The 1982 Cure album Robert Smith made during his darkest period: “Pretty monstrous”

Following the release of their 1979 debut album, The Cure entered a period of continuous metamorphosis, giving birth to three vastly different albums: 1980’s Seventeen Seconds, 1981’s Faith and 1982’s Pornography. After a promising start, The Cure decided to separate themselves from the warped-pop sensibilities of their debut, with frontman Robert Smith disowning his evident skill for pop songwriting in favour of increasingly darker material. To the casual listener, all of this must have seemed rather distressing. The Cure had...