THE CURE: SONGS OF A LOST WORLD
Album Review: A short and honest response to The Cure's long awaited new LP.
THE CURE: SONGS OF A LOST WORLD
FICTION
1 NOVEMBER 2024
I’m going to keep this as brief as possible, because, let’s be frank, there are a million other places on the interwebs - many on Substack already - that can delve deeply into this new offering from The Cure.
God knows, there’s been enough hype about it.
First of all, let’s be clear; I’m a fan and was swept along with the brilliant release campaign, just like thousands of others were. I also make no secret of the fact that post Kiss Me, my fondness for the band wanes somewhat. Far from seeing it as a classic, Disintegration well - disintegrated - my adoration for the band upon its release.
I mentioned it here:
A REFLECTION: THE CURE 1979-1987: A SELECTIVE PRIMER
It’s a seemingly controversial opinion, but I think that 1989’s Disintegration by The Cure, often heralded as their masterpiece and a beacon of excellence in a discography of unimpeachable genius - is a bit crap.
In a compelling (for me) turn of events, new album Songs Of A Lost World (SOALW) has helped me realise why my opinion of the band changed at Disintegration.
So - this isn’t pretending to be unbiased. I’m enthused, excited and curious to hear their new material. I preordered the half speed master. That gave me an ‘in’ to get tickets for the one-off launch show at the Troxy in London. I got the tickets. It sold out in six seconds, or something. If I hadn’t been really annoyingly felled by Covid, I’d have seen them play the entire album, and all of the rest, in the flesh, on release day.
But I didn’t. Instead I had to content myself with streams of the BBC intimate shows and the live stream of the Troxy event, all of which, it has to be said, were amazing.
I am a fan.
But…
The one thing that has been disppointing, is the unaninimity of the response to the hype, the shows and the release. It’s like the entire world is suddenly a hardcore Cure fan who will hear nothing reductive or negative said about the band, their performance or the new record.
On some of the forums, it’s felt tantamount to bullying, such is the crushing weight of abuse hurled at anyone who dares to breach the gatekeeper’s walls with an opinion that is anything less than fawning.
Well here we go - it’s my own safe space, so if you don’t like the idea of that, off you fuck.
Songs Of A Lost World is a good album. In any other discography, it would likely be its masterpiece. But this is The Cure. They have an entire catalogue of masterpieces, and while this is certainly their best album since Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, it’s not as mindblowing to me as it appears to be to everyone else.
And this is why: It’s not the songs. They’re written so well. They stir your soul, lift your spirits and crash your hope in equal measure. Robert Smith is truly a world-class songwriter. He’s got it down to perfection. He was solely responsible for all the songs on this LP. Unlike the forthcoming “second” album, which is apparently less personal and more of a band creation.
It has to be all from Robert Smith. These songs recount great personal loss. They cut to the heart and lay open his feelings about the death of his family over the last few years, including one song specifically written about the passing of his brother. It’s such a sad album that it has to only come from a single person’s experience.
If it was broader than that, it would, conversely, lose its universality.
It’s an incredible piece of work.
It also not the production, as unimpressive as that is. At times the instrumentation feels overloaded and distorting - but not in a good way - there’s too much going on that doesn’t need to be there; too many fingers in the performance pie; not enough seperation and clarity or variance across the record.
But despite that annoyance, it’s no deal breaker.
The thing that makes me consider this album as something less than brilliant is Roger O’Donnell.
His keyboards are dire. They dominate most of the songs with the same heavy-handed orchestral string pads and bell tinkles that he’s been using since Disintegration and, instead of laying low and lending atmosphere, they cascade over the top of everything else and create a slightly sickening, pretty dated and definitely unimaginative wall of meaningless sonic wallpaper that gets in the way of the songwriting.
And this is what I realised; for me, it is since the band started using keys in that way; as an overpowering element; those trademark pads… that’s when they got dull for me. It’s why I dislike Disintegration. It’s why I checked out from all but the most compelling songs from the band for the last 35 years.
I’m surprised O’Donnell can get away with it. Literally every other aspect of the instrumentation is doing interesting things; whether that’s Simon Gallup’s bass or Reeves Gabrels’ guitars - the envelope is being pushed in different directions. The band are challenging themselves and Smith’s compositions.
Yet, it feels to me like, the keys are dialled in with no imagination at all, defaulting to past successes, without considering how and what they can really add to the songs.
Both O’Donnell and the entirely miserable and forgetable Perry Bamonte were disappointing to watch live; both, but especially Perry, appearing disengaged and unhappy, or at least reluctant, to be there.
I’d love to see the band play the new songs, stripped back, sans keys for all apart from the hookiest melodies, and approach the album from the bottom up, justifying every elelement that is added, because the writing can stand that level of interrogation.
It doesn’t need all the masking that O’Donnell’s playing style and volume brings. I’d love to hear SOALW pure, without all the bloated wrapping.
I know it’s not going to be a popular opinion. God forbid the band should ever do anything that could be taken as less than perfect. The fan’s devotion to them is truly overwhelming. But here’s a thing; despite the emotional blanket you think you are providing for Robert Smith, he’s not a big baby. He doesn’t need your protection. He’s more than big enough to handle the odd discerning voice - if he even remotely cared. Which I don’t believe he does. The Cure’s success is so vast and well deserved, that the concept of them giving the vaguest fuck what anyone thinks about their output is doubtful at best. The songs would not be as great as they are if the band, but Smith inparticular, wasn’t absolutely committed to his own vision, and fuck the consequences.
I still love The Cure. I always will. They were way too formative for me to be anything other than iconic.
But that doesn’t mean Songs Of A Lost World is immaculate. It’s not.
It could be, but it’s not.
I never listened because I knew there was no chance they were going to be as interesting as they were when they were doing songs like "A Forest." It's as simple as old school vs new school.
Also, thanks for being a true reviewer. A lot of people would give it five stars just because it was the Cure without knowing anything about the past albums or how they've slowly degraded.
I liked Pornography, but I loved Disintegration, and I think this is a strong release as well. Maybe that's just the version of the Cure I prefer?