The Cure is probably the most iconic gothic rock band of all time, and even baby goths nowadays still listen to albums like Disintegration and The Head On The Door from the 1980s. If you’re a budding The Cure fan, these four songs are essential listening and might just convert you to the musical and stylistic aesthetics of goth music!
1. “All Cats Are Grey”
“All Cats Are Grey” comes from The Cure’s 1981 album Faith. Like many of The Cure’s songs, this one has roots in literature. Specifically, this song was inspired by Mervyn Peake‘s fantasy novel series Gormenghast.
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It’s a standout track on Faith that seamlessly blends together elements of ambient music and psychedelic rock. The synths on this song about grey cats are warm and inviting, and not quite as aggressive as many new wave songs at the time preferred to employ them.
2. “A Forest”
To many diehard The Cure fans, this single from 1980 is their very best song of all time. That is very much up for debate, but one can’t deny that this is one of band’s most iconic songs. It’s beyond essential listening, honestly.
Few songs embody the notion that “nothing ever changes” that The Cure employed so often quite like this song. The storytelling, the gloom-becoming-euphoric energy, the instrumentation… It’s impossible for any gothic rock fan to hate “A Forest”.
3. “Boys Don’t Cry”
This single from 1979 is one of The Cure’s very best songs, even in its demo form. After all, that very demo got The Cure a deal with Fiction Records.
In an era where mainstream rock was quite emotionally constipated, “Boys Don’t Cry” was a loose, vulnerable, and emotional gem. Those guitar chords and drum hooks are simple, but far from boring. A lot of men probably had a good cry to this song when it came out, alone in their bedrooms.
4. “Just Like Heaven”
“Just Like Heaven” from the 1987 album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me is one of The Cure’s most easily recognizable songs. The Cure knew how to make music that was dense with yearning in their instrumentation and style, rather than lyrics alone. “Just Like Heaven” is an incredible depiction of that, with unique synths and a powerful lead guitar track.
In less than a minute, the band manages to put together a stunning narrative plot; not many rock bands have been able to do that in the years since The Cure’s heyday.
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