The Cure “Happily Ever After” 1981. Double LP comp of Seventeen Seconds (1980) and Faith (1981). Current mood: Side B Seventeen Seconds, “A Forest” in particular. (btw if you’re not familiar with The Cure’s early recordings, Happily Ever After is a total misnomer). I first heard “A Forest” on some radio program, probably a BBC recording from the early 80′s (I still have it on ancient cassette tape somewhere in the Vault), and was memorized by its haunting atmosphere: empty, dark and melancholy but not necessarily depressing. It’s easy to forget how amazing The Cure was pre-Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (though Disintegration is pretty good), weaving Robert Smith’s rich textures of guitar and keyboard with sparse bass (Simon Gallup) and minimalist drums (Laurence Tolhurst). The term “gloomscape” perfectly describes Seventeen Seconds, the soundtrack for an 1800′s gothic novel set in a vaguely haunted English manor. Faith is equally as gloomy – in fact the tracks “All Cats Are Grey” and “The Drowning Man” were inspired by Melvyn Peake’s Gormenghast series – though The Cure picked up the pace slightly on the single “Primary” which hit #43 on the UK charts, as well as on “Doubt” which sounds desperate rather than rushed. “Other Voices” is ghostly, the bass line providing a darkly creepy element. The title track “Faith,” the last song on the record, is epically gorgeous and a perfect ending for this gothically lush comp.