

I liked this The music in particular was fantastic

A distinctive sound and mood. When you want or need that - to burrow down into loss until you reach moments of transcendent beauty - then there’s not much better than this. When you’re not, it can be a bit annoying and repetitive.