Quick Review (LP): Faith by The Cure

The Cure
Faith
Elektra; 1982

My Rating: B (70/100)

Best Tracks: "Primary", "Other Voices", "The Drowning Man"

There’s a darkly appealling something about this record, and I can see how it represents a sort of proto-Disintegration for sure. It’s a mixed bag to be sure, dense and threatening drudgery, yet oddly challenging and inviting of repeated listens.

NOTES
– "All Cats Are Grey" has a nice ambience to it. Sort of sounds like Tears for Fears.
– This is a conflicting record – it’s so dense that I can’t imagine listening to it on a regular basis, but I do like it as a whole.
– "Faith" is nice enough, but I don’t understand why it is thought of as amazing.
– Gotta agree with the Pitchfork guy. The album does have that Twin Peaks thing going on at times, that misty, lost in the woods, nature-goth feel.
– "Primary" and "Other Voices" are each great singles. What is it about the early Cure sound? Not really melodic, not incredible musically, but catchy and so interesting.
– Very cool album cover. At first, it reminds me of half a woman’s face, with one eyelid shut. Turns out it’s a picture of an old church in England.
– In sum, this one’s all about the overcast atmosphere. It’s even creepy at times, and I have to say that I think I’ll be coming back to this one.

ATTRIBUTES
Cohesion (5/5)
Concept (5/5)
Consequence (4/5)
Consistency (3.5/5)
Songs (4/5)

My review of The Cure’s Three Imaginary Boys
My review of The Cure’s Seventeen Seconds

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”

Quick Review (LP): Dye It Blonde by Smith Westerns

Smith Westerns
Dye It Blonde
Fat Possum; 2011

My Rating: C

Best Tracks: “Weekend”

There’s been a ton of hype surrounding this record, and I truly expected I’d like it. After several listens, I can safely say this is a mediocre record at best. The band’s influences are obvious, and the music sounds almost exactly how you’d expect it to sound. Still, none of that’s really that problematic. I can handle derivative rock records. The problem with Smith Westerns is an utter lack of vocal talent. It’s a problem I see a lot these days. I recall seeing Wild Nothing last year and thinking the same thing. Give me a Freddie Mercury or a Liam Gallagher or, in Wild Nothing‘s case, a Robert Smith, and then you’ve got something. Without that, you need something far more interesting instrumentally, and the Smith Westerns just don’t deliver on that level. It’s obvious these guys want to make huge rock songs, but there’s far more gloss here than over-the-top glam. The keyboards sheen and the falsettos swell, but I can’t shake the feeing that this just isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

Pitchfork review
Metacritic review
AMG review
Sputnik Music review

Quick Review (LP): Three Imaginary Boys by The Cure

The Cure
Three Imaginary Boys
Fiction; 1979

My Rating: B

Best Tracks: “10:15 Saturday Night”, “Accuracy”, “Fire In Cairo”, “Meathook”

If you’re like me, your first exposure to The Cure was their poppy late 80’s/early 90’s fare, such as “Just Like Heaven” or “Friday I’m In Love.” It’s a bit startling then to go back and hear them toddling through the minimalist, sinewy rock of their early singles, akin to the wonder of the caterpillar and the butterfly. Though it’s not an excellent debut, 3IB is nevertheless a pretty good one. After all, you’ve got to appreciate a band that says hello to the world with a chorus that consists of the word “drip” repeated ad infinitum. The album has its missteps of course, most notably the cover of “Foxy Lady” that just about ruins the mood of the record, but tracks like “Fire In Cairo” and “Accuracy” are about as lean and mean as any post-punk you’re going to find from this era. Yeah, it’s sort of a hodge-podge, a record that’s more about a record label overstepping its bounds than an artist’s vision, but what are you going to do? There’s something primal about this record that keeps me coming back, and I recommend giving it a listen or two.

AMG review
Wikipedia article
Pitchfork review