Finally. If you’ve followed me over the last four years, you’ve read several asides like, “where is that new Cure album? We’re still waiting.” When I launched my website in early 2020, a new Who album had just been released, and Robert Smith said the new Cure was ready to go. I thought I’d have a couple significant album reviews to get Pop Transmission off to a good start. No such luck. The Cure even went on a hugely successful worldwide tour playing the new songs, without releasing the album. In November 2024, the ultimate better late than never has occurred. Songs of a Lost World is majestic and ominous. What more could we ask for?
Let’s look at some career highlights of the Cure before we jump into the new album. Robert Smith is the lone constant member of the band, formed in 1976. Their debut LP in 1979, Three Imaginary Boys (renamed Boys Don’t Cry for the U.S. release) made an impact with college radio favorites, “Jumping Someone Else’s Train” and “Killing an Arab.” In 1987, the band’s only double album, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, raised their profile with foot-stomping pop beauties “Why Can’t I Be You” and “Just Like Heaven.” Their popularity peak was the late ’80s and early ’90s with Disintegration (1989) and Wish (1992). “Lullaby,” “Lovesong,” “Fascination Street,” and “Pictures of You,” from the former and “High” and “Friday I’m in Love” from the latter remain new wave staples today. Their records since then have been sporadic and inconsistent. Their last studio album was 2008’s solid, but unremarkable, 4:13: Dream. Their legacy was cemented when Trent Reznor inducted them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
The Cure’s music runs from tormented goth to upbeat pop, inspiring contradictory emotions. Love songs and existential despair coexist. If you love the bouncy new wave Cure…well, there is nothing like “Friday I’m in Love” to hear here. It’s a lost world with ageing and death front and center. The themes may be bleak, but grace and beauty break through, as evidenced by the opening track, “Alone.” After a three-minute sweeping intro punctuated by Reeves Gabrels’ ragged guitar and Roger O’Donnell’s exquisite keys, Smith proclaims, “This is the end of every song that we sing.” The guy’s voice has not changed a bit.
The storm clouds persist through the rest of the album with short bursts of sunlight peeking in. “A Fragile Thing” conveys a hint of Cure-pop, while “Warsong” is industrial and drone-like. The warm synths of “I Can Never Say Goodbye” honor Smith’s deceased brother and the cascading piano and strings illuminate “And Nothing is Forever.” The eight-song record ends with “End Song,” “Left alone with nothing, the end of every song. Nothing.” “End Song” was the finale of the recent tour shows, as well. Seems like it is the end song, doesn’t it? Well, Robert Smith says another album is almost finished and another one in the works. So here we go again…
p.s. For the album collectors, I have 3 EPs and all 14 of the Cure’s studio albums, 7 on vinyl, 7 on CD. Also, the deluxe CD edition of Three Imaginary Boys, the CD box set Join the Dots: B-Sides and Rarities, and their Greatest Hits CD.
D² Rating: ◼◼◼◩☐
Trivia: The Cure’s 1st Top 40 hit was what song off their second LP, Seventeen Seconds?
Trivia: Guitarist Reeves Gabrels was in what band from 1989-1992? (Hint: The band included a very famous member.)
Trivia Answer #1: “A Forest.” The song is still a signature of their live shows. Watching The Penguin? In episode 5, “A Forest” comes out of the Gotham darkness putting an exclamation point on a defining moment of the series.
Trivia Answer #2: Tin Machine with David Bowie
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