Music Review: The Cure - Disintegration

What does a 22-year-old have to say about an album that should be "before his time?"

Hopefully, enough to write a review that does it honor.

Disintegration is one of the those rare albums that just reached out of the speakers and grabbed me instantly, so much so that 1989 might as well have been yesterday. The last time  an album affected me so was probably Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot back in 2007.

It was probably two in the morning when I had my first Disintegration listening. If it had my attention by "Plainsong," I was completely hooked by "Pictures of You." I rocked to the energetic "Fascination Street" and slowed to the the Gothic groove, "Prayers for Rain."

By the time the album finished, it was probably 3:30 in the morning. But I didn't go to bed. I stayed up the rest of the night listening to it.

Listening to Disintegration is like swimming through water. The water is often cold and deep. For some it might not be easy to listen to. The music is thick. Yet Robert Smith's lyrics float above this tapestry of guitars and strings and pounding drums. The effect is quite hypnotic and joyous in a way.

But the music itself strikes a deep chord of sadness. The album begins with the wordless "Plainsong." From its first notes, I knew Disintegration would be a great and rare album. The songs really dance a line between being rock and being symphony.

Disintegration emphasizes speaking through music rather than just through words. Track two, "Pictures of You", is practically a perfect song. It's simple, laid back, and catchy. The guitar strumming, harmonizing, and the drumming carry the song for about a full two minutes until Smith begins singing.

I'm usually pretty harsh on lyrics — even in great music, many songwriters, sadly, don't know how to write. But in this song, the lyrics are simple and well-done, especially when coupled with the music that adds so much weight to the words. I don't think there is anyone who couldn't relate to "if only I'd thought of the right words, I wouldn't be breaking apart."

Article Author: Kyle West

Kyle West is a Professional Writing/History major and a Spanish minor attending the University of Oklahoma. He likes reading, writing, and discovering new music.

Visit Kyle West's author page — Kyle West's Blog