“Pornography” by The Cure

By: Evan Ferstl

Before transitioning to the pop songs that would make The Cure a household name, they were one of the darkest, moodiest bands of the burgeoning 80s alternative scene. In 1981, they released their first masterpiece, “Faith,” a chillingly beautiful album that offered a blueprint of how to make slow, hopeless songs enjoyable. Despite significant turmoil within the band, they released a new album, “Pornography,” the following year, which would build off the desolate ethos of their previous work. 

The most irritating feature of “Pornography” is that most of the songs lack hooks. The shortest song on the album is just under four-and-a-half minutes long, and without anything catchy to grab onto, even that feels too long. This makes “Pornography” a forty-minute sludge through formless, miserable goth rock that, instead of effectively conveying despondence, is a real test of patience. The one exception is “A Strange Day,” which injects some much-needed energy into the album, showing that The Cure are more than capable of making great sad music with a strong tempo and a memorable guitar riff. Only a few other songs are decent, but only if squinted at. 

While the world of alternative rock was gearing up for a stretch of groundbreaking releases, The Cure were stuck creating a self-indulgent corpse of their previous record. Luckily, the band would move toward a livelier sound on subsequent records, and The Cure would rightfully reclaim their place among the elite of the early alternative pantheon.