Album: Disintegration
Artist: The Cure
Artist: The Cure
Born: Crawley, West Sussex
Released: April 1989
Genre: Gothic Rock
Influenced: Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Low, Sigur Rós, Interpol, The xx
Disintegration is the great swan song of gothic rock, written by Robert Smith as his mind filled with dread at turning 30. Yes, it's a bit overwrought and melodramatic, as is often the case with goth music, but it's also completely absorbing and convincing. Earlier Cure albums, like Pornography (1982), came close to making the list but, for me, this remains by far the group's finest album. After the more pop-oriented style of The Cure's mid-80s phase, Disintegration marks a return to the band's early sound, tapping into the darkness of singles like A Forest. Prayers For Rain, which appears on this album, sounds like a direct homage to that song, updated with bigger production values and intricate synths. Smith had found the commercial success of previous albums like Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me a little distasteful and wanted to get out of the limelight and write his masterpiece; the irony is that Disintegration made The Cure bigger stars than ever, especially in the States. Misanthropic teenagers are always likely to gravitate to The Cure's music, but what strikes me about Disintegration is the songwriting and musical maturity. Many of the album's tracks are long compositions that convey a mood, often at a stately pace accompanied by twinkling synths and expansive guitar progressions. Plainsong and Pictures Of You both build slowly, the latter drenched in melancholy and a sense of loss, as Smith sings with passionate regret about the end of a relationship ("if only I'd thought of the right words / I could have held on to your heart").
Closedown is a synthpop filler that precedes Lovesong, Smith's straightforward ode to his wife, which inexplicably became a US No.2 hit. It's probably the album's weakest moment and entirely at odds with the album's prevailing mood. Lullaby gets things back on track, its nightmarish atmosphere reminiscent of Kate Bush at her best, as Smith sings fretfully of how "Spiderman is having me for dinner tonight". Fascination Street closes side 1 with real intensity, Simon Gallup's bass guitar line and Porl Thompson's cascading riffs helping to capture the wild spirit of Bourbon St in New Orleans' French Quarter. Side 2 opens with the gloomy Prayers For Rain, a mood that darkens even further with The Same Deep Water As You, which explores similar themes to side 2 of Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, using the same image of slipping away underwater as a metaphor for depression. Disintegration breaks the oppressive mood but the lyrics are full of violent self-loathing ("I never said I would stay to the end / I knew I would leave you with babies and everything"). The final track sees the anger fade, leaving melancholy reflection in its place, as Smith picks at the bones of a failed relationship. Disintegration marked the end of The Cure as a creative force and also the end of gothic rock, which got washed away in a haze of acid house, but it was a glorious way to go.
Disintegration is the great swan song of gothic rock, written by Robert Smith as his mind filled with dread at turning 30. Yes, it's a bit overwrought and melodramatic, as is often the case with goth music, but it's also completely absorbing and convincing. Earlier Cure albums, like Pornography (1982), came close to making the list but, for me, this remains by far the group's finest album. After the more pop-oriented style of The Cure's mid-80s phase, Disintegration marks a return to the band's early sound, tapping into the darkness of singles like A Forest. Prayers For Rain, which appears on this album, sounds like a direct homage to that song, updated with bigger production values and intricate synths. Smith had found the commercial success of previous albums like Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me a little distasteful and wanted to get out of the limelight and write his masterpiece; the irony is that Disintegration made The Cure bigger stars than ever, especially in the States. Misanthropic teenagers are always likely to gravitate to The Cure's music, but what strikes me about Disintegration is the songwriting and musical maturity. Many of the album's tracks are long compositions that convey a mood, often at a stately pace accompanied by twinkling synths and expansive guitar progressions. Plainsong and Pictures Of You both build slowly, the latter drenched in melancholy and a sense of loss, as Smith sings with passionate regret about the end of a relationship ("if only I'd thought of the right words / I could have held on to your heart").
Closedown is a synthpop filler that precedes Lovesong, Smith's straightforward ode to his wife, which inexplicably became a US No.2 hit. It's probably the album's weakest moment and entirely at odds with the album's prevailing mood. Lullaby gets things back on track, its nightmarish atmosphere reminiscent of Kate Bush at her best, as Smith sings fretfully of how "Spiderman is having me for dinner tonight". Fascination Street closes side 1 with real intensity, Simon Gallup's bass guitar line and Porl Thompson's cascading riffs helping to capture the wild spirit of Bourbon St in New Orleans' French Quarter. Side 2 opens with the gloomy Prayers For Rain, a mood that darkens even further with The Same Deep Water As You, which explores similar themes to side 2 of Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, using the same image of slipping away underwater as a metaphor for depression. Disintegration breaks the oppressive mood but the lyrics are full of violent self-loathing ("I never said I would stay to the end / I knew I would leave you with babies and everything"). The final track sees the anger fade, leaving melancholy reflection in its place, as Smith picks at the bones of a failed relationship. Disintegration marked the end of The Cure as a creative force and also the end of gothic rock, which got washed away in a haze of acid house, but it was a glorious way to go.
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