THE CURE

While the late 1970's punk rock scene was unapologetically advancing with militant fervor to the front of London's music scene, it wasn't the only sound materializing from the British underground music culture. A more experimental and less destructive style that would eventually be considered post-punk, or new wave/alternative was simultaneously evolving at the geographic and conceptual periphery of punk's molten core.

Marking the beginning of alternative, or indie rock in England was the nocturnal and brooding sound of The Cure. Formed in Crawley, England in 1976 by the notoriously gloomy godfather of Goth Rock, Robert Smith (1959), a vocalist and guitar player, and his two schoolmates, Michael Dempsey (1958) a bass player, and Laurence Tolhurst (1959) a drummer. They were first known as the Easy Cure. Feeling the name had overt hippie association, the band soon abridged its name to simply the Cure, an obvious antidotal reference to punk.

Much of the Cure's music consists of slow, unsettling dirges and moody landscapes of guitars and keyboards; however, the melodious and often cheery qualities of many of their songs are playful, uplifting and danceable. Part of the band's charm is their ability to strike a balance between sugary pop and mopey ballads.

In addition, Smith's lyrics inspired by 19th and 20th century literature exhibited very romantic qualities, while his peculiarly pensive voice yielded a distinctive melancholy sound.

Smith's ghoulish appearance added to the gloomy mystique of the band's image, and served to attract audiences who by the mid-1980's were embracing the new Goth Rock trend. In addition to being a type of music, Goth became a particular type of fashion among young people involving ghoulishly dyed black hair, white face make-up, heavy black eyeliner, black or very dark clothing, and an obsession with medieval things, as well as the dark side, vampires, and to some degree, the occult.

Despite a number of personnel changes, the Cure has endured through the 80's and 90's, however with the release of their 2000 disc, Bloodflowers, they have decided to finally call it quits.

Page author: A.E.