The Cure
Songs Of A Lost World

It happens to me much more often than I would like that people are surprised to hear me say that I have a great passion for '80s music. Perhaps because from someone so young, an adult who grew up in the '80s, you wouldn't expect to hear them say it, or maybe simply because it's no longer fashionable to be passionate about that era's culture.

A part of this culture is certainly The Cure, a band I fell in love with at first listen, whose latest album, "Songs Of A Lost World," has recently been released.

When around September the release of the first single "Alone" was announced, I initially felt incredibly excited, thinking for a moment that I could fill that nostalgia for a period I never lived, which is, all in all, so distant from me.

Yet, with great sadness, I realized that this album was not what I expected.

It seems pointless to reiterate that, of course, I have considered that in a band's discography there are evolutions (and there must be, otherwise think how boring it would be), musically, personally, in formation, and so on. Yet, for some reason, I have the impression that something went wrong in this evolution of The Cure. But let's take it step by step.

Here I leave you my impressions on the album, sketched out precisely during the listen from track to track - that's why I realize that the use of language in some points is debatable and the phrases are rushed, but I didn't want to fix them because they would have lost the authenticity of the first impression.

I know that for many these will be controversial observations, and I have the feeling that just as many

will tell me that I don't understand anything about music. Maybe it's true, maybe it's an album I'll understand

better later on, but for now, my opinion remains this.

1. Alone

The intro is long, nothing new in the group's history, almost desperate, an unusually clear sound for The Cure. It has a more modern tinge, abandoning the '80s sound leaning toward goth. These are technically impeccable songs, overall I'm not sure if I like them for now.

2. And Nothing Is Forever

The '90s synth makes me roll my eyes, honestly. The dirty, scratched guitar underneath perhaps saves the situation a bit, but basically it's a slow song. It's not a genre I particularly appreciate, I find it boring, whiny. We know that The Cure did that too and that bands need to modernize and evolve, but overall so far I haven't heard a spark ignite yet. Maybe I'm too attached to the nostalgia of a period I didn't live?

3. A Fragile Thing

I don't like the keyboards underneath, but the bass line makes up for it. I must say that Smith's voice hasn't faded despite his age. I already like this song more, it reminds me more of what they actually were as a group. What disturbs me the most about what I hear is that they all seem like ballads from the '90s, they all sound very similar, I haven't heard one yet that made me think "wow, these are The Cure, and they're back with a bang."

4. Warsong

The intro makes me think this will be a great piece. It has something that makes me think almost of a sequel to "Lullaby," maybe due to the plucking of the strings. The guitar has a distorted, powerful sound. I quite like this song - finally - it is dramatic, it strikes.

So far in this album, it seems to me that the instrumental part has been given a very central role - again, not new for this group, but here it is in particular, and especially differently, as if voice and instrumental were almost two parts that must remain separate.

5. Drone:Nodrone

It starts off pretty heavy. Dirty guitar, always with that damn keyboard underneath that I just don't like. This one is also nice, better than the first ones. In favor of this album, it can be said that the musical part seems more refined under certain aspects, perhaps because it somehow goes beyond The Cure's usual scope. It reminds me a bit of Muse in terms of sound in some ways, while the guitar solo is much more classic rock. The synths underneath aren't bad, they also call back a bit to the '80s new wave sound. I don't like at all how it ends, too abrupt a stop. It's a shame because along with "Warsong," it was perhaps the song I was liking the most so far.

6. I Can Never Say Goodbye

Nothing oh, with these keyboards we just can't make it. Okay, it's a personal taste, but it seems a very cheap way to evoke the feeling of sadness or nostalgia. It's a shame, anyway, the rest of the base isn't bad, although I have to say that it seems quite redundant in terms of sound. I've already heard this thing in the last three songs, and for many other aspects from the very first one. As an album, it is revealing itself to be not very diversified, which I find disappointing.

7. All I Ever Am

A nice rhythmic start, I like the drums. Guitar with a distorted sound, as usual. It diversifies a bit from the other songs in the way it starts, although I think there's still the risk that it might flatten as a song - and indeed it does. I think that the melodies of the songs are all a bit flat, they get lost, all in all.

8. Endsong

The starting drums remind me irredeemably of Phil Collins - specifically a fraction of "In The Air Tonight." Overall it's a good start, I don't mind how the guitar is added to the synths and drums. To my surprise, it changes exactly when one is about to say "ok, but now it's becoming too repetitive," about after 2'20'' of the song. Clearly very long musical intro (in a track that lasts 10'23'' I can't expect much differently), I don't mind, it's enveloping, quite dramatic. I like the guitar. Very cinematic as a track, I could see it in a movie, at the moment when everything is falling apart, and nothing seems recoverable. The intro lasts about the entire first half of the song. Even here, in the interludes, the guitar becomes very "classic rock," but it is pleasant, interesting contrasts are created. Perhaps along with "Warsong" and "Drone:Nodrone" it is the song I appreciated the most.

Overall, I can't say it's a bad album; I just find it a bit flat and not very memorable.

To immediately break a lance in favor of "Songs Of A Lost World," I can say that the refinement and finesse of the instrumental part haven't been lost, and I won't stop being surprised - as I already noted in the comments - at how Robert Smith's voice doesn't fail despite his age, although I find that he has made little varied use of it between one track and another.

Another impression I had is that the group desperately tried to modernize the sound while trying to maintain some sort of adherence to its essence, but without succeeding too much, leading them to sound more '90s.

In practice, it has a sound different from the usual Cure one, but generally already heard and revisited, which in some respects reminded me of Muse.

If I have to think of another comparison, "Songs of Innocence," the second-to-last album by U2, published in 2014, comes to mind (it makes me laugh that these albums published after years start with "Songs..." Even the latest Tears for Fears was released recently and is called "Songs For A Nervous Planet"): it is definitely lighter than U2's creations but maintains that delicacy which, in my opinion, is typical of this group. I don't know how to explain it well, but it's as if there were an evolution while maintaining a connection to their roots; it's certainly not the most beautiful or notable album, but it has a certain coherence.

Perhaps this is what The Cure wanted to do, but I don't think they managed to do it in the best way. Or perhaps they wanted to upset everything and change the genre totally, but not even in this case am I sure the desired result was achieved: for this reason, it's like they're stuck in the limbo of a sound more typical of the '90s.

"Songs Of A Lost World" doesn't lack will, intention, or technique, nor grit, but it is lacking in that fullness and that life that The Cure of the past managed to have, even in the most melancholic and sad tracks, yet still astonishing.

It remained a bit empty, as if it were just the exoskeleton of one of the most known goth rock bands in the world.