uls980

This honestly sounds like if Taylor Swift hadn't went straight pop and kept the country in her music. Complete with the same weird turns of phrases ("I was hiding in doubt 'til you brought me out of my chrysalis") and same tortured metaphors.

All that said though, this is pretty solid pop country. Some good compositions going on in this one (Oh, What A World with its somewhat OK Computer era Radiohead stuff going on, Lonely Weekend).

I'm mostly just whelmed by this, but I am enjoying my time with it.

Out of the whole 1001 project, I think the biggest disappointment for me has been finding out The Police are a singles band for me.

Every Breath You Take is good, but just fine (Overplayed for me at this point) and Synchronicity II is a stone cold classic, but other than that, there's not a ton on this album that I'm really going crazy for.

Reggatta de Blanc was the same way. First half/singles were good, rest were just OK. I'm finding out I like The Police when they go more punk (Message in a Bottle, Roxanne, Next To You) and less when they stray from that.

So yeah. Bummer.

First of the new 2026 Edition listens, and it's a pretty pleasant listen. If I ever get back to listening to it again, probably will playlist a song or two. Definitely giving me some Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens vibes.

That said, even for as good as it is, this doesn't feel like a good pick for the list, especially when they only allowed themselves 13 new picks, and especially when the influencing artist (Bon Iver) isn't represented on the list.

Neat album, poor pick for the list.

I'm usually very dismissive when it comes to psychedelic rock, but this album is a reminder that it's mainly the psych from the 60's that I pretty much hate (Although not huge on bands like Beach House or Animal Collective). Because this is a damn good album.

Definitely the best psych albums I've heard since Candy Claws' Ceres and Calypso in the Deep Time.

Loops in the Secret Society is what all those shitty 60's psych bands were going for, but that song actually works (Honestly, this whole album is what those shitty 60's psych bands were going for, they just failed... repeatedly).

That said, I'm not sure this album is super essential, so I'm not hugely broken up about it being removed from the latest edition of the book, but sometimes it's good to have some left field picks, because you get to enjoy good music that you otherwise wouldn't have heard before.

Much like Pornography, this album definitely lacks the hooks that I really like from The Cure, but also much like Pornography, The Cure also excel in less hooky, vibe music.

And that's what this album brings.
I think I slightly prefer Pornography over this one (Just slightly) because Smith's vocals are more upfront and pleading, but it's still a fantastic album.
Although listening to this one again after relistening to to the former, I honestly don't know. Both records are just great.

The only thing keeping both albums from getting a perfect score though is that both of them lack big hooks like on Disintegration. There's some real driving songs on both these records though. One Hundred Years on Pornography, and Play for Today and A Forest on Seventeen Seconds, which I appreciate.

Just waiting to get Disintegration where I can really espouse The Cure's genius (Also Songs of a Lost World, which is very good as well).