release date: May 3, 1982
format: vinyl (2383 639) / 2 cd (2005 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,02]
producer: Phil Thornalley, The Cure
label: Fiction Records - nationality: England, UK
Tracklist: A) 1. "One Hundred Years" (4 / 5) - 2. "A Short Term Effect" (4 / 5) - 3. "The Hanging Garden" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "Siamese Twins" (3 / 5) - - B) 1. "The Figurehead" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "A Strange Day" (4 / 5) - 3. "Cold" (3 / 5) - 4. "Pornography" (4 / 5)
4th studio album by The Cure following one year after Faith (May 1981). The band remains a trio, although, the band's bassist Simon Gallup would leave after the album release and Laurence Tolhurst shows initiating attempts with his (rather big) instrumental change going from drummer to keyboardist, although, he only plays keyboard on "One Hundred Years", whereas Smith still handles keyboards on the remaining tracks. At this point of their career the band hasn't yet made two albums with a similar sound or style. It's still gothic rock and post-punk but on this, drum machines and keyboards play a much more central part, and the whole atmosphere of the album is one of strong tension and anger. This is also the band's final album of dark, sinister gothic rock. From Seventeen Seconds (Apr. 1980) to this, you'll notice a progression from dark, over gloomy darkness and despair, to almost touch on explosive self-destructiveness. Robert Smith has often explained how they felt on a musical slope where they ended with this, and there was no going further from here. The only way out was death or a change of style. They obviously chose life, and from here on they started to play much lighter synth pop music, and met greater commercial success.
The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 1,5 / 5 stars ]
[ collectors' item - 'near mint' from ~ €60,- ]
