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Rating: THE REVIEW
What is a genius?
It is someone who creates a work of art first and in the most impactful way compared to anyone else.
So Robert Smith is a genius.
Only a genius could create "Faith" at such a young age.
At 21, Robert Smith invents melodies and lyrics in a musical language that no one had managed to conceive before.
And he puts in a strength, a passion that leaves us amazed: a few songs that are unique, with awkward and sparse melodies that are the very concept of essentiality.
Just look at the cover, a grainy and misty photo of the picturesque Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire. Robert claims that from the beginning the album was conceived "to be optimistic, but later it became incredibly morbid. Throughout that time, we were dealing with personal issues and were forced to live with this album for a year, carrying it around with concerts, bearing the burden of this semi-religious work as if we were doing penance."
Recorded at Abbey Road, all the songs deserve a mention because there is the entire universe of this small great man, expressed with a sensitivity (gothic, of course), that few at 20 years old have the ability to express. Personally, I adore the claustrophobic post-punk of "Primary," but also the way of understanding the feeling of love in "The Drowning Man," the church-like sadness of "The Funeral Party," the homage to Ian Curtis in "The Holy Hour," or the slowness of "Faith."
Unlike today where many musicians pretend to be different and then live in villas with pools, Robert Smith at 21 "was" different and lived his diversity on his own skin.
This review did not have the presumption of stating any absolute truth but merely to emphasize that someone at 20 can become a genius (and Robert Smith is one of them)...
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Summary by Bot
The review celebrates Robert Smith's genius in creating The Cure's 'Faith' at just 21. The album is praised for its unique, sparse melodies and deep gothic sensitivity. It reflects a blend of optimism and morbid themes shaped by personal struggles. Notable tracks like 'Primary' and 'The Funeral Party' highlight the emotional and artistic range. The reviewer admires Smith's authentic difference and artistic sincerity.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley and led by singer-songwriter Robert Smith. Since the late 1970s they have moved between post-punk, gothic atmospheres and pop-oriented experiments, producing widely admired albums such as Disintegration and Pornography.89 Reviews
Other reviews
By m
If sadness had the gift of emitting sound vibrations, it would probably sound like mournful bells foreboding grief against a backdrop of languid guitars that drool.
Faith is a single sensation of wonderful anguish, imperceptibly stretched over time.
By Overkill
"It's difficult to explain the frightening emotionality of this song, both lyrically and musically."
"Faith, seen as the ultimate resource, but also as damnation...drives away the squalid but comfortable bed of oblivion, of defeat."
By Mariaelena
This album is dark, dramatic, funeral, and the synthesizers become instruments of tragic pulmonary claustrophobia.
‘Faith’ I personally consider the most sorrowful, overwhelming, and wonderful track I have ever heard in my life, a song of my darkest soul.
By Rocky Marciano
An album that makes its "weak points" its strengths.
The title track represents the entire spirit of the work: dark, slow, melancholic, and full of that musical "monotony" and stillness.
