Review Summary: It doesn't matter if we all die.
Robert Smith has grown a lot throughout his career in The Cure. From the Post-Punk roots of "Three Imaginary Boys" to the pentalogy of Gothic rock albums. His songwriting has evolved from simple pop tunes like "Boys Don't Cry" to the heart-felt "Disintegration". In the midst of The Cure's climb into pop culture relatively is the album that almost ripped the band apart. Pornography is often considered the darkest album released by The Cure. Unlike "Three Imaginary Boys" or its american counterpart "Boys Don't Cry", there are no poppy tunes. "Disintegration" does not necessary convey the same mood as "Pornography". Unlike "Pornography", "Disintegration" does show a shed of happiness and contains pop songs. "Pornography" builds upon the lyrical writings of "Seventeen Seconds" and "Faith" lack of traditional chorus structure songs in exchange for poetic-like songs. There are only three traditional chorus-like songs. Those being "A Short Term Effect" and "The Hanging Garden" (the most accessible song on the album.), and "A Strange Day".
Diving into the album, the opening line of this album is "It doesn't matter if we all die". This captures the nihilistic feel of the album. This type of nihilistic and menacing nature is not found in the early catalog of The Cure. The only possible song in which menacing applies to is "Three" off of "Seventeen Seconds". "Faith" itself is not menacing but more straight-forward melancholy. Right away the album starts off with harsh distortion and the opening line of the album is spoken on "One Hundred Years".
The next track is "A Short Term Effect", the song itself is subdued and this is expressed in the lyrics "Movement, no movement, just a falling bird.". The subdued nature of the song reflects upon the symbol of death that in which being a dead bird.
"The Hanging Garden" changes paces with a galloping bass line and drumbeat. Once again this song uses the symbol of death, this time a bunch of dying animals. "The Hanging Garden" is supposed to be a land of growth and nourishment but the song title is a misnomer for the true nature of the song.
Next is my personal favorite "Siamese Twins". This song is Robert Smith's most personal on the album. He reflects upon his monstrous persona he took while making this album. He did every drug imaginable except Heroin and Meth. This was his statement to the world, "Is it always like this?".
"The Figurehead" is a more ambiguous song, that is to say the message of the song could either be able losing innocence or just self-destruction. The lyrics "I will never be clean again" stand out as the overall message of the song. Being repeated four times in a row, "I will never be clean again" is a sorrowful cry of regret.
"A Strange Day" is a suicidal song. The overall suicidal tone of the song is found in the lyrics
"And the sand
And the sea grows
I close my eyes
Move slowly through drowning waves
Going away on a strange day".
This is also the chorus of the song. The chorus of any given song is to express the overall message of the song or mood of the song.
"Cold" seems to be about the sensation of growing numb at first glance. The song itself is more subdued than the previous two songs but is not like "A Short Term Effect'. However, the song itself is about heartbreak. (The messages of most Cure songs during the Gothic trilogy are found in the last lines of the songs.) "Your name, like ice into my heart". This is why the message of the song is about heartbreak.
"Pornography", the final track on the album is also the title track, a trend that only appeared in the Gothic trilogy by The Cure. All three of the title tracks convey the overall mood of the album. "Seventeen Seconds" conveys the mood of failure, "Faith" coveys the mood of rejection and false hope, "Pornography" conveys the mood of trying to stay alive. "I must fight the sickness, find a cure, I must fight the sickness." The track fades out into noise growing louder which is open to interpretation of death conquering or conquer over death. This depends on the listener's point of view.
This album is an absolute stable in Gothic rock, if you are a fan of The Cure or Gothic rock, you might love this album.
5/5 (My favorite album)
