The Cure – Seventeen Seconds [180g Vinyl LP]

The Cure – Seventeen Seconds [180g Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo
• Catalogue Number: MOVLP394
• Barcode: 600753030424
• Genre: New Wave / Post-Punk / Gothic Rock
• Label: Music On Vinyl / Fiction Records / Polydor
• Originally Released: 22 March 1980
• Reissue Released: 24 October 2011
• Condition: New & Sealed
• Pressing: 180 Gram Vinyl

Description

Seventeen Seconds is The Cure's second studio album and the record that set the template for a decade of post-punk and gothic rock. Released on 22 March 1980 on Fiction Records, it marked a dramatic and deliberate shift away from the new wave energy of their debut — a turn inward, towards atmosphere, space and a haunting minimalism that would prove hugely influential.

Produced by Robert Smith and Mike Hedges, the album was recorded at Morgan Studios in London on a shoestring budget, with Smith stripping everything back to its emotional core. The result is a record of remarkable mood and restraint — icy guitar lines, sparse drums and Smith's detached, melancholic vocals drifting over songs that feel less like compositions and more like half-remembered dreams.

"A Forest" — the album's standout single, which climbed to number 31 in the UK — remains one of The Cure's most iconic tracks: a relentless, hypnotic bass line underpinning Smith's searching vocals as the song builds to a cold, open-ended finish. "Play For Today" crackles with subdued tension, while the brief, eerie instrumental opener "A Reflection" and the quietly devastating closer "Seventeen Seconds" frame the album perfectly. "At Night" and "In Your House" are further highlights, cementing the record's reputation as a masterclass in sustained atmosphere.

Seventeen Seconds reached number 20 on the UK Albums Chart and is rightly regarded as the first entry in The Cure's celebrated "Dark Trilogy", preceding Faith (1981) and Pornography (1982). This Music On Vinyl reissue is pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl and has been enthusiastically received by audiophiles for its warm, detailed sound.

Tracklist

Side A

1. A Reflection
2. Play For Today
3. Secrets
4. In Your House
5. Three

Side B

1. The Final Sound
2. A Forest
3. M
4. At Night
5. Seventeen Seconds

Credits

Robert Smith – Vocals, Guitar Simon Gallup – Bass Matthieu Hartley – Keyboards Lol Tolhurst – Drums Robert Smith – Producer Mike Hedges – Producer Label – Music On Vinyl / Fiction Records / Polydor