Seventeen Seconds

I've never enjoyed a Cure album, even though I'd like to because Robert Smith is an excellent grumpy goth who hates Morrissey.

I feel the sudden urge to go buy some eyeliner and black clothes.

This was the perfect album to listen to while sad. Really haunting, ahead of its time. A Forest is a great single.

Very average. I know this band is capable of doing more, and this album wasn’t their best

Short and sweet. Not as psychedelic and enveloping as Disintegration, but this is really great too. The jangly, lightly distorted style is something I can always get down with. I'll definitely be returning to a lot on here. Favorite tracks: In Your House, Secret, A Forest, Play for Today. Album art: Honestly perfect. Washed out, can't quite tell what I'm looking at. Fits the music extremely well. 4/5

I have always had a soft spot for The Cure, but without ever listening to a full album the jury was still out on them as a complete package (from my point of view). If this album is a taste of things to come though...I’m in all the way! I absolutely love this offering. So many tracks to get the juices flowing...so to speak. To me it encompasses everything a ‘new wave’ album should be. It’s beautifully hypnotic and electronically brilliant. Man...did I say I love this album? Sounds of eighties alt pop rock ring truer than ever and you can absolutely lose yourself in these emotion filled tracks. They flow so seamlessly together, it’s like they were always meant to be. You’re truely missing out if you never at least listen to this album once in your lifetime. 5 Stars!!

This album is longer than 17 seconds! This is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film, The Never-Ending Story. The first example of the moody goth-rock that they became renowned for, and they nailed it. The fact they could pivot from this to the Lovecats in 3 years, then go back to this sound as one of the biggest bands in the world is astounding.

1980 is a shocking year for the Cure to have released what seems to be the predecessor to many modern post-rock albums.

I don't think I've ever listented to a The Cure album straight through before today. And the first time I did, I was like, that was sort of okay, I liked it a little. And then an hour later I had to put it on again because I couldn't get the sounds out of my head. It's not that they're lyrically poppy and ear-worms or anything like that, but I think I found my next rainy day album. You know the one you want to put on when it's cold and rainy outside and you don't have to do anythingand you don't WANT to be motivated to do anything. That's what this album is.

Spooky/atmospheric/gothic/moody

Great blend of gothic and electronic melancholy. The minimalist structure combined with the reverb turned up to 11 creates an intense, melodic atmosphere in the recording. It accompanies Robert Smith’s voice brilliantly. This album really shows the start of The Cure’s rise to legendary status.

Vintage Cure is always great.

Devoid of color yet still expressive, this album is a satisfying listen from rock's moodier, darker side.

I’m about to type some words I never thought I would: I really liked this record by The Cure. It’s a sparse, minimal, lo-fi record that isn’t weighed to down by ornate and dreary production or by being too mawkish. Some of the songs almost seemed [gasp] fun? This is a really great record. I’m honestly shocked I liked a Cure record this much…historically, that has not been my experience with Robert Smith & company. Who knows, if they had stuck with this sound, I might be a huge Cure fan - It feels more like a record by The Clean or The Chills than what we know The Cure to be. Fuck me, what a surprise.

Lonely, desolate, gloomy, depressing and dark. Like watching the windshields wipe away the rain during a long car ride. A few good songs, but mostly an experience, like a soundtrack to a monochrome movie

Wow… This one captures the essense of early 80s post-punk/Indierock. Epic! Once I discovered this album some time back in 82-83 it was on a regular spin for the next 8-10 years during my high school years and some years after. Even today I listen to it once in a while… Up there with the top 3-5 best albums by the Cure

Such a non descript album cover but quinessewntially everything innocent and charming about the cure before they got massive.

This would be 5 stars just for “A Forest” and “At Night” but the rest of it is great too

Loved the “gloomscapes” (Wikipedia comes through again). The Forest is still always so good! Def the background music to dark winter dinner, book reading, and tea sipping. I listened to this three times in a row so I’m going to have to give it five stars.

Loved rediscovering this classic, as The Cure started their rise to power. Filled with brooding melodies over sparse warm electronic drums, menacing guitar leads and tasteful bass lines. Highly recommended and has aged very well indeed. Top tracks: Play for a day, At night, A Forest

This album is dark, dreary, yet has a quality to it that makes it sound very much alive. The beats are driving and prominent, and the slight echo gives a sense of space and atmosphere. The Cure are incredibly influential and it is apparent on their second album just how important they are

Very cohesive new wave/post-punk album with great atmosphere, showing the beginnings of gothic rock. 9/10

"Play for Today" is an instant post pop punk classic for me. "In Your House" and "A Forest" are good too. Title track is fantastic. A lot of chorus on the guitars. Great 8th note bass lines throughout, makes you wanna dance. Constant melody on the guitar underscored by the vocal melodies. I'm very happy I found this album.

Eerie, melodic, transcendent. I love this album in so many ways.

The most goth I’ve ever heard

I know this is going to be a mix of goth and new wave, and I'm kinda off new wave but like a bit of goth. I know I've heard "A Forest" before but can't remember anything about it beyond thinking "yep, sounds like the cure" so here goes... Ok this is pretty fuckin cool. I guess this is early goth at its best? I know it pre-dates anything else I've heard in the genre. Best comparison I can think of is the first Ministry album, but that sounds terrible by comparison. I can hear how the idea of "goth" hasn't separated from punk/new wave just yet (particularly in the singing and drums) but the guitars have that gloomy chorus/reverb/flanger quality to them that new wave never really does, and it's all... mopey, even when there's a kinda "dancey" new wave beat going on. Apart from that and a bit of a pop punk tinge to the singing there's really nothing upbeat about it. It's maybe a bit cheesy in 2021, but I can hear where tons of bands (particularly 80s rock/punk) got their chord progressions and clean guitar tones from. There's not as much singing as I expected, lots of extended instrumental sections or songs where there are only like 2 lines of lyrics, and unless he really sings a chorus it's hard to hear the words, not quite a mumble but more of a whine, and whoever produced it didn't isolate the vocal frequencies very well. This is kinda strange as I always figured Smith was a "frontman's frontman" and would've wanted to be more prominent, although maybe that came later. Honestly, this has inspired me to pick up my guitar and start writing goth melodies haha. This is a solid 4, maybe even a 5.

you naughty little boy

4 compared to the last week this shit is fire

The music is pretty calm and laid back, yet dark and creepy at the same time. I was already familar with A Forest (which is my favourite Cure song before getting this, but after listening I've gained new interest for the album and its cuts including Secrets and Play For Today. Have to also appreciate Robert Smith's guitar and vocals on this as it's not flashy and tame, yet intriguing. The drumming and the bass fit the same quota too. The only real complaint I have is with the keyboards, which for the most part feel like background noise to the main action. It should've either been turned up and played more of a prominent role, or abandoned all together. Also the instrumental tracks were pretty boring.

The forest is so good

Super goth and dark, but also reminded me of modern dream-pop-y bands with the chorus tone on the guitar. Yes, I realize the Cure came first, but that's just what came to mind. A Forest is really good.

Call me a goth, love this, especially A Forest

Edgar Allen Poe ahh music

I have tried to like the cure but outside of their hits I just can't get with it. There were bits of the album I appreciated but overall not for me. Maybe I am too stressed at the min lol

Love The Cure, but this one is too broody for me. Didn’t have a single song I could say I actually liked, unfortunately.

Boring.. Just boring..

Creepy. Depressing. Flat. Dull. Probably won't ever listen to it again

This album was so beautiful. Glad to see more of them on this list!

Nicee

First album of the "trilogy". Before *Seventeen Seconds*, The Cure already managed to leave a huge imprint with the "Killing An Arab" / "Boys Don't Cry" / "10:15 Saturday Night" / *Three Imaginary Boys* early era. But their true legend started there, with that second album digging one single gloomy groove until it lives rent-free in your soul. You can't beat "Play For Today", "In Your House" and most specifically "A Forest". Except on subsequent albums, that is. 5 stars, what else? Number of albums left to review: around a hundred, as I've gone over the 1000 line and this generator is including albums from all editions of the book Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 442 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 262 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 321

10 stars, if I could. Brilliant album!

The Cure never really clicked with me outside of a few of their more popular hits, but now it really does. Really love the dark mood it sets and the more barebones approach to instrumentation. Highlights for me are Play For Today, A Forest, M and At Night. The entire album really is great though.

Seventeen Seconds probably falls somewhere in the middle of where I rank the 14 albums by The Cure (that's probably heretical to most Cureheads). That's not because it's not a fantastic album; it's because they just have so many great ones. That said, this album is still a solid 4.75 for me. It has so many classic Cure songs, including "A Forest" and "Play for Today," which are both absolute bangers. It also has "M," "Secrets," "At Night" — there's really not a bad song on here. The storytelling in songs like "A Forest," "At Night," and "Seventeen Seconds" is top notch, which is even more incredible considering how young they were when they released this album. Simon's bass lines are iconic and infectious. Some of Robert's most enduring lyrics are on this album. And human metronome Lol Tolhurst was really the perfect drummer for the band at this time. Seventeen Seconds creates an amazing and cohesive soundscape and is one of the albums that wrote the blueprint for goth music. So many goth bands have blatantly copied "A Forest" over the years to the point where it's almost become a parody (Lebanon Hanover's "Gallowdance" is a pretty tongue-in-cheek nod to the song). If I had to lodge a couple tiny complaints about the album, they're that a) I wish there were fewer instrumental pieces, though they're still pretty great and work well to set the mood, and b) because the album really goes for that cohesive soundscape, there are a few songs that sound pretty similar to each other. Again, not a real negative, because they're still great. Whether I prefer cohesive, gloomy Cure or eclectic Cure really just depends on my mood on any given day. So, I'll give the album a 5 on here, and I really do love it. It's just that their catalogue is so insanely great that it's difficult to pick a "best" one — and as good as this one is, knowing that what came after it is even better just barely knocks it out of perfect for me. 4.75/5

One of the most iconic bands, one of the most iconic sounds in Rock history with one of their best albums.

Oh my god. This album created the best and most consistent atmosphere on an album I've ever seen. Down to the album art the music is just so solemn and frosty. Also every song was beautiful in its own way, the shorter ambient and electronic tracks added so much depth as well. The highlight is The Cure's trademark guitar and Smith's wailing vocals. I liked how on some of the tracks the vocals were pulled back, giving more attention to the instruments. Jesus. Fav Songs: Play for Today, A Forest, At Night, 17 Seconds

The Cure are consistently great. I enjoy how stripped back this one is, and how much of it is instrumental. It really elevates the creepy atmosphere they were going for here.

This is definitely one of my favorite albums by The Cure because it highlights their early exploration of post-punk and new wave sounds. At the same time, it captures their transition into a more goth rock direction. The album itself is pretty mellow and laid-back, with a strong atmospheric and ambient quality. The production enhances this soundscape, especially with those echo-laden guitar lines that really set the tone.

Not my thing but I really liked it! Great new wave album!!

Great!

The most OG of goth vibes on this one.

Geiles Album. Kann ich heute noch gut hören, wobei Boys don't cry mein absoluter Favorit bleibt.

Never really enjoyed The Cure before, so had a sinking feeling when this came up, but it was actually surprisingly good. Crisp sounds, moody, I'll be adding this to my list of albums requiring a re-listen for sure.

Listened to this 3 times. Fabulous album with great vocals from Robert Smith. The music is amazing. Always loved the cure. Xx

Never listened to The Cure before but I really enjoyed this album. Wil definitely be listening to them more.

Great to hear this all the way through. Having loved A Forest since hearing it on John Peel some time in 1981, I don't know why I've never delved into the full album. I absolutely love the sound: sparse, just enough pedal to make it ethereal, Robert's faraway vocal relatively low in the mix. (And none of the annoying high note plinky-plonk bass that crept into later, "jollier" singles.) Really gorgeous.

Tercer día de octubre con uno de mis favoritos de The Cure. Seguramente a todos nos pasa que nuestras preferencias van mutando: con ellos fue con su primer trabajo, luego con "Disintegration" y hace un tiempo fue redescubrir "Seventeen seconds": disco oscuro y por momentos, bailable, que empezaba a sentar las bases para el sonido gótico de la banda. ¿Será que el crecer va de la mano de aferrarse a sonidos más sólidos y, por ende, más oscuros? ¿O simplemente siempre me sentí atraído por todo ello y lo acepto? Hasta el lunes, que mañana estamos de cumpleaños.

Do you like songs that give you a dark vibe? The Cure has the perfect album for you! Its called Seventeen Seconds. I like how they used the bass and guitar using lower notes but kept the drums kinda up-beat. Their instruments sound great when played together. They also don't have many lyrics but maybe others songs have more since YouTube only lets me hear 2 song \"Secrets\" and \"A forest\". I love how the guitar in ''A forest\" is in the background at the beginning but later on it becomes more clear. Over all I love this album and I would 100% Recommend it.

Goth, new wave classic.

Absolutely superb. Love the distinctive sound of Robert Smith's vocals which depicts the sound of The Cure. So ahead of its time and still very relevant today. There are echoes of brilliant bands such as Joy Division and New Order threaded throughout the album. Didn't want it to end. It's a favourite on my play list.

Interesting! This is only The Cure’s second album and already they’ve moved on from their early punky sound, introducing electronic drums and getting almost ambient on some tracks (“Three” has always been one of my favourites). As a Cure fan it’s not really an album I think about a lot but it gets five stars because it’s got “A Forest” on it. Call me biased!

Gostei demais em

I really love the choices they made in this album. I was familiar with more of the pop parts of the Cure, and this one defied my expectations!

Assombramento gótico com delicadeza. A banda sempre esteve a frente do seu tempo.

awaomee

Every Cure album is a 10

Very mellow compared to the albums I was introduced to in the 90s.

This is the album where The Cure moved forward into atmospheric post-punk, almost gothic territory - stimulated by Robert Smith spending time with the Banshees. It's almost sound painting. The single A Forest is excellent, as is Play For Today. An enjoyable album, and quite influential on other bands around this time.

Great album

Great album

Wow, what an album. Perfect length, amazing atmosphere, booming bass, Robert Smith's unique vocals. The Cure's second album, recorded on a low budget (the song "The Final Sound" was supposed to be more than 52 seconds but they ran out of tape). I saved most of the album to my "album era playlist", a first on this run of album listens. I also immediately played the entire album again upon finishing. A good sign! I imagine myself coming back to this album regularly. Favourites: Play for Today Secrets In Your House A Forest M At Night Seventeen Seconds 5 stars. Best I've heard thus far here.

4.5 - I love the cure and it's nice to listen to stuff that isn't just the big hits. I think the use of guitar is so unique and could happily listen to this for hours

Classic

I'm generally a fan of the band, and this record is a great example of early Cure. It's very atmospheric, with some really interesting musical choices. They became a bit more poppy later on, which I didn't like as much.

THE CURE !! pretty cover like the names of the songs within the album and it's pretty easy to connect to 1- almost spooky sounding with blocked chords 2- interesting shift to groovy after the first song 3- interesting vibes, tuned out a bit and nothing really caught my attention 4- love the sound, lyrics and all (though there are very few lyrics) 6- short and spooky (like 54 seconds ish, less than a minute for sure) 7- very little break between 5 and 6, no fade even, continues spooky vibe and scene, feels like lost in a dark mysterious forest throughout (called a forest), picks up beat eventually like running through the trees to escape something unknown but scary, space ish sounds, lyrics like would be over an intense scene with a girl running through the trees with flowing dress and scarves (like a winter get up kinda thing) and she keeps looking back, stumbling a bit, but keeps running and we never see the thing that scared her or is chasing her, lots of grey, white, and black colors, would likely be a black and white film kinda thing, a longer song, maybe the longest on the album at 5:54, just about 6 minutes 8- (M) similar guitar riffs and beats, feels a bit like running still and much more lyrical, starting off with lyrics and almost telling a story, like the slow down at the end 9- (at night) a bit of a more electric feel and silence between the songs, sounds like static, like the end of the movie or whatever and the bad is winning, kinda tuned out at the end, but very the cure feeling with vocals and sounds 10- (seventeen seconds), back to guitar and drums kinda vibe, slight beat pick up about a minute and a half through, softer sounding robert smith vocals, everything is quieter now and other lyrics feel like a bittersweet ending like the nightmare ended with a victory but with hard choices and lots of death at the end kind of feeling "17 seconds a measure of life" 4 minutes exactly, I always wonder about lengths of songs, curious about this one too :/ Kinda ends how it started, but sadder rather than more urgent or adrenaline pumping, needed to sit for a bit after listening shorter songs compared to other of their songs I think very the cure sounding with vocals (thanks robert smith) Short and spooky, short and sweet, would listen to again playing a spooky board game like betrayal at the house on the hill or whatever, maybe to do homework in winter or if it's a quieter day with some rain or showers, cloudy feel, not really for a sunny kind of day

Liked it even more than expected.

What a rich and unique concept, everything is to love here !!!

This album is so cool. Had I been born in the 70s, maybe I would have been goth, because The Cure just has a sound that oozes style. While I liked much of the album, In Your House really surprised me, followed by Three. I also liked A Forest, Seventeen Seconds, and I'm a Cult Hero. Great album.

Huge favorite

- This album feels like eating salmon at a nice restaurant - Perfect tone and vibe - Can be great for either deep listening or background vibes

Let’s go this is my favorite cure album. Darker than their debut, not suicidal like their next couple before their more pop turn. The guitar work is so good. This is the cure album I come back and listen to the most. Rating: 4.9

El segundo LP de The Cure marca un cambio de tono en la composición de Smith, entrando en el periodo más oscuro de la banda. Con sonidos pioneros en el denominado "Goth Rock", Robert de la mano de Gallup robustizan su catálogo y experimentando con las líneas sonoras del post-punk que ya venían realizando, construyen un LP sombrío, triste y bailable.

Reminded me of my childhood

Great while working!

Controversially, this may be the peak of The Cure’s goth post-punk era for me. I had to sit with this truth a lot, because I don’t personally love them for their goth era. Do I really want to rate this a 5/5? Does it achieve that status, even if I would place other albums by The Cure above it? Is it a bit sloppy, a bit loose with its playing? Yes. Is that maybe the result of an amateurish first attempt to shift the band’s entire aesthetic? Maybe. Are there a couple of instrumental songs that are just padding tracks? Sure, but strangely enough, I would listen to them out of context from this album, too. Despite its obvious critiques, this album just has a mood, a vibe, and that vibe is like a siren. It’s an enticing record, a life-changing record, even. I know it was for my high school girlfriend, who went from twee to goth a week after she first heard this and “Juju.” (Thankfully we’re cool now, so there’s no hard feelings around this listen.) There’s a pop sensibility here in “A Forest,” “Play for Today,” and “M” that appeals to me, keeps me going as a listener. And that’s then mixed against this very cool, slow-brewing darkness in songs like “Three” and “Seventeen Seconds” that perks my ears up, and I can’t avert my eyes, like I’m seeing a wolf during a walk in the woods. Honestly, I think I’m just trying to justify my emo love for The Cure, one of my favorite bands ever, and that’s silly. My emo heart loves The Cure and this is some of their best 🖤🥀⛓️🖤

Un classique !!!!

During the years The Cure released their albums, say, between this one and Wish, I really, extremely didn't care for them. And even less so after. But it's been a very nice journey in the recent many years to (re-)discover what I had not been into, missed or ignored as a circa teenager and what it does to me today. The Cure, for instance. I'd already come to cherish the two "hits" of the album and the whole of it, not to my surprise, does not disappoint. On repeat, today=5

Good sad boi music

The Cure at their most echoed out and skeletal. Absolute sewer dweller post-punk for sunglasses inside types (my 4th favorite Cure album if the mood is right)

❤️

just a beauty, mate

„A Forest“ ist einer meiner Lieblingssong. nicht nur deswegen, sondern aufgrund des Gesamtwerkes, das die düstere Stimmung der Platte auf den Hörer überträgt ohne in Schrille abzudriften ist das Album sensationell. Der Band gelingt die künstlerische Loslösung von der Vorband von Siouxsie and the Bashees zur Etablierung einer neuen Musikrichtung … „ Play for Today“. 😀

not a single skippable song 10/10

Love this album, the melancholia, the simplicity of the chords and beats. Hard to pick a favorite track.

BL: I love The Cure, "A Forest" off this album is one of my favourite songs to blast whilst driving in the car at night. So it'll be good to listen to this album the whole way through. AL: An amazing atmospheric listen. All of the album feels like its building up to A Forest, and the album follows a linear lyrical theme. It comes together with an awesome closer track. I've always felt an affinity with The Cure as they come from around where I come from. An awesome album and one I'm glad I got round to listening to. FT: "A Forest", "M", "Seventeen Seconds" 5/5

This was ok momentum builds up after a few songs. Minimal lyrics also but I guess the guitars and intents are well put together and some songs have a nice groove.

Great listen. Always been a casual fan of The Cure. And I was looking forward to listening to more of them so this was delightful.

Always one of my favorites!!

Sweet sound

Pure synth bliss

Reminds me of college…love it!