... a ponderous work, hampered somewhat by the turgid pop noir thematicism. Collectively the Cure say much by what they leave unsaid. - Trouser Press
It’s downhill all the way, into ever-darkening shadows... passing through chilly marbled archways to the final rendezvous with the cold comfort of the slab. - Melody Maker
While Cure fans are insidiously locked in the Cure (otherwise this musical crap wouldn’t exist), Robert Smith seems locked in himself, a spiraling nightmare that leaves the Cure making a pompous sounding music that is, when all’s said and done, dryly meaningless. - Sounds
All too predictable, but still worth a listen. - Record Mirror
An album written from the knife-edge of despair, and as a piece of craftsmanship in expressive sound, it is a very big, very harrowing achievement. - New Musical Express
