It's been sixteen years since The Cure released their last album. I don't know if anyone really knew what to expect, but it's one of the most influential bands in history so expectations were high. The Verdict? Those expectations were met. It'd be silly to say Songs of a Lost World is a "return to form" as the band and Smith have spent their entire career showcasing their range. What I can say is that it is unmistakably The Cure we all know and admire.
Album opener "Alone" sits right alongside tracks like Disintegration's "Plainsong" or Bloodflowers' "Out of This World." It sets the album's dark tone with its opening line "This is the end of every song that we sing."
Songs of a Lost World harkens back to the band's dark post-punk compositions with tracks like "Warsong" and "Drone:Nodrone" which adds a little more bite to the album to offset its overwhelming isolating feel. The album's most sweeping track, "All I Ever Am", could go down as one of the all-time great Cure songs, and my personal favorite. But as high as it may lift you, the record's closer, "Endsong", follows to bring you right back down. A ten-minute epic that spends half the track simmering in atmospheric synths, layers of reverberating guitar riffs, and Jason Cooper's heart-pounding beats until the moment that Smith comes in with "...and I'm outside in the dark / staring at the blood red moon" which causes all corners of the soundboard to drop to take in the moment.
The general consensus on legacy bands is that "their best work is behind them," but The Cure has proven once again why they are one of the greatest bands (and songwriters) of all time, and that their best work has still yet to be heard. Songs of a Lost World is another Cure masterpiece that's just one part of a larger project that was well worth the wait.
When the album wants you to be patient, it promises a rewarding payoff – almost as an allegory for the wait Cure fans had to endure awaiting this album's release. The soundscapes and dreamlike tone of the album are oftentimes beautiful and oftentimes haunting and truly make you feel "alone." I can't imagine a more satisfying Cure album for fans after sixteen years of waiting.
