The second album from The Cure represented a marked transformation from the sounds of "Three Imaginary Boys". With the addition of Matthieu Hartley on keyboards and Simon Gallup replacing Michael Dempsey on bass, the band moved away from post-punk to a more ethereal sound, which some critics stated was already the birth of "goth rock", the genre that The Cure was subsequently to be labelled with. However, the album was much more complex that these generalities, with songs such as "Play For Today" and "M" clearly fitting with the style of "Three Imaginary Boys", whilst the "A Forest" and "Seventeen Seconds" were clearly evidence of a different direction. I have to admit that I couldn't remember how the other tracks went though....
The album starts with " A Reflection", a bleak, sombre instrumental dominated by piano and guitar. It wouldn't have appeared out of place on David Bowie's "Low" or perhaps even a horror film !
The pace picks up with "Play For Today" which has an urgent bass line and simple keyboard motif. It's still one of the highlights and could have been a second single from the album.
"Secrets" has a melodic bass riff and an echoey vocal, with the piano repeating the riff in the outro.
"In Your House" is hypnotic, with again the bass and piano playing the same melody, and a soothing organ overlaid towards the end.
"Three" is another instrumental but is a little monotonous.
Side Two opens with "The Final Sound, a very short piano instrumental before leading into "A Forest " the album's epic track. Starting with a slow guitar riff, the bass takes over before more guitar and the drums come in. There is another eerie vocal down in the mix adding to the ghostly atmosphere but with a rare sense of urgency, augmented by the guitar solo, before the dramatic ending with just the bass playing the final note. It was The Cure's first top forty hit single in the UK, having been edited down from nearly 6 minutes to a more radio friendly 4 minutes.
"M" chugs along quite nicely and has an almost sing-a-long chorus "You'll fall in love with someone else again tonight". There is a pleasant organ and another driving guitar solo. It's probably my favourite song on the LP.
"At Night" is much slower and the strummed guitar is typical of the style of playing on "Faith", the follow-up album.
"Seventeen Seconds" ends with the title track. Beginning with a gently strummed guitar, the bass joins in as the tempo slowly builds. The vocal eventually starts after just over 1 minute 30 and the song is another of the highpoints of the album.
Listening now I found it to be a remarkably mature album, although I had forgotten there were three instrumentals.
Track Listing :
Side One :
1. A Reflection
2. Play For Today
3. Secrets
4. In Your House
5. Three
Side Two :
1. The Final Sound
2. A Forest
3. M
4. At Night
5. Seventeen Seconds
Released : 1980
UK Chart Position : 20
Singles : A Forest ( No 31 - 1980 )
