Quick Review (LP): Seventeen Seconds by The Cure

The Cure
Seventeen Seconds
Fiction; 1980

My Rating: B+

Best Tracks: “Play for Today”, “Secrets”, “A Forest”, “At Night”

What an arcane little post-punk record this is. Perhaps R. Smith was indulging a fetish for moody horror films, or perhaps he was just really sad the 70’s were coming to an end, but The Cure’s descent into darkness begins here. Though I can’t bring myself to call it a classic or a masterpiece, I nevertheless really like this record. Appropriately though, I can’t seem to put my finger on what I like about it. The brothers gloom apparently caught a lot of flack when the record was released for making “film soundtracks” rather than pop songs, but The Cure are the only ones laughing about that now, especially when you consider that you can hear this album influencing whole genres of rock music right up to the present day. Think Spoon. Think Nine Inch Nails. I hear all of that. Great tracks? They’re here too. Look no further than “Play For Today” and “A Forest”, both of which take the minimalist post-punk of Three Imaginary Boys to a spooky new level. However, my favorite cut has to be “At Night”, which begins in a sort of monotonous drudgery but begins to spasm about with random bursts of noise. Why do I like it so much? I don’t know!?!? Weird, huh? Yes it is. Just like this record. Bottom line: the appeal of this record is as much a mystery as its substance. Now that’s insight.

AMG review
Pitchfork review
AMG review of “At Night”