Some of the harsh criticism here from the darkling seeds is unwarranted and shows their lack of range, while this release showed the band increasing their musical boundaries. True that it is more pop I suppose, but it was hardly mainstream at the time. "The Walk" is the closest they ever came to synth pop, but it still had a haunting tone and mysterious subject matter. So did "LaMent", the tale of a dead young girl whose body is seen drifting under a bridge; the corpse is poetically described as the "ice cream river body" probably describing the diffuse, blurry way the submerged body would look - this song feels a bit like "Charlotte Sometimes without the bass. Also dark and mysterious is the nervous, paranoid "The Upstairs Room". Hold on, I'm getting a theme here. This album may have been bouncy and had some beat but it was still quite morose and way left of center. In fact, most Cure fans I know loved this collection of 3 singles. For sure, it wasn't there best, more of a short, sweet anomaly... but certainly not bad.

"Let's Go to Bed" was maybe their 1st U.S. hit before "Head on the Door". It's fun and takes a playful approach to sex; it was a refreshing shift from their previous stuff. "Lovecats" is one of the most refreshing hit records ever written with its charming standup bass usage, boppy rhythm and Robert actually doing a bebop scat thing of some sort... a classic by any standard.

Stated shortly, this was a very strong release that just happened to be a departure from previous releases. And here's a note to Rozzy and others who are probably a bunch of 13-year-old Goths (nothing against 13-year-old Goths... I may have been one)... I was alive at the time this came out and actually to listening to it as it was released - not some modern collector looking back 20 years after the fact. This album was enjoyed by Cure fans at the time who loved the blackest moments from before but needed a change just to keep the music alive. Variety is the spice, ain't it?

"Japanese Whispers" is an album that marks a departure point for the Cure. This is where the music was starting to become more commercial, after the bleak, tormented, soul-wrenching anguish of "Faith" and "Pornography".

"Let's Go to Bed" was Robert Smith's attempt to write "a silly pop song". Apparently Smith hated the song so much he wanted to release it under a pseudonym. Luckily he was talked out of it.

Every Cure fan will know the hit single "Lovecats" of course. At the same time this album came out the Cure film-clips were starting to look more exciting, thanks to the creativity of Tim Pope. In the clip to "Lovecats" Robert Smith doesn't look the least bit depressed. "The Walk" is one of those songs that sticks in my head. It's very 1983.

"Japanese Whispers" is a neat little package of songs. This is one of the first steps in the evolution of the Cure musically, after being fashionably depressing, then darkly depressing, then morbidly depressing. It takes the Cure out of the murky swamp of despair into the light of wider acclaim. (Although these songs still appealed to alternative listeners.)

This was the first album to prove that the Cure isn't all gloom and doom. They showed a quirky side too.

This album should be held in the highest regard. It spotlights some of Robert Smith's best songwriting skills, and some of the bands most truly "wild mood swings". Lament has always been one of my favorite songs. This album should be remastered, re-packaged, and held high up on a pedastal!

One of my favorite albums by The Cure. Robert Smith calls it idiot pop, I call it brilliance. These are the singles and accompanying b-sides. A must have for any fan.

This is a good import and is a great start for anyone new to The Cure,This record is definitley one of my favorites.