All we've got left is faith... (Faith - The Cure)

Member Name: DanielKemp

Product:	Faith - The Cure
Date:	13/04/09 (90 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The Cure's strongest set of songs when released, great arrangements for the most part

Disadvantages: Primary and Doubt, while not bad songs, stick out artistically

Faith is the second of a trilogy of albums released by The Cure in the early 1980's that had a distinct musical style. It was preceded by the minimalist musicianship found on Seventeen Seconds and was succeeded by the black hole like depression of Pornography. Early Cure isn't about pop melodies or sweeping guitars, it's about creating a downbeat mood, perhaps a mood that could be called both gothic and haunting, yet with its feet stuck well within the boundaries of popular music.
The entire album is very bass orientated, and most of the songs revolve around a tempo set by the bass guitar, the exception being the keyboard heavy middle section of the LP. More often than not, subtle drums and intricately placed guitar are only there to add to the overall atmosphere.

The opening song to this minor masterpiece, The Holy Hour, boasts some of the most sinister bass ever played by The Cure, not a feat to be scoffed out considering the intensity with which this band has played over their recording career. The song starts with a spiralling thud of bass that loops repeatedly and causes the song to become a very claustrophobic piece to listen to, but enjoyable all the same. It is the very representation of the stark and desolate wasteland that the album artwork so capably points to.

The singles from the album were Primary and Other voices. Primary is the most melodic thing on the album, where two scratchy bass guitars can be found thundering across the scene at an extremely fast pace. In my opinion Primary is the weakest song on the album, this is largely due to the fact that artistically it sticks out like a sore thumb. Fortunately, the same cannot be said for Other Voices, a perfectly realised piece of music and one of the first classic singles to be released by The Cure. Again, the bass comes crashing in and is placed extremely high in the mix. The electric guitar that is used sparingly in the background mirrors the bass and together they are a perfect marriage.

One of the most enjoyable tracks here is the extremely sad The Funeral Party, which laid a great template for what would follow toward the end of the decade with the keyboard laden Disintegration. Smith delivers downright gloomy vocals in the way that only he can, as if he is genuinely mourning the loss of kin referred to in the song.

Doubt holds firmly onto the punk roots of the band's debut, Three Imaginary Boys, as Smith yelps out his words of violent abuse. In my opinion it joins Primary as the weakest moment on the album. The reasons for me taking this critical angle are exactly the same as those that can be found when I described Primary.

The Drowning Man is possibly the most surreal, yet successfully atmospheric track on the album, and the imagery is horrific to say the least. The vocals dash eerily from one speaker to the other and now we find that it's the electric guitar's turn to shine. One fret welcomes the next with open arms as the cold and heartless ambience rings out.

Things come to a natural end with the title track, the longest song from the 8 song set. In terms of sound it isn't dissimilar to the opening The Holy Hour but the tempo is certainly slowed down and dragged out for your listening pleasure. Smith howls, "There is nothing left but faith" with such belief that you wonder if this was less an artistic statement and more a cry for help, especially when taking into account the way his despair manifested itself a year later on Pornography.

Faith is easily the most accessible album from the band's early output and in my opinion, the best buy. I felt that I had forced myself to get on with Seventeen Seconds, but that the attraction that I had found with Faith was more of a natural one. I also find that it is their most important early album in terms of the sombre attitude Smith took towards creating the soundscape, as it is the one that they would repeat most in the future.

8.5/10

Daniel Kemp

Read more of my reviews at www.danielkempreviews.co.uk

Summary: One of the essential Cure albums and the best of their early output!