The Cure has a steep slope in front of them today. Their 1982 album is up against yesterday's Siouxsie And The Banshees' A Kiss In The Dreamhouse. That album packed a hard punch.
Things don't start off good for the band. Touring had taken its toll, people were burned out, stressed out, and The Cure were on the brink of collapse, with Smith at a turning point. He was either going to channel all of his energy into an album, and get his feelings out, or commit suicide. The sessions for Pornography's recording were riddled with drug addition, fighting, and lead singer Robert Smith's depression, which only helped fuel the lyrical direction of songs.
Upon its release, Pornography was met with negative reviews from critics, but still managed to peak at number eight. It's an album that in retrospective review has gotten more favorable with people, but remains a blemish for the band as one of their lowest selling of all time since their sophomore release.
Playing through it, it's very obvious cry for help from Smith, with a very harsh tone of depression and self loathing. I can certainly see why the goth crowd would flock to this type of record. If it weren't so tragic, it would be cliché.
That's not to say that there isn't good stuff to be found. Songs such as The Hanging Garden, The Figurehead, and A Strange Day stand out among the rest. They're not commercial by any means, but I suppose they're not intended to be either.
Perhaps the biggest benefit Pornography has (for me) in 2025, is that it's not the follow up at this point to 1981's Faith. Rather, it's just another album in a storied discography that I'm making my way through. Basically, at this point it has the benefit of the history associated with The Cure.
It's not terrible, it's not good. It's pretty much just okay. However, just okay is certainly not what's going to help it in comparison to Siouxsie And The Banshees' A Kiss In The Dreamhouse. The truth of the matter is that it simply doesn't hold a candle to the latter. Pornography is more of the same from The Cure, whereas A Kiss In The Dreamhouse is the Banshees coming to the party with experimental, and ever evolving sound.
The Banshees win this round. Tomorrow we'll start off the next bout with their 1984 released Hyæna, up against The Cure's The Top (also released in 1984). It's pretty much been back and forth so far, but will a clear winner start to emerge? I guess we'll see.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 20, 1985 |
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