The Cure: A Forest (1980)

Because it is so familiar – the band play it at almost every show and it is the go-to song for archetypal Cure – it is hard to remember how innovative and different it seemed at the time.

Melodically and in its tone, it wasn't too far removed from their debut single, the often misunderstood and Camus-inspired Killing An Arab.

But the swathes of keyboards and prominent bass (in that regard close to Joy Division) along with the distant vocals of Robert Smith gave the whole thing an eerie quality.

It became their aural fingerprint for the goth sound they became associated with. It feels bleak and monochromatic, a sense of unease pervades the whole thing.

Ironically for a song which was so influential and career defining A Forest didn't even make the top 30 in Britain.

It is hard to listen to as the step-change it was but maybe it has been a while since you really paid attention to it.

Put everything else aside for a few minutes and let the Cure take you by the hand for a walk in the dark woods.

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For more oddities, one-offs or songs with an interesting backstory check the massive back-catalogue at From the Vaults.