Distorted and depressing : A re-listen of The Cure's ''Pornography''

Hello! Happy Wednesday!

Today I wanted to be self-indulgent and talk about one of my favorite bands’ fourth album: Pornography by The Cure! I had just recently re-listened to it, and I wanted to talk about it!

Released on May 3rd, 1982, this album marks a darker shift in The Cure’s sound, being the third and final installment of the gothic trilogy (those being Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography), halting their gothic sound until Disintegration in 1989.

A little background on The Cure's start and how they were doing during this time - 

The Cure (initially known as Malice and Easy Cure) started as a band in 1976 with Robert Smith on guitar and vocals, and Lol Tolhurst as its founding member.

However, in stark contrast to their upbeat debut album Three Imaginary Boys (1979), their sound shifted to a moodier feel with the members of the band now having the trio of Robert Smith (Guitar, Vocals, Bass), Lol Tolhurst (Drums, synthesizer), and Simon Gallup (Bass). 

from: TheCure.CZ / Rotterdam, De Doelen, Netherlands in 1982.

During the recording of Pornography in particular, the band's sound reflected their personal feelings, with Tolhurst and Smith losing members of their families during the recording of Faith, infighting between Gallup and Smith, and overall, just not doing well mentally. Robert Smith wished to reflect this in the album’s production, purposefully recording instrumentals and vocals in places like bathrooms and closets to achieve a grittier and imperfect sound.

Now to the tracklist and my personal views of them!

1

One Hundred Years

The opening track! I personally adore this track, which is an extreme contrast to my hating it the first time I listened to Pornography in full. One Hundred Years is a depressingly angry feeling song, with its guitar riff sounding like a siren ongoing throughout the song, with the lyrics detailing imagery of death, war, and suicide. Overall, a very gritty track that sets the feel for this album extremely well.

Personal Rating - 9.5/10! No notes….!

2

Short-Term Effect 

This one begins with a calm, chime melody before transitioning to the darker sound heard on the beginning track, hence the name! The distortion in the song on Smith’s vocals makes it feel lighter and less intense than the other songs on this record, and I think it works great!

Personal rating  - 8/10 - I have to admit that I slightly forgot about this song!

3

The Hanging Garden

The first (and only) from the album. The hanging garden has a very fast-paced, Siouxie and the Banshees-esque feel to it, with the drums heard being reminiscent of Budgie’s drums on albums like Juju (1979). 

Personal Rating - 7/10 For my personal rating, while I do adore this song… I’ve overplayed it way too much! (along with the album from Siouxsie and the Banshees above, too…) This is subject to change, though! (once I’ve taken a break from it!)

4

Siamese Twins

Continuing with a slower beat, focusing on drums… an extremely miserable song filled with guilt and anger. 

Personal Rating: 7.5 - I fear that this song is one of the songs from this album that I practically never get an urge to listen to. Despite this, I still love the lyrics and the chiming bell heard throughout the song.

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5

The Figurehead

A big contender for being one of my favorite songs from this album… The guitars here are beautiful, and the echo on this track makes it feel colder and distant. The lyrics are especially somber, with the lyrics detailing guilt and shame.

Personal Rating - 8.5/10

6 

A Strange Day

I am extremely annoying about this song. For context: I had a phase where I only listened to this song for a good month and a half simply because it scratched my brain in a very good place. The entire song has this ethereal feeling to it, like you’re almost floating, like that feeling you get when you're not really present in a situation, which works as the song is about the end of the world! A big highlight of the song is the guitar solo part nearing the end!

 (I’m not sure I haven’t made myself sick of this one like I did with Hanging Garden?)

Personal Rating - 10/10 

7

Cold

A song you might’ve heard on Yellowjackets (along with PJ Harvey’s Down By The Water!)

One of the more dramatic songs on this album, with the synthesizers being the main motif of the song. The lyrics are way more dramatic on this track, more about heartbreak than the other songs on this album, the chorus saying ‘’no one can save you!’’

A little fun fact about this song - the lyric ‘’your name like ice into my heart’’ is referenced in the song Last Dance from Disintegration (which also happens to be my favorite song from The Cure!)

Personal Rating - 8/10

8

Pornography

The closing song and the title track! This one has always been in my top 3 for this album. I have always loved the news broadcast sample (there’s 3 in total in this song’s intro!) that is heard in the intro of this song - the overlapping vocals give an overwhelmed and panicked feeling to the song.

Ending with a grittier, extremely distorted sound really finishes off the album strongly with the lyrics - I must fight this sickness / Find a cure.

Another fun fact! In a fan magazine (Cure News), these samples were elaborated on!

From Fansite Picturesofyou - Cure news #6

Personal Rating - 10/10

Overall, this album is extremely good. It’s hard for me to pick a definitive favorite Cure album, but this one is extremely high up there. I’d 100% recommend this to anyone who’s into the 80s gothic sound (especially if you like Joy Division, as that was a heavy influence on the gothic trilogy for The Cure!)