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Rating: THE REVIEW
A dark bass line opens the record and "The Holy Hour" flows rhythmically, dark and detached, much like Smith's voice, which becomes more stentorian and sinister than before. If "Seventeen Seconds" was immersed in a dense haze, "Faith" diverges from the previous record and the group's sound becomes slower, the time is marked by mechanical and unvarying rhythms, the guitars are sharp and sparse, the synthesizers create melancholic whirlwinds and sad litanies, Gallup's bass supports each song with enveloping and somber lines.
With the exceptions of "Primary" and "Doubt" (which are 2 fast post-punk tracks not very in line with the darkness of the album), the record moves on sounds that are sometimes immobile, almost stopping time in infinite grayness. "Other Voices" is gloomy and intimate. A slow tribal rhythm forms the foundation of "All Cats Are Grey", evocative, epic, and dark, with melodic lines as moving as they are sad. One of the album's highest points is "The Funeral Party", ethereal, an intense and dramatic journey where life has ended and winter has frozen every movement and every vital sign.
The dark and intense march continues with "The Drowning Man" full of echoes and reverberations in both the drum work and Smith's voice, anxiety and despair are ever-present and, like storm clouds, overtake every note. The title track has the task of closing the album, a song that represents the entire spirit of the work: dark, slow, melancholic, and full of that musical "monotony" and stillness that gives the record a unique, personal, and dark imprint.
An album that makes its "weak points" its strengths. Kudos to The Cure for managing to create such an evocative and downcast work, an infinite gray sky before the darkest and most hallucinated night of "Pornography".
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Summary by Bot
The Cure's album Faith is characterized by slow, dark rhythms and melancholic soundscapes that create an immersive, somber experience. The review highlights the contrast with their previous work and praises key tracks like "The Funeral Party" and "All Cats Are Grey." Despite some faster songs that feel less fitting, the album's consistent mood and emotional depth make it stand out. It is commended for turning its weaknesses into unique strengths and setting the stage for their next darker work, Pornography.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 gigi sabani
Only a genius could create "Faith" at such a young age.
Unlike today where many musicians pretend to be different... Robert Smith at 21 "was" different and lived his diversity on his own skin.
