Review Summary: Two words, HOLY F*CK!
Before I start, if anyone who sees this can find a more gothic, depressing, angry, suicidal album, post me a link in the comments, I guarantee you won't!
As the summary clearly says, the only words I could utter after listening to even one track was quite simply, 'HOLY F*CK!'
A later Cure release was called 'Wild Mood Swing' As to why on earth this album wasn't called 'Wild Mood Swing' is simply beyond me! In the previous album, the band are feeling dreadfully sorry for themselves, however, in this album, the band just want to kill everybody! Including themselves it seems! To say this album is depressing is an understatement. The sorrow of 'Fait' just seems to have turned into a rush of uncontrollable anger never before heard.
The album effectively gets summed up in 2 lyrics from the 1st and last tracks. 'It doesn't matter if we all die...' (From 'One Hundred Years') and 'I must fight this sickness, find a Cure' (from 'Pornography')
Back in 1982, when this first came out, the album was absolutely slated by music critics, goodness knows only as to why. As years have gone on, it has become much more liked by people and have realised past mistakes about the album. Ok, yes the production is a bit muddy at times, but the guitars, drums, the bass and keyboards still just sound downright fantastic. In ways it can be regarded as Pornography for fans of the gothic band The Cure came to be.
I think this album's track order, though not many usually pay attention to it, is absolutely spot-on, It starts with the heartstopping 'One Hundred Years' and as the album begins to progress, the songs become far slower-paced with the exception of 'A Strange Day' and 'The Hanging Garden' which still somehow manages to fit in.
My one little complaint involves the song 'Siamese Twins' All the way throughout the song is a beautifully gothic guitar hookline, but it's far too repetitive and the entire song seems like it's frozen half way through and goes back to the beginning again, nonetheless, I still do like the song, it just needs a bit of a change part way through in my opinion.
As always, I will recommend you some tracks which I believe you will enjoy.
Recommendation 1: 'The Figurehead' The highlight of the album. Robert Smith and Gallup combine here to a devastatingly haunting effect, Smith's disturbingly phsycic guitar playing in the song, and his deep, deep vocals along with a relatively fast-moving bassline from Gallup just creates an atmosphere you would expect at an execution!
Recommendation 2: 'Cold' A more synth-oriented song, but again, like 'The Figurehead', Gallup and Smith are on top-form, but the more atmospheric drums of Lol Tolhurst help this song along as well.
Recommendation 3: 'Pornography' A quite magnificent piece of racket is how I would describe this song. For around 3-4 minutes, the song is just a tribal drumbeat and a sinister soundclip of some sort, but Smith's vocals and guitar then fade in, and eventually end the misery eventually. The guarantee about this song is that unless you love The Cure, or Gothic 80's music, you will HATE this track, take that into account.
In conclusion, the only reason I have rated this album 4.5 instead of 5 is due to the fact 4.5 says 'Superb' This album is too gothic, too miserable and disturbing to be rated as a 'Classic' It should be classed as 'Godlike' Simply an album not for the faint-hearted
