The Cure are a well regarded post-punk/goth rock band from Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom consisting of bassist/keyboardist Simon Gallup, keyboardist Roger O’Donnell, guitarist Perry Bamonte, drummer Jason Cooper, guitarist Reeves Gabrels & frontman Robert Smith. They’ve made some of the most essential music within both subgenres like 17 Seconds, Faith, Pornography, The Head on the Door, my personal favorite Disintegration, Wish & even the eponymous effort that Ross Robinson produced. 16 long years later, they’re back together for their 14th album.
“Alone” starts by fusing goth rock with dream pop & ethereal wave drawing it’s inspiration from the Ernest Dowson poem “Dregs” whereas “& Nothing’s Forever” is a slow & string-heavy number singing about a promise Robert made to be with someone on their deathbed. “A Fragile Thing” crosses over into alt/goth rock turf with additional influences from drean pop & baggy music clarifying there’s nothing you can do to change the end, but then the gloomy “Warsong” sings that we’re all born for war.
To get the 2nd half going, “Drone:Nodrone” easily stands as the catchiest & most upbeat moment on the entire LP from a musical standpoint acknowledging a tumultuous relationship just before “I Can Never Say Goodbye” passionately laments the death of Robert’s brother Richard for 6 minutes. “All I Ever Am” sings about way love turns out every time from his perspective will never be enough & “Endsong” wraps things up with a 10-minute epic of a closer inspired by a starlit night that reminded Robert of a similar evening in 1969, stargazing in the back garden with his father when Apollo 11 landed on the moon.
The goth rock/post-punk icons return after an over a decade dealing almost exclusively in death, dying & the relentless march of time inspired by David Bowie’s 26th & final album ★. The songs move slowly & many go on for minutes before Smith opens his mouth. No pop hits, no hooks & really no fun. It’s also some of the band’s most engrossing work, a statement that like most great Cure songs can’t be taken lightly.
Score: 4.5/5
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