REVIEW: THE CURE - SONGS OF A LOST WORLD

4/5

The Lost World

Talk about being late to the Christmas party. But The Cure for your seasonal affective disorder is 'Songs Of A Lost World'. I must admit, I never found The Cure until my dear father played me the new album last week, after venturing to the HMV out of town to buy it and run into one of my old friends. Another one lamenting seeing a live performance at the BBC. Now, quite simply, the eight-track wonder is a late, but epic entry to album of the year consideration. Their first release since 2018's 'Torn Down' remix album is actually their first studio album of new material in sixteen years, following 2008's '4:13 Dream'. Not to mention their first album with great guitarist Reeves Gabrels. Now, if that wasn't enough, these 'Songs' are the first since 1985's (when I was born) 'The Head On The Door' to be composed solely by iconic singer/guitarist Robert Smith. All as this album came a day after Halloween, as per his request.

Crawley, West Sussex's finest, give us their fourteenth and most formidable LP. From the outstanding opening of the amazing 'Alone' lead single (and it's 'A Fragile Thing' follow-up), to its epic 'Endsong' endgame, curtain conclusion. This gothic rock, nightmare before Christmas classic, recorded in the Rockfield studio of Monmouthshire, Wales, is set in stone, like the amazing album art, now. Bagatelle, a 1975 sculpture by Slovenian artist Janez Pirnat, greets us in black for this dark album of lyrical poetry and prophecy. Taking it back to the good old, jewel case days of CD's, the album's booklet features lyrics to an unreleased song and original conclusion ('Bodiam Sky') which may make the next album. Their first album to go number one in the UK since the 'Wish' of '92 has plenty else to go off, mind you. The beautiful ode to Robert's brother, 'I Can Never Say Goodbye' is a standout that will last for years, like their most famous tracks (see 'Just Like Heaven' and 'Boys Don't Cry'). Or the songs for these turbulent times like 'Drone:Nodrone', or 'Warsong'. Praying for peace and a release from this vice grip of arms.

"I think too much of all that's gone/Of how it was before my thoughts/Obsessed with choices made for sure/In ignorance of history/And consequence as more and more/I misremember hopelessly," Smith sings on 'All I Ever Am', and trust me, you'll feel it too. Vivid vocals that everyone can hear. Topping the charts around the world in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland, as it, at one point, outsold the entire top ten, back home in the United Kingdom. This what you get when you sing in solidarity, "We were always sure that we would never change/And it all stops/We were always sure that we would stay the same/But it all stops/And we close our eyes to sleep/To dream a boy and girl/Who dream the world is nothing but a dream", on 'Alone' to show the world they're not. Waking up a new way to dream of what once was, and what could be if we begin to reach out again like this, instead of stand at folded arm's length with people's rights and belief's falling on deaf ears, or ignorant scowls from posturing podiums.

The world will get better again. It will recover from its sickness. The Cure come back at a time when we need them now more than ever. A time when mother earth could feel just like heaven, once again. As long as we stop the crying. It's clear one of the fastest selling albums of '24 is reaching people around the clock. Even if it is (*hands up*) a little late, it's never too late. Inspired instrumentals met with meaning in the words. On 'Nothing Is Forever', Smith says, "And slide down close beside me/In the silence of a heartbeat/And wrap your arms around me/In a murmured lullaby/As the memory of the first time/In the stillness of a teardrop/As you hold me for the last time/In the dying of the life." Love may last for life, like this, though. This all sounds so atmospheric and compelling, no wonder the 'Songs For A Live Planet' album is coming in concert to conclude the calendar. With the Cure of these songs, this world is a little less lost. Thank you, Pop. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Alone', 'I Can Never Say Goodbye', 'Endsong'.

Spin This: Tears For Fears - 'Songs For A Nervous Planet'.