Few bands of world-famous stature have the rare enjoyment of releasing no terrible albums, and I’d count The Cure among this lucky set. The band started in a time far from our own—1976, to be exact—in a place not typically known for producing superstars, Crawley. After their 1979 debut, Three Imaginary Boys, they grew as goth pioneers before breaking into the mainstream, with frontman Robert Smith regarded as one of the best to ever do it.
Led by their only continuous member, frontman, guitarist and the brains behind the operation, Smith, The Cure’s arc is a fascinating one. In their time, the group have explored a glorious selection of heady and dramatic sounds. They started in a more straight-up post-punk real; after, they blended it with psychedelia and heavy dashes of the nascent goth form to get their distinctive sound. Since then, they’ve utilised electronic, baggy, art-rock, industrial, and other textures to keep pushing themselves forward.
How many outfits have returned after the best part of 20 years and released one of the best records in their history? A handful, if that. However, on November 1st, The Cure delivered their 14th studio album, Songs for a Lost World, a stunning body of work that confirmed that Smith and the band’s musical greatness had not been diminished by the continual lashings of time. It is, without a doubt, the most refined record in their oeuvre, and it updated The Cure’s usual gothic beauty to sublime heights, with a new space rock vibe added to the mix. Mediative and all-encompassing, it’s safe to say it was worth the wait.
