The Cure – Pornography
Despite what the title might imply, this is not a saucy album. In fact, The Cure’s fourth album is one of the darkest, most bleak albums you’ll ever hear. A reflection of Robert Smith’s mental state at the time, Pornography is full of nihilism and macabre imagery. But in this darkness there is beauty. Sonically the album is the most full and lush sounding of the band’s output at the time, which creates this gothic garden of sounds that broods as it blooms and, like any beautiful garden, must be taken in slowly and in full. This album isn’t one you can skip tracks or drop the needle on the hit single. No. If you put this album on you’re in for the long haul to relish the darkness of it all from start to finish.
As anyone who knows me is aware, I’m a huge Cure fan. Despite being the grandfather of goth rock, Robert’s music covers so much ground that there’s a whole album for any mood you’re in. This is probably why they have stuck with me so consistently. It’s not a matter of being “in the mood” to listen to the band, but rather which album I’m feeling at the time. That’s a very rare thing for a band to accomplish in my books. It just goes to show how good of a songwriter Robert Smith is and how he’s not going to let himself be pigeonholed into one style. The Cure are a band that needs to be represented in every music collection, be it just the greatest hits or a whole collection of studio albums. It’s timeless music that resonates through every new generation and sounds just as fresh today as it did when it was first released.
