The Cure - The Original Gothic Trilogy

About this episode

This episode explores The Cure's evolution into gothic rock through their early albums known as The Gothic Trilogy.

Following their debut album of 1979, The Cure became one to the key post-punk bands as they developed a dark, gothic rock sound over the next three albums. Many refer to the The Cure's three consecutive early-80's releases as The Gothic Trilogy. These melancholic albums represent the band's transition from their debut album into the bleak, atmospheric sound that helped define the gothic genre. These three albums are Seventeen Seconds from 1980, 1981’s Faith , and the conclusion to the trilogy, Pornography of 1982. At that time, the albums were not intended to form a trilogy nor have the impact that they did, but the music did establish The Cure and lead singer Robert Smith as seminal figures in both the post-punk movement and the emerging gothic rock subculture. This episode tells the story of The Cure from formation from the debut album, Three Imaginary Boys , through 1982 and the "original" gothic trilogy.

Topics covered

• gothic rock
• post-punk
• The Cure
• music history
• album analysis
• 1980s music

Keywords

• The Cure
• gothic trilogy
• post-punk
• dark music
• 1980s albums
• Robert Smith
• Seventeen Seconds
• Faith
• Pornography

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Cure

Books & works: Seventeen Seconds, Faith, Pornography, Three Imaginary Boys

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