Last month I had an album review countdown on my personal blog to their show at Øyafestivalen in Oslo, which was my first time seeing them. So here I will do a recap of my thought on each studio album, ranged from my favorite to least favorite. Then I will of course tell you about the show! So strap yourselves in!
Bloodflowers (2000)
The third album in what Robert Smith considers a trilogy (Pornography, Disintegration and Bloodflowers). It pretty much continues where Disintegration left off with the gloomy atmosphere. I love it, and I feel it’s very underrated. And that’s why I will put it on the top of my list, cause it deserves more love!
Favorite song: The Loudest Sound
Disintegration (1989)
Their late 80s comeback to their goth sound from earlier that decade. While it’s pretty depressing, apparently the mood in the studio wasn’t very serious. Like pretty much all other goths I love this album. It’s almost as long as their previous (double) album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me - but I don’t even notice. It’s got that wonderful gloomy atmosphere, so it’s no wonder it’s still their best selling album to date.
Favorite song: Last Dance
Pornography (1982)
Last album in the ‘‘gothic trilogy’’, and by that time they had basically invented goth - including the look. The album was very influenced by depression and drug use. The songs are longer on this, but only a couple feel a little too long.
Favorite songs: One Hundred Years, The Hanging Garden
Sidenote: Between these two albums my favorite song by them; Charlotte Sometimes was released.
Faith (1981)
Second album in the ‘‘gothic trilogy’’. A really good album with a beautiful gloomy atmosphere you get lost in. They improved a lot again in a year!
Favorite song: Primary
The Head On The Door (1985)
They got Simon Gallup back for this one and became even more poppier than we had heard them before. Because of this the album is very short, to be radio friendly. We have a lot of unique sounds and happy melodies (even though the lyrics might not be), so I think it’s a great album for summer.
Favorite songs: In Between Days, The Baby Screams, Push
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
A double album that kind of feels like their CV. You’ve got funk, pop, ethereal to dark rock. It’s really long, and hard to summarize because of all of the different sounds. It’s not as dark as the gothic trilogy and was a huge commercial success. Overall I think it’s good!
Favorite songs: Just Like Heaven, Why Can’t I Be You?
Wish (1992)
They entered the 90s with more of a ‘‘regular’’ rock sound, but still kept the emotion. There’s also some really cheerful songs on there, which can kind of give you whiplash. Relatively long, but I don’t think that’s bad.
Favorite song: Doing The Unstuck
4:13 Dream (2008)
Their last album (as of right now; August 2019), which I think isn’t as bad as people think! I like about half of it, and think it’s in the same vein as Wish. So it depends on if you liked that album or not!
Favorite songs: Underneath The Stars, Sleep When I’m Dead, This. Here And Now. With You
Seventeen Seconds (1980)
First album in the ‘‘gothic trilogy’’. Fewer and longer songs than their first album, which I prefer. With Simon Gallup on bass they really managed to improve their sound in just a year!
Favorite song: Play For Today
Three Imaginary Boys (1979)
Their first album, so it sounds a little different from what they do today, they were still finding their sound. Very post-punk, many short songs, but a bit of a mixed bag.
Favorite song: Fire In Cairo
The Top (1984)
So this one is weird. Influenced by lineup changes, The Glove and Siouxsie & The Banshees, they tried to become more radio friendly. A lot of different instruments and sounds, but they did it pretty well. They showed they could experiment and be versatile. I don’t think it’s a BAD album, just.. different.
Favorite song: The Caterpillar, The Birdmad Girl, Dressing Up
Wild Mood Swings (1996)
If people thought Wish was a letdown when that came out… This was even further down. The experimentation on this one just doesn’t do it for me. It’s not BAD, there are some songs I like on it, but I’m not likely to put it on.
Favorite song: Want
The Cure (2004)
Ironically their self-titled album doesn’t sound like them, and that might be the producer’s fault. The songs don’t really stand out to me, and I don’t like them very much. It’s not very consistent either (I have the European CD version, by the way). I almost never put this on. So like many others think, this is at the bottom of my list.
Favorite song: N/A (lol)
All the pictures shown were taken by me from the front row at their show in Oslo on August 7! They played a 2 hour and 15 minute set, which is pretty damn long for a festival! Click here to see the setlist. A lot of Disintegration, which made me really happy. I was of course completely in awe of seeing them just a couple of meters away from me! They all looked really happy to be there, the entire band was smiling and had a great time. Robert was dancing a lot, it was adorable! It didn’t even look he wanted to walk off stage after the encore, he seemed so thankful for the thousands of people who had come to see them. So needless to say I was quite happy with the show! So were everyone else there, most people had seen them before, even multiple times. It was definitely worth it to get a day pass to Øyafestivalen and fly across the country for it! I definitely recommend catching them if you can, whether you have seen them before or not! They really seem to still have it, even after all these years.
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