Seventeen Seconds

This is what I really want from this exercise. To go through the discography of artists before my time I know I should have checked out. Great record.

Another great album from the dark era of The Cure, I like this better than Faith Play for Today is perhaps my favorite Cure song

Early The Cure is my favorite but this is probably the weakest album from that era.

Moody, complex and of-course cool

I don't mind this style of music, but this album does nothing for me at all, not sure why it's here... Maybe it's a slow burn? Idk if I have the patience for that on this one...

Ciężko jest pisać słowa o dobrej konotacji przy albumie, który jest jak gęsta mgła w listopadowym mroku. To jest nieoświetlnoy korytarz w niezamieszkanym zamku, to jest seans spirytystyczny, to jest Berenika E.A.Poe. Wielka szkoda, że ta płyta jest taka krótka, a The Final Sound urywa się tak szybko. Absolutnie moja bajka 👻🏰🕯️

Meh? Nothing stood out, no great bangers.

Fuck I love the Cure

Hypnotic. I dug the production, especially the chorus/flanged guitars. I wish I could live in the first 30 seconds of “A Forest” before the band kicks in. Would listen again.

Like most cure albums, I almost really liked this. Does some great things sonically, really enjoy the last 3 or 4 songs, but a bit too much hopeless emo vibes for me. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

I’m really not all that familiar with The Cure outside of a handful of their hits, particularly “Friday I’m in Love,” which I love and actually sing with my band. My knowledge of Robert Smith is largely limited to his public persona and, of course, that time he defeated Mecha-Streisand on South Park. I came into this expecting something relentlessly melancholic, sort of proto-emo goth music, but what surprised me is how much of this album is actually danceable. Robert Smith sings like he’s either crying or just finished crying, but the music behind him is often pretty upbeat, with these driving basslines and jangly, new-wave guitar arrangements. “A Forest” is exactly what I think of when I think of The Cure. Not to harp too much on South Park, but this is precisely the music Trey Parker and Matt Stone are parodying when the Goth Kids do that weird little disaffected dance shuffle. It’s dark and moody, but there’s a genuinely infectious groove underneath it. “Play for Today” is another standout, probably my favorite alongside “A Forest.” “M” is in that same vein, although not quite as good. Where the album loses me is in some of the more atmospheric material. Tracks like “A Reflection” are essentially reverberating, discordant guitar chords chiming out into an echo chamber. They’re fine as little interludes, I guess, but they’re not particularly interesting compositions. “At Night” has this fantastic, super-fuzzed-out guitar sound that I really dig, but the song itself doesn’t do much for me. It’s not like I’m ever going to be sitting around thinking, “Man, I really need to put on ‘At Night.’ That’ll get me going.” I appreciate the atmosphere they’re creating, and there’s something genuinely compelling about the contrast between the gloomy vocals and the surprisingly energetic instrumentation. But I find myself enjoying the actual songs much more than the sonic experiments. When The Cure give me a memorable melody and a great groove, I’m completely on board. When they’re just creating an atmosphere, I start losing interest. There’s some really good stuff here, and I can certainly hear why this became such an influential sound, but I don’t think every interesting musical texture necessarily makes for an interesting song. 5.5/10

not my favorite of theirs, but to be fair, the bar is high

They have 4 albums on this list, hell no.

Christ depressing or what

Hey Robert? Would you mind stepping a bit closer to the mic? No one can fucking hear you! My first Cure album. If it was a minute longer, it would be as exactly as long as the drive to my girlfriend's house, which is cool. Other than that, there isn't really a lot here for me.

rather monotonous and boring,

Solid

Great sounding record, not my favorite of theirs from a song perspective.

Never really gelled with the vibe of the Cure, there's stuff to like here but also just need to acknowledge its not for me and move on.

This is #day803 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... funny how it took me 792 days to get my first Cure album, and only 11 days to get another one. Seventeen Seconds has always been one of those I rarely revisit. Probably because I like my Cure starting with Pornography, though those early records are charming in their own way. Like in this case: the artwork has a very mid-October-early-November feel to it, and the music reflects that. Beautiful, pensive, minimalist gothic rock/post-punk. "Secrets," "In Your House," "A Forest," and "At Night" are the highlights. Can't wait to revisit Disintegration, as this is the only Cure album left on the list. Oh wait, Songs of a Lost World has recently been added as well! This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day804.

a reflection - 4/10, calm start to an album but wouldn't listen again unless i was listening to the full album play for today - 6/10, chill song, not obsessed but very peaceful and would listen in the background secrets - 5/10, calm and good to listen in the background but not amazing in your house - 8/10, vibes are immaculate, absolutely love the riffs in this song - might even try to learn this on my guitar 👀 Three - 3/10, nothing much to say, simple song, nothing special, only adds to the album the final sound - 3/10, again nothing special, adds to the album but wouldn't choose to listen A forest - 9/10, such an iconic riff, classic song M - 10/10, been listening to this song for years, absolute banger at night - 5/10, calm seventeen seconds - 7/10, Ending the album with a calm vibe and catchy instrumentals overall: 6.5/10, few strong songs in the album with the rest sounding very experimental (it was the first album after all). Guitar and bass-lines heavily carry the album

Despite Disintegration being one of my all time favourite albums, and knowing a lot of their songs well and for years, I rarely listen to their first few early albums. On the strength of this one I should do more often, and it did indeed lead into revisiting a couple of aftershocks after playing this a couple of times. Whilst it would be a very hard job dislodging Disintegration from being my favourite, this wasn’t half bad, and I’ll certainly be listening to it more often now I’ve been reacquainted with it. A Forest is a seminal track of course, and still my favourite on the album. Really glad this came up on the list. Enjoyed it.

This is the Cure I love - I was worried how it would feel after the disappointment of Disintegration - but I was worrying needlessly.

- first song didn't had lyrics but s5ill was nice - pretty chill - like the rhythm - it's peaceful, easy to relax with, - i don't listen to cure often but itwas actually really good - the song seventeen seconds came a bit stronger then the rest, lyrics started quite late, even though lyric was short it was worth it

Not what I thought it was going to be at all. Very understated. Enjoyed parts of it but it didn't stand out in other places.

Friday I'm in Love isn't even on here, but A Forest is.

Not my favorite album of theirs but I dig it.

Kinda boring man (barring A Forest that one is a banger)

I’ve listened to other Cure albums in the past, particularly in my teens, but I don’t think I heard this one before. This felt like one long song with occasional vocals. Other Cure albums would feel the same, but they eventually learned that you need to break up the monotony with a little life now and then. 3 stars

Album 350. Seventeen Seconds (https://open.spotify.com/album/6DCJNDiXeT5C8uSFNM8k56?si=k1BF985DQqe3Xu_gu5Phow) — The Cure (1980) It's The Cure and it can't be bad. Second studio album, dark and gothic. I've only fully heard Disintegration (https://t.me/falton1001/389) and this one feels like a lighter, easier version in comparison, with much less detail and less mindblowing hah 4/5 Liked: — Play For Today — Three — A Forest — At Night — Seventeen Seconds

was a cool aesthetic and vibe, but my favorite part about the cure is the lead singers voice and there wasnt a lot of singing on this album and when there was the vocals were quiet. the instrumentals were cool as background music but maybe not interesting enough in my opinion to listen to on their own with my full undivided attention.

It was meh

Album #227: The Cure – Seventeen Seconds ⭐⭐⭐ Love The Cure, but sorry, a light three stars. This is one of the very first fully fledged goth albums, and I think that alone probably secures its place on this list. It's good, but they went on to make much better stuff than this. It's very sparse, atmospheric music, but it's somewhat amateurishly played. Now, I know they're amazing musicians. But some of the songs, especially the instrumentals are so brutally simple, to the point of being quite uninteresting. The intro, for example. And I think it just lacks memorable songs. To me, this is one of the greatest Greatest Hits bands ever. They have so many bangers, so many amazing songs in their repertoire. This album has only one truly amazing song, but that song might well be the quintessential Cure song. A Forest. It might be my favourite Cure song too. It's so good. There's a level of intensity to it that's not found on the rest of the album, especially that guitar riffage towards the end. It's a song that just dwarfs everything else around it. M is really good as well, and Play for Today reminds me a little of The Smiths, with that chord progression But songs like Seventeen Seconds and In Your House are just very dour. And of course it's The Cure. They're allowed to be dour, especially during this period of their career, with Faith and Pornography. But when the album finished on Spotify, The Figurehead from Pornography came on, with that dense, layered, intense sound. Leaning further into their darker elements. It just suits them better. And when they went on to make Disintegration, with those really long, emotionally driven, heavy songs, that's where they shone. I think they were still finding that formula on this album. So for its influence on what came afterwards, I can see why it's on the list. But as an album on its own merits, I don't really see it, to be honest.

I liked the most popular song but I don't think this album was for me.

Whenever you put 17 seconds on, it's immediately dark and you're surrounded by trees. I love this album, dark, sexy, bass heavy and cool as fuck.

4/5

i liked this a lot! i want to listen to more of the cure

All the best people I know are Cure fans, and all the Cure fans I know are the best people.

На этот раз это адекватный альбом от The Cure. Музыка неплохая. Даже одна песня понравилась, "M"

Far from their best

Low key great

Short and sweet. 3.5

Not my favorite by the Cure, but it's definitely an atmospheric listen.

I actually listened to this for the first time about a week ago, and my opinion on it hasn't changed. It's a good album but my least favorite Cure album that I have listened to. It's a low 4

Very consistent album. Some of the best The Cure has to offer. Possibly their best album

Meh. Sad vibes

sehr gute grusel film musik, bisschen eintönig

Could have been over faster.

THE CUREEEEE!!!! Nothing to say about it. Sounds amazing.

So atmospheric. Year zero for Goth, Shoegaze and Indie Sleaze (hate that term though)

Уфф, второй альбик Кюров. Ну штош, внимайте и слушайте, дети, вот откуда все вот эти ваши Молчат Дома взяли звучание с этими вашими эмалированными суднами. Не одни Cure, конечно, авторы подобного звучания, но они определенно "отцы" наравне с, к примеру, Жой Дивижн. А, ну и да, старина Цой, безусловно копипиздил первые альбомы Cure. Может не напрямую, но влияние бесспорное. В общем, к чему я это: альбом приятный, важный, атмосферный, и точно стоит проведенного с ним времени. любимое: in your house, a forest

Hidas melankolinen levy. Laulajan valittava tyyli ei siksi ihan niin paljoa ärsyttänyt. Jos on paha olla niin tämä kyllä pahentaisi sitä lisää.

Melko rämpyti rämpyti masennuslevy. Eka biisi rakenteli siistiä tunnelmaa, mutta sitte alkokin The Cure. Outo miksaus osassa biiseistä, tuntu että laulut tuli naapurihuoneesta kun muut soittimet oli samassa tilassa nauhottajan kans. Vibes were ok, vähän pliisuks jäi kuitenki.

Five stars for A Forest on its own tbf.

I've had a few days in a row where this site has had me listening to albums I either already loved or was aware of and enjoyed. So, I suppose my luck was bound to run out. I don't like The Cure, and expect to greatly dislike this album. I didn't recognize any of these tracks, and found them all quite boring.

The seeds of greatness abound here

Entirely unmemorable

I've always enjoyed The Cure, I think Robert Smith (as weird as he is) is a musical genius. Well, my assumption is that he is the genius that kept this band relevant for 20+ years. This probably wasn't the finest album of theirs, but it was still pretty fucking good - and better than the drivel I've had the misfortune to listen to over the last few selections. I'm going with 4 stars.

It took a couple of listens to appreciate it

Déjà écouté avant. Un de mes albums préférés, le premier chef-d'œuvre de Robert Smith et des siens, un disque au minimalisme frigorifique mais au charisme incandescent qui préfigure la vague gothique des années 1980 sans pour autant avoir vieilli d'un iota en près de 50 ans. De la batterie machinale de Lol Tolhurst à la voix si singulière de Robert Smith, en passant par les nappes de brouillard synthétiques et les lignes de basse portées le plus souvent jusqu'au premier plan du mix, tout conspire à installer une ambiance certes peu rigolarde, mais d'une puissance évocatrice dévastatrice. Et le talent de songwriter de Robert Smith fait le reste, qui enchaîne morceau génial sur morceau génial, dans ce style de pop dépressive qu'il maîtrise à la perfection. Absolument sublime. Top : M Flop : The Final Sound

Eftir 300 plötur ætla ég að byrja að vera smá harður. Tvær fyrir þessa, en hún fer á listann yfir þær sem gætu hækkað í framtíðinni.

Surprised to see it here, though underrated in their catalogue

I don’t care for the cure

Was OK, never really grabbed me. I enjoy other work from the cure.

A pleasant — may I even say relaxing — record, but not the most memorable Cure album. It felt very atmospheric, but I don’t think it captures why the group ought to be heard before you die (and they ought to!!). 3.5 stars rounded up.

I listened to this at the right place at the right time. It’s certainly that type of album. The ambient synth tones combined with the echoey guitar and overdriven bass really made for a good listen.

A great dark and Gothic intro to the band with alot of minor chord written melodies. Not their best in my opinion. The only song from this album that I recognized was A Forest.

This is good but was not the vibe for the nice walk to Tim's I listened to it during

Прослушивание группы The Cure, и в частности этого альбома, ставит меня в тупик: с одной стороны, очень крутая музыка, однозначно 5, с другой же, мне совсем не нравится голос Роберта Смита, слишком высокий и тонкий, возможно, отчасти дело в сведении звука. Лучшая песня: Secrets

Love The Cure.

Con las canciones que conocía de The Cure no me esperaba un álbum tan oscuro, la verdad me gustó.

Not a fan but this was quite good, he said grudgingly.

Caught in the middle. I was going through peaks and valleys of really digging it and then not so much. Vocals so low in the mix on Secrets, what's that about. Anyway, may revisit to reassess score.

I really liked "Play for Today" and "Secrets"; I found the rest just okay, but it isn't a bad album.

An interesting and strange album. But I liked it. Some great songs.

fire album. love u robert smith .

This was my first time listening through an older The Cure album. It wasn't bad and had a good atmosphere to it, but overall I found it a bit monotonous and lacking any real high highs. I guess that is kind of the goth way though.

01) A Reflection - 8,0 02) Play for Today - 8,5 03) Secrets - 8,5 04) In Your House - 8,0 05) Three - 7,5 06) The Final Sound - / 07) A Forest - 10,0 08) M - 8,0 09) At Night - 8,0 10) Seventeen Seconds - 8,0 TOTAL: 8,28 (83/100) Current ranking: 229/1049

7/10 This, the Cure's second album, is the first point at which they began to really step into the goth side of their sound. On their first record, Robert Smith wasn't really happy with the production or the songs, and this, the first of three co-produced with Mike Hedges, was the first he was truly satisfied with. The overall tone is dark and atmospheric, with plenty of sections that are stark, open and reverberant, generating an almost oppressive ambience in places. But what Robert Smith does so well is to weave an incredibly engaging and hooky ear for melody inside of that approach to arrangement and production, which creates music that is both catchy and reflective of the darker sides of his psyche. What's particularly impressive about the sound design of this record is that, due to the relatively controlled and sparse nature of the sonic work, it sounds almost timeless and, having been a part of the early days of gothic rock, is a sound that is still being emulated to this very day, over 45 years later. That's not to say that this is an overwhelmingly dark or oppressive record, however, as there are tracks like Play For Today and Secrets that have great drive and groove to them. But he also throws in more stark sonic experimentation on tracks like Three and At Night. The crowning achievement of this record is probably A Forest, on which the two worlds collide and we get a song of exceptional dark-pop quality. It's got such a great melodic sense, but doesn't skimp on the sound design and atmospherics either. It's lovely stuff and really showcases the direction that Robert Smith was heading in with the band. Ultimately, I think this album, while important, is a bit of a stepping-stone effort, and it does run a little bit out of steam towards the end. But it's still a vastly engaging work and one that breaks new ground, while managing to maintain just enough of a mainstream edge to keep the band in touch with a wider audience. It's a fine balancing act that Robert Smith would dance along throughout his career, and it's great to hear how deftly he was managing it as far back as this. A Reflection - A stark and pensive opening. I think the subtle pulse of the synth part is really good and there's some cool soundscaping work that adds range, but it's definitely more of an intro than a full song. Sets the mood pretty well though. Play For Today - This is a bit more towards the poppy, new wave side of The Cure, at least in terms of the front foot groove and driving bass. The jangly guitars are cool and it manages to blend good melodies with an edge of darkness really well. It's got a great vibe, enhanced by the weight and space of the production. Solid stuff. Secrets - The groove is pretty compelling, and it's enhanced by the careful arrangement of the other parts that allows plenty of space. Again, the bass work is strong and, while there's nothing spectacular about any of the individual parts, they are perfectly written to suit the vibe of oppression. It's really cool stuff. In Your House - This kind of feels like a pop song that's been slowed right down and given a goth makeover. It's not got the most development or progression within the songwriting, but there are some fantastic deviations here and there and again, that oppressive repetition works really well to drive the vibe and atmosphere of the song home. Three - Now we're really digging into the goth sound with the sparseness, weighty bass and snappy electronic drum sounds. It's an atmospheric piece that throws in some interesting sound design and a more avant-garde approach to songwriting. It's enjoyable enough, but is almost half way between a song and a sonic art piece in some respects. But I quite like it still. The Final Sound - An intro to side two that builds more of the atmosphere that the record bathes in. The production at the end as it collapses is brilliant. A Forest - Robert Smith really has a great ear for melody. This is dark goth pop perfection. It drives, the pulsating bass is excellent, the atmosphere is stark and dark, and the hooks catch in your head. I think the ability to be so sonically interesting and still write such hooky music is something very few musicians pull off the way that The Cure do at their best. The guitar tone is gorgeous and there's some cool synth work too. A brilliant combination of songwriting and production, resulting in an excellent track. M - This feels slightly more melodically meandering, but the groove is still pretty compelling. The sound and vibe is decent, but the songwriting feels a bit restrained and there's not the open space or level of hook that they play with on their better work, so it feels a bit less exciting. At Night - The space and sonic interest is back. The guitar tone is crumbling and interesting. But then things sort of plod along and we don't quite get the range of sonic experimentation and atmosphere building that we were getting earlier on the record, so things never become completely satisfying or powerful, which is a shame. It's also too long. Seventeen Seconds - It takes quite a while to get going, this one. The bass work is strong, but there's not much range and the sound design and vibe is a bit bland compared to the beat work on the album. It's not a bad song, but could have been given a bit more life through production choices. Unfortunately, this is just a bit bland and the record has limped to the end a bit.

Interesting. 2.5 rounded down to 2.

Decent listen with some great tracks.

I was excited for this as listened to a lot of The Cure but never this album in its entirety. Overall, don’t think it is my favourite album of theirs, but it still made me wish I’d been alive at a time I could have danced to this in a club. I unashamedly grinned while listening to most of it, despite its sad moody topics. And it has one of my favourite songs of all time on it - The Forest. Literally time travelled back to being 17 for 5 minutes while that played! Highlights: I love it when an album is a complete “piece” with intro, interval tracks, songs mixed - makes it a performance and I loved that. Will never be able to fault guitars and bass on a record by The Cure - pure 80s perfection. Lowlights: The Cure are too good to end a track on a fade out! Top tunes: Play for today and THE FOREST - I mean everything about this track is awesome. Rating: 3.5

What a terrible opening track This is so so boring All of a sudden the songs improved dramatically and then I realised the album was over and I was listening to Radiohead 2/5 - its at least tolerable so I won’t give it 1 (or 0) stars

It is Fantastic

I thought I liked the cure until this album. 2 songs and 8 tracks of average instrumentals Very disappointed.

I was into The Cure in the 1980s and I think I had this one on tape. Definitely a bit gloomy atmospheric rather than some of their later, much poppier hits. Happy to hear it but apart from ‘A Forest’ it’s just not that exciting 2.4/5

While usually a fan of instrumental heavy rock, Robert Smith's vocal style not to my taste. Sound balance was poor with lyrics inaudible for much of the album (which may have been beneficial).

Enjoyed a few individual songs but struggled with the full album. Listening context may be important, it’s not an album for first thing in the morning.

I thought I liked the Cure. Maybe I don’t… Had to resist the urge to skip the songs which I found to be repetitive. The highlight for me was definitely A Forest which I really enjoyed when the beat kicked in. 2.0

Flanger bliss, this is early enough to hear the unrefined reach for expression. The contrarian approach to is warm and moody.

This was a sleeper for me.

Not my favorite Cure album, mostly fades into the background. But it has “A Forest” on it and “A Forest” rules so… three stars?

I love The Cure and I'd consider this an overlooked album. It's a bit dreary & dark - this is rainy day, looking out the window stuff. You can get a feel for where the band will go in the years to come, but it's missing the final ingredient that eventually makes them superstars. I like "Play For Today", the classic "A Forest" (great driving song), "Secrets", "At Night", & "Seventeen Seconds". Is it Top 1001 because it lays the groundwork for a HOF band? It really only has one hit that people know, it may have been influential I'm not sure. 3.5 stars but I need to round down.

Blah.

I only knew a few of the tracks from this one but it's a very interesting time capsule for early Cure (and indeed alternative music at the time, 1980, as a whole) - the sound is so very sparse and bleak... it's borderline arctic in temperature. They really did tread the fine line between gothic and post-punk even when both were still quite fledgling. I by no means think this is their best output but I can understand why it was chosen for this list. 3.5

The Cure still stands out as one of the most avant garde and influencial rock bands of all time, this second album shows it beautifully. I still prefer DM!!

I was expecting to really like this album because I usually really like the cure but this album was just super okay The vocals are pretty much sidelined here for almost the whole album for a pretty instrumentation focused album Vocals are also usually the best part of cure songs The instrumentation is just not anything crazy The feeling they were trying to convey is definitely evident throughout but the music just isn’t that interesting to listen to 2.5/5 Favorites: M, play for today

Some songs a bit too sparse and morose, but it is like a soundtrack, and is captivating.

the instrumentals on this album are interesting I really liked secrets, A forest, M, At night, Seventeen seconds great album 8.1/10

Väldigt neutral. Inget som är dåligt, men det är heller inget som fastnar eller utmärker sig.