Seventeen Seconds cover

Seventeen Seconds

Released

Robert Smith himself has said that the Cure in many ways actually starts with Seventeen Seconds, and little surprise given the shift in scope and reach evident throughout the band’s second album. While elements of Three Imaginary Boys’s focus remain, both new bassist Simon Gallup and keyboard player Mathieu Hartley bring deeper moods throughout the album, evident on such notable tracks as “M,” the quick, nervous bite of “Play for Today” and above all “A Forest,” their lengthy masterpiece of romantic unease matched by a stellar arrangement.

Ned Raggett

Recommended by

Suggestions
Slates cover

Slates

The Fall
Darklands cover

Darklands

The Jesus and Mary Chain
Enemigos De Lo Ajeno cover

Enemigos De Lo Ajeno

El Último de La Fila
Dazzle Ships cover

Dazzle Ships

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Garlands cover

Garlands

Cocteau Twins
Too-Rye-Ay cover

Too-Rye-Ay

Dexys Midnight Runners, Kevin Rowland