The Cure
Wish

THE REVIEW

I have been listening to The Cure since I was 13 years old; it happened almost by chance, in various compilations (mainly metal), there were also tracks by The Cure.

The first song that caught my interest was "A Night Like This," then "Boys Don't Cry" and "Want"; but it was when I heard "Just Like Heaven" that I decided to learn more about who these Cure were that I had only heard mentioned. So, I got myself some of their albums and the first of these was "Wish"; it's probably also for this reason that I remain particularly attached to it. I was impressed by everything this band managed to convey to me, so much so that in a short time I had their entire discography!

Now that I'm 23, my passion for them remains intact. I find it difficult to say which, in my opinion, is the best album by The Cure, however, I think the group gave their best in two periods: in the first four albums that include the great trilogy; and subsequently from "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me" up to "Wish". I absolutely don't think the rest should be disregarded, but in the mentioned periods, The Cure appears distinctly more inspired. In albums like "The Top," for example, they seem almost undecided about what they want to play, what direction to take. Having said that, I wanted to focus on "Wish" because I consider it the most complete album, the one that somewhat puts everyone in agreement. Pure dark lovers prefer "Pornography" or "Disintegration"; just as others consider these respectively too tragic and homogeneous, preferring a "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me". Here's how "Wish" can be considered as a mix of all this, an undoubtedly well-achieved mix!

In "Wish" there's a bit of everything: electric tracks like "Open" (where Robert Smith, describing an evening like many in company, hates everything he does and the uncontrollable use of alcohol), the great "From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea" (a song in which Robert expresses all his despair over drug addiction and his desire to quit), the aggressive and energetic "Cut" (in which Smith angrily sings about wanting to cut ties with a love story turned into hate) and "End" (which alarmed all Cure fans because it implied a possible band break-up due to monotony and the uselessness of continuing further, having said everything there was to say and done everything there was to do); cheerful and carefree tracks like "High", "Wendy Time" (not very exciting), "Doing The Unstuck" (starts well but becomes a bit tiring at the end) and the commendable "Friday I'm In Love"; beautiful ballads like the sweet "Trust" (which calls for trust), the moving "A Letter To Elise" (which describes the bitterness and resignation for a love that ended) and the intense "Apart" (a song about a couple's misunderstanding caused mostly by pride). The very sad "To Wish Impossible Things" (my favorite lyrics from the album! a nostalgic text showing a Robert Smith lost in the memory of past days and nights, as well as regretful for vanished hopes and broken dreams: "all I wish is gone away") is very beautiful too.

In short, an extraordinarily moody album in which one can easily shift from wild euphoria to deep melancholy; an album that, in my opinion, has absolutely deserved the great worldwide success it has had.