Review Summary: A quirky, almost playful album.
Pretty solid overall, with abstract lyrics, spinning from a moody and minimalist sound to the rageful and raw sound that marks the post punk genre, Three Imaginary Boys stands as an oddity in The Cure´s catalog
The Cure, the band that went famous with poppy singles like "Just Like Heaven" while cementing their name as one of the pivotal bands in the alternate scene with dark and haunting albums like "Faith" and "Pornography"
The Cure`s career will pass to history as one of the weirdest and most interesting runs in the music history, starting as a careless, post punk act, to become one of the very first and most defining Goth bands, only to later emerge as the definitive pop band, and then scattering again, following different paths, all at once
Today, The Cure is primary a live band, focusing in the power of their hits and the loyalty of their fans to fill stadiums and play a monstrous set of at least 3 hours, The Cure, more than a band, it`s a trademark, a powerhouse in music, much like Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd (or it`s remnants) and many others that manage to transcend mere music and become a social phenom, an indistinct part of their fans life`s
But what was The Cure 30 years ago? Who was Robert Smith back then?
The Cure were just another band, with punky songs and some poppy standouts, or that was then, back in the days...
So let`s start with the review
Three Imaginary Boys opens with a minimalist and moody piece
"10:15 Saturday Night" emerges with the theme that dominates most of the album, the decaying atmosphere of the tedium, the loneliness and the boredom. A pretty simple song, every instrument aims for order and monotony, creating an oppressive song that finishes with a rebellious guitar, screaming for more, as "the tap drips drip drip drip drip..."
Then, you´ve got "Accuracy", yet again, with the minimalist sound that dominates the album, a catchy song, Robert Smith mourns about fake love, and distinctly sings "Acc u ra ccy" to create a standout song in an album dominated by the sparse sound that will characterize later Cure releases
"Grinding Halt" will follow "Accuracy", although with a punkish and rougher sound, "Another Day" turns again to the slower and simpler sound, and reveals itself as one of the most haunting and atmospheric songs of the album, again focusing in the real lack of meaning of the life, the boredom, the tedium of living itself
"Object" takes again the theme of fake love, but speeding it up, spinning again from the decaying and simple sound to the punk speed and fury that marks this peculiar album
Surging from the abyss "Subway Song" appears as another standout track, a haunting and scary song, Smith sings about a girl going home at night, as he murmurs her destine, the song fades out, just before a final scream...
By this time, one is surprised by the quality of the album, the swings and hooks of the songs, it`s clearly an standout album that deserves recognition, sadly, both "Foxy Lady" and "Meathook" fail to stand up with the other songs, in fact, "Foxy Lady" started as a soundchek and it´s the only song in the Cure´s catalog that Robert Smith doesn´t sing, the result is utterly disappointing, "Meathook" reveals itself as a repetitive and boring song, dragging down an excellent album, to a still solid place in The Cure´s catalog
Luckily, the raw, and angry "So What" and the catchy and radio friendly "Fire in Cairo" brings back The Cure, while "It´s not you" digs a little deeper in the path opened by "Grinding Halt" and "Object"
The album returns to a somber sound with the withered and gloomy "Three Imaginary Boys". The title track points in the direction that Seventeen Seconds and Faith will go, while still retaining a rebellious feel, Smith sings laconic, as the song fades away, into the dark night and suddenly, the playful and delightedly quirky "Weedy Burton" arrives, giving a smile at the very end of the LP
The Cure were just a bunch of boys making music, they weren´t taking it seriously, not yet at least, but this album proves that, somewhere inside Smith´s head, something was going on
The Cure were just starting...
Standout Tracks
10:15 Saturday Night
Acuraccy
Subway Song
Fire in Cairo
So What
Three Imaginary Boys
