At a time when everyone expected The Cure’s eighth studio album to be more of a sequel to their previous one, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Robert Smith’s songwriting turned darker and gloomier again. Disintegration for obvious reasons was always considered by Smith himself a complement to their nighmarish dark opus, Pornography, from a few years back. Even though this time the sound was more refined and somewhat more artistic than Pornograhy’s raw and straightforward post-punk, everyone from fans to critics related to that view. It was official that The Cure were on the dark side again.
Some called it a commercial suicide but the album did excellent at the charts (UK #3, US #12) and at the end of year lists. NME placed it only at #23 in their best albums of that year, but Melody Maker had it at #1 and it was also among Rolling Stone’s 5 readers’ picks. Smith had finally achieved his goal: to create his masterpiece, a work to be remembered by, just before he would turn 30 years old. According to Smith’s views at the time that's what every great artist in history is ought to do.
Behind all the adventure and drama that is this band’s journey from the end of the seventies until now, there lies Robert Smith’s faith in himself and his skills as a writer and creator, coming together with his survival instincts, and his ability to turn everything negative that goes on in his life, in favor of his own art and creativity. A quarter of a century later, Disintegration stands strong as one of the greatest albums of the 20th century, and unmistakably people will celebrate more of its anniversaries for many years to come.
ZR