Beyond radio acclaimed tracks, the goth’s gods have some hidden gems in their discography.
Disclaimer Announcement: This is a very trick kind of list. For die-hard fans, there are no unknown tracks. For the general public, most of their tracks are unknown. Also because of the concept: what is a song that you “should hear”? Is it their best songs? Their most innovative songs? The songs that defined them as artists? So this is a very subjective list, it may contain some songs that some fans consider that are already too well-known, also it may not contain some of their best songs. The point is to try to put a spotlight on songs that somehow are too good the be kept under the radar.
Don’t agree with the list? Well probably neither do we, we had 30 songs in our first draft (see playlist), put 15 aside as we started writing the post. So, leave a comment, speak your mind and let us know how to improve and (maybe) do a second list.
6) Plainsong (1989):
Another song with a two and half minutes intro, 'Plainsong' is the perfect opening to Disintegration, the band’s return to the gloomy, dark aesthetic explored in the early 1980s.
With heavy use of synths, slow tempo, complex drum beat and the always incredible (bass) guitar riffs of Robert Smith, the song is an epic praise to the beauty of life while contemplating its finitude.
7) The Kiss (1987):
Speaking about long intros, this six minutes and twelve seconds song has almost a four-minute mind-numbing intro: Wah wah saturated guitars, distorted bass, heavy complex drums and gloomy synths build up the tension to an angry Smiths commanding “Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me” while wishing “you were dead”. A claustrophobic masterpiece.
8) Burn (1994):
Written for the Alex Proyas’ comic book adaptation movie The Crow, 'Burn' inherits the dark atmosphere of the previous album Disintegration but with a heavier and denser sound.
The original idea when The Cure was asked to provide a song for the movie soundtrack was to use 'The Hanging Garden' as James O’Barr, the creator of The Crow, reprinted the lyrics to the song on an entire page. But that Robert Smith liked the comic so much, he decided to write a new song specifically for the film.
Distorted basses, tribal drums and heavy use of vibrato make the song pulse like a living being, Smiths riffs are as edgy as ever. Halfway through the song you start to question yourself "is this really The Cure?"This is as close as they came to Metal.
9) Doing the Unstuck (1992):
It's a perfect day for letting go
For setting fire to bridges
Boats
And other dreary worlds you know
Let's get happy!
It's quite strange to see Robert Smith writing such a happy tune, 'Doing the Unstuck' is about passion, the passion for life, an unstoppable lust and a heedless desire to escape the “dreary world”.
This song is single material, with a light mood like 'Friday I’m in Love' and a perfect song for a weekend morning.
10) Trust (1992):
If 'Doing the Unstuck' is a perfect uplifting song, the mood changes dramatically two songs later.
The lyrics are short (two verses, no chorus) and straight to the point, starts with “There's no-one left in the world that I can hold onto / There is really no-one left at all, there is only you” and closes with “And still the hardest part for you, to put your trust in me / I love you more than I can say, why won't you just believe?”. Can a song be more heart-breaking?
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