Review Summary: The Cure take to their dark and empty stage.
In an era inundated with classic acts popping out of the woodwork to quickly cash in, the Cure were decidedly against the grain. If they were in it for a quick payday, their newest record,
Songs of a Lost World, would’ve come out a hell of a lot sooner, that’s for sure. If you somehow didn’t know, this album has been in the works for years now. Do a little digging, and you can find a number of music outlets saying that the Cure’s “new album” would be out sometime in... 2022. Hell, a lot of the record was recorded back in 2019, with most debuting during the band’s live shows. With a delay this deep, some had begun to speculate that it would never come out. That it would just sit in a state of terminal hiatus. Static, unreleased to the broader listening public. I’ll admit, I myself had written the whole thing off as a wash a while ago. It wasn’t just the long wait putting me off, though that definitely didn’t help much. Truthfully speaking, it’s not like the band left us a decade and a half ago on the strongest of notes (2004’s self-titled and 2008’s
4:13 Dream). Regardless of what you or I thought of those records, the general consensus was that they were far from their snowy, gothic peak. Really, would a new record even
matter?
Well, if you’re going out of your way to read this, then I suppose you already know the answer to that question.
No point in hiding it: 16 years after their extended hiatus, and almost 50 years since they formed, the Cure have returned with what I would consider one of the finest records they’ve ever released. Easily their best since
Disintegration. When those early, glowing reviews started trickling in, I thought it would be yet another case of a legacy act getting their flowers just for clocking in late. But no,
Songs of a Lost World is wall-to-wall consistently great. Moody, dark, and mature; all without sacrificing their melodic side or feeling even the slightest bit forced. In interviews, lead singer Robert Smith notes that he had lost some confidence in his abilities to write new material since their last record but felt this newest outing had rejuvenated him. Now, I’m not going to pretend like I know every thought inside that post-apocalyptic minefield Robert Smith calls a mind, but one can only imagine the rush of vindication he must be feeling right about now, knowing that it was all worth the wait. That his aim was true.
Tracks like the crushing “Warsong,” with its pounding drums and resigned, defeated lamentations of violence, should be proof enough that the Cure can still capture and distill that same pessimism they did decades prior. Matching their dreamy goth/alt rock energy and sound perfectly. “I Can Never Say Goodbye,” written in memoriam for Smith’s brother, is both beautiful and heartbreaking. A looming dread that leaves the listener in quiet contemplation. The final two tracks (“All I Ever Am,” “Endsong”) lend to an air of finality to the album, but also a more literal, existential end. If it wasn’t already clear, death is on the Cure’s minds. Not that they have ever shied away from the subject, but one cannot help but feel the helpless fatigue in Smith’s aching vocals:
“My weary dance with age,
And resignation moves me slow,
Toward a dark and empty stage,
Where I can sing the world I know”
All this to say, I really, truly hope that this isn’t the final act. Despite the dour nature of this record, I don’t think the Cure are ready to throw in the towel just yet. Sure, it might have taken them some time to arrive, but the wait was well and truly worth it.
Songs of a Lost World is an honest, well-earned return-to-form for a band that themselves had lost their way for a while there. Desolate in its words and dulcet in its tones. I cannot say whether it will be regarded as one of the band’s best; for that, we’ll simply have to wait and see. But to me, the answer’s obvious: they’ve returned with an album that deserves every moment of your attention. All the way to its inevitable, tearful end.
