I was driving back from my best friend’s funeral. At the same day that his father passed away he went downstairs the same hospital that his father was into ER. My friend passed away 3 weeks later. He and his father were cremated and on Nov 1 . I drove about 450 miles round trip for their memorial. I placed my friend’s ashes in the womb of the earth. Driving back home I listened non stop to this album and it really clicked with me. I know it’s not Cure best but it just clicked with my soul . Especially it was dusk and I could see red clouds for miles. Rest In Peace, my brother Karl.
@@lucasoheyze4597 I understand. Every album has its own flaws . This album is not the best of cure but I really felt it song by song. Some people don’t like Dark Side of the moon either.
@siliyemoodislam - It doesn’t matter if it’s among The Cure’s best or not. It resonates with you and that’s all that matters. Regardless, I do think it is amongst Thier best work
it's a fantastic album, I love it this album helped Robert deal with the death of people close to him and we all lose people and life isn't all happy. such beautiful words and music. and he just mentioned drone:no drone that bass at the beginning is fabulous. them making more music in this time of their lives is just amazing, the whole band sounded phenomenal live on the Troxy stream and was free, thank you the cure for that, my son went down to London but I can't because of my health. I was a casual Cure fan over the years and I like a good few songs but now I want to listen to all their work. one of my favourites was Lullaby and was stoked when the played it and it was amazing!!!!
Emotions are the driving force that moves our lives. Happiness lifts us up, and sadness takes us deeper, leading us to places where we discover hidden parts of ourselves. This album was born from melancholy, from that introspective state that compels us to connect with our deepest emotions and channel them into every note, every lyric, and every sound.
They have no right to come back with an album this good after a 16 year hiatus but i`m not surprised. They have always been my favorite band an i`m now approaching 60 so this album resonates with me deeply. I truly think this is some of there best work. Long live Robert Sith and The Cure......
@Alan-vk6bk - After 16 years, they’ve had enough time to write an albums worth of good songs and they have no right not to put out a record this good after 16 years
The new album by The Cure took me back to the late '80s. I felt nostalgia; it made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me yearn. I missed this phase of the "The Cure" that, after 34 years, has finally returned.
@@ponchodeandatv that's what you get from lack of sleep and lots of stress the day before. A maths brain fart. But sh1t son, has it really been 34 years ? I remember listening to Disintegration on a holiday to Santander (Spain) in 1989 and it only seems like yesterday.
@@RolandoRatas we're getting old! 😂 but our soul is still young! Disintegration is absolutely the best "The Cure" Album. I would still put "Songs of a lost world" in a top 3.
Already a classic to my mind, can't stop playing it. ALONE and ENDSONG as the bookends are perfect. I wish it could have been a few tracks more, but there is another album on the way. The Cure are at their very best right now...
The first band I ever saw live. Newcastle Mayfair, 22/04/1992. I was 17. Wish tour. I still love them and they’re still in the top 3 live acts I’ve ever seen.
My two favourite albums by The Cure are Faith and Disintegration. They both kept me sane and helped me greatly during a teenage depression between 1992 and 1995. I have ordered this album and I am so looking forward to hearing it. My mother recently passed away, and I have a feeling that this album will resonate strongly with me at this point in my life.
Fantastic album! Not many bands release great work in the twilight of their career. This is exactly what I was hoping for and its timing is right on! I was not looking to be cheered up. I wanted this!
The sister of Bloodflowers. I was surprised Robert decided to off a few tracks…omitting Another Happy Birthday was a let down . Apart from that I love it .
But not a finale. Pretty much have another album nearly finished. You’ll notice lyrics in the liner notes of a song that’s not in the album. Supposedly coming in the next one. 🤷♂️
I heard four of these songs at the Cure show in Denver back in 2023; they opened with Alone, played A Fragile Thing soon after and Endsong before they left and came back for the encore. I Can Never Say Goodbye was the first song when they took the stage again. I knew this album was going to be special. It has the dour sound of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me's darker songs with Disintegration's melancholia. It's fantastic.
I feel the same way. One of my best friends probably has days to live. He’s a huge Cure fan but I’m not going to share a link to this music. I think it would hit too hard.
Agree. I recommended my 13 year old daughter check out The Cure today. She likes 80s and 90s music and film. My cell phone must have decided I needed to see this video as it came up in my feed a few hours later. The Cure are far from my favourite band, but they occupy a special place in my heart and musical taste. I'll be listening to this album after I finish typing this.
I watched the live performance of "Endsong" on the Beeb and it was so atmospheric and enthralling. I'll buy the album based on the high quality of "Endsong" alone.
I agree with you totally, since I am now in my mid sixties I am also starting to look at my mortality and wondering where the world has gone. It is a brilliant album!
I was a huge Cure fan in the late 70’s early 80’s. I wasn’t a fan of Disintegration compared to earlier work, but still enjoyed it. But it seemed to me the loss of Lol took a chunk out of the band. I sort of drifted away after Wild Mood Swings. On first listen it all kind of started blending into the same song, but I imagine that was Smith trying to recapture some of the Disintegration zeitgeist. I’ll keep trying, but just happy they had at least one more in them, bleak as it may be.
I’ve not listened to the album yet, but did watch the UA-cam posting of the live stream from Friday. I can’t profess to be a huge Cure fan, but anything that can make me watch a 3hr gig straight has clearly got something. I was really impressed, (and equally jealous of a friend who managed to be at the actual launch).
My father passed away a week before I went to see The Cure at Wembley, when they played Nothing is Forever it totally floored me, it's now easily one of my favourites, a really remarkable and touching album.
Thanks for the review. You nailed it at the beginning. The 1st time heard it I thought it was a continuation of Disintegration. Especially the opening number and it continues throughout the album. Need to,listen a few more times because it initially doesn’t grab me the way Disintegration did right out of the gate. Rock on.
You didn't mention the Keats poem quoted in the booklet, 'When I have Fears That I May Cease To Be'. It sets the whole album up. Great review all the same. Stunning album, and a truly great achievement.
I listened to it and... I don't know, man. By tracks 4 or 5 I started feeling that they all sounded a bit undifferentiated to me. They sound too freakishly similar! But I got stuck on "Disintegration": from then on, I never really connected to anything they released. Except for 'Out of this World': 'Untitled' ended with a long fade out, as a ship would disappear in the horizon; 'Out of this world' begins with a long fade in, as if the ship was coming back. Love your channel, mate - cheers from Brazil.
Watched many of the 2022 and 23 shows on youtube. Admirable the way the new songs were brought to the fore even before the album was finished. And this material struck home. Endsong with its wailing wah wah guitar in the pulsating crescendo/dimminendo (?) (It's not Duke Ellington at Newport in 56 I realize when one could tell a crescendo in blue).
Great review! You picked up on the lost civilization vibes I also got with the cover and lyrics. I think it’s very timely. To those who say it’s boring, I’ll be honest that was my first impression as well. The intro to alone gets a bit overstated in the section with the two cords repeating, it does however work in the context of the album as a whole. I also agree the guitars are not loud enough and the mix is a bit flat. However, this Saturday night, I put it on my best stereo system and cranked it and listened start to finish, and the album really grew on me big-time. I would now say it’s certainly on the level of Bloodflowers and perhaps even at the level of their major works. All I ever am is a great song. Simon is killing it on bass
As a recent convert to the Cure, this absolutely blew me away. The instrumental sections are sheer genius and although lengthy, just keep weaving more subtle changes and additions into them. I found myself totally sucked into the subtle chord changes and tiny nuances. There was no escape and I didn’t need or want one. The best album I’ve heard in a very long time !!
The Cure are sublime .Robert Smith played with Siouxsie & the Banshees on Nocturne probably the best gig I went to in '83 .Love your review which is rich in references and heart felt appreciation and questioning humour .A Cure albums release is a precious moment
I love that the Cure released a new record, and I think that Robert sounds great! There's also a track on the record that I quite like. There really isn't a bad thing that I have to say about it... except that it's not the Cure that I fell in love with when I discovered Seventeen Seconds and Faith. It's not the Cure that pushed its boundaries in pleasing new directions with Head on the Door, and Kiss Me, KM, KM. And it's not the Cure that would have hit a remarkable coda with Disintegration, had Robert followed through on that initial plan. Rather, it's the Cure that I left behind as time wore on, because their life force no longer resonated with mine. I understand that this is the version of the Cure that many adore, but it would make me very happy if they still had some of the other tricks up their sleeve, just waiting to be pulled out.
Not even close. Which song in the new album can compare to Last Dance, Disintegration, Fascination Street, Pictures of you? None. Not even with any other of Disintegration. Compare it to Bloodflowers instead...
Loved this album. The 2 Geffen albums were disappointing but here are The Cure back on Polydor/Fiction and back at their best. Bloodflowers was supposed to be the the final part of a trilogy with Pornography and Disintergration. Maybe it's a quadrilogy now.
@@bepitan For once a comment I agree with. I can't understand the love for this new album, what am I missing? It is like a Cure parody, the same kind of album I have already bought 4 or 5 times.
An album that is masterfully done, that few artists have the ability to attempt these days. Whether it is the plaques formed from consumption from micro-plastics, artists just lack the cognitive ability to produce albums like this anymore. Definitely buy the album than attempt to listen track by track on UA-cam or spotify.
Its the real low point after masterpiece like ponography. Other low point is Wild mood swings or japanese whispers. We can argue if friday im in love is lowest, or Lets go to bed recorded right after ponography
@@Brian_Boru it def came across as sarcasam. It's cheeky and dismissive and most people missed that the song is a paradoy. That's why I like it. It pure sarcasm.
The title in the picture, is it any good, wow, what a statement. It is a brilliant album and conjures up a tapestry of emotions, it is a dark, gorgeous, haunting and tackles some of the heaviest subject matters of life. What an accomplishment!
Their best work since Disintegration, I watched the entire concert special live. I really enjoyed it, but the best thing, is that most older acts don't stay relevant....this is actually very relevant and relatable.
it's funny how bloodflowers polarises ..even smith doesn't speak about it that highly but it's easily up there with disintegration ._this new album isn't in the same league im afraid.
2 times listening through and very profound and challenging. Not easy to get through. Definitely makes you feel grateful for each moment and the humbleness aging brings to all of us. Time is running out. The music definitely mirrors Disintegration a bit. Really good imo.
The Cure are not a big favorite of mine but I was intrigued by this release so much that I've watched two reviews of it now, yours being the second one. I got the feeling from the first reviewer that it sounded a lot like Disintegration, a CD that I found borderline interminable with is long droning sections. Based on your review, as a man in a dying country just about to turn 60, I think there is much here that I could relate to. Not sure I want to add more darkness to my days right now though. Enjoy your well thought out critiques and commentaries, even when cat's testicles are not involved.
This feels like the natural successor to Bloodflowers. It's like the last two albums never happened. They had some good songs, but let's be honest, they were inconsistent & poorly produced. This is the exact opposite! It's beautiful! My first reaction... ua-cam.com/video/QYN2uF8Wag4/v-deo.htmlsi=ENsogPBzwKnD2fDE
Any band that quotes Ernest Dowson is all right with me! I'm buying the album on that basis alone. My wife heartily approves having been a life-long Cure fan.
I really appreciated the focus and sequencing of the tracks. Its consistently heavy and dark, but not too oppressive. And I found an odd sort of triumphalism within Endsong. The old world may be lost, but Smith is still standing. Their best since Disintegration imho.
Ive been listening since fri morning its a masterpiece i think its there best since kiss me and disnt.. its what i wanted and more after repeated listening the hooks the words stick in my head ill be humming something and its happened a few times this week and ill think oh thats the cures new album in my head one of my favourite albums of the year along with the the ensoulment another masterpeice paulie
During the 80's and 90's the nearest I got to the Cure were the jangly upbeat pop of Friday i'm in love and Cool for Cats. With age ive revisited the Cure with Disintegration now firmly in my top 20 Albums of all time. Songs of a Lost World feels like an older gloomier brother. A bloody masterpiece
Might not be the strongest Cure album, but this one feels like one of Smith's most personal, like a showing a diary to the world. Less commercially driven as there's no radio-friendly singles at all, most songs are long and have long intros. Guess that drive to have a number 1 album/single wanes as one gets older. This feels more akin to Disintegration, and Faith. No colorful moments like in their more kaleidoscopic albums: Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Wish, and Wild Mood Swings. If this is the Cure's final work, it's certainly a good one to end with.
He lost me at that point as a credible review. Pretty sure he’s just researched other interviews, hence the quoting of others and regurgitating it in his own words.
I really wish Robert would return to a stripped down sound like 10:15 or M. In those songs I could hear his guitar playing. This wall of sound just isn’t for me. But I still love The Cure.
I am a bit 'preaching to the converted ' as there are very few cure albums I don't like .. some took a lot of growing on me though I will admit! That said I was a fan from the start 3 Imaginary Boys was fun but then 17 Seconds came along ..loved it .. still do it still speaks to me. one single .. I don't like any of the poppy tracks one bit that the Cure has released since. I am clutching the 45 single and Lps of Primary, faith, pornography, disintegration and Bloodflowers which I bought over the last 40 years in one hand and SOALW in the other and I am close ( but not quite) to saying that SOALW is possibly the best of them .. could be my declining years perhaps and a feeling of empathy with Smiths writing .. though he has done that for decades too. I feel this one is sonically much better than the others not since Deep Green Sea have they sounded so full and all-encompassing.. New album .. love it .. with another one written and due soon and a final follow-up ( requiem I guess) I will probably feel the same and be excited to see how it really ' all ends ' .. for now .. colour me very chuffed!
Endsong is nice. Rest is forgettable. Been a cure fan for 25 years. They’ve needed a good producer since 1996 to make the records sound the way they did in the 80s.
I saw them back in 1978😂...17seconds..tour...£2.50..on the door 😮was brilliant...never seen them since...as don't like arenas but hey Robert smiths longevity says it all...they were brilliant on in concert 👏 Saturday night...I still have killing an Arab on 7"single 😮...love the new stuff.....endsongs great 👍
One of their best ever. It is a perfect companion to "Disintegration", coming from the very same place but in a darker, gloomier mood. It grows up very well with time. I am so glad Robert only chose these eight songs out of the "three albums" he said he had written. Less is more.
I do like your verbal flights of fantasy, although sometimes you do talk fluent Bollocks. Fortunately, on this occasion we seem to agree. Happy days. ps you didn't mention that 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' is lifted from the story (and later film) authored by Ray Bradbury.
I think it's a cracking album..there will be lots that will call it boring because it's not got tracks that sound like Friday I'm In Love but I'm absolutely made up there's no songs on it that sound like that.
Oh man, Friday I'm in Love was a betrayal of the highest order. Though I did forgive them for Love Cats... Robert, please never be possessed by that again...
My copy is supposed to come in the mail today. I've gone out of my way not to listen to it digitally so I can put that record on the turn table with multi channel amp, and as recommended by Robert Smith on every album, turn it up loud. What better way to listen to a new Cure album in the US than right before election day.
Just finished listening, and you were right. Absolutely brilliant album. At first, I thought, "Best post, Wish?" And your comment that if you liked Bloodflowers, then you'll like this album had me worried. Didn't hate Bloodflowers, but it wasn't a stand-out album. Live it sounded amazing, but on record...eh. Songs of a Lost World is leaps and bounds better. I think the best since Disintegration. Robert Smith feels the way he feels, but Songs of Lost World sounded way more in step with Disintegration and Pornography as the Trilogy. Sorry for the bad grammar. This follow-up is being typed on a very cracked up screen mobile.
I've always preferred their more atmospheric/gloomy albums. Whenever they delve into that overly happy pop sound it just comes across as forced and silly to me.
I was driving back from my best friend’s funeral. At the same day that his father passed away he went downstairs the same hospital that his father was into ER. My friend passed away 3 weeks later. He and his father were cremated and on Nov 1 . I drove about 450 miles round trip for their memorial. I placed my friend’s ashes in the womb of the earth. Driving back home I listened non stop to this album and it really clicked with me. I know it’s not Cure best but it just clicked with my soul . Especially it was dusk and I could see red clouds for miles. Rest In Peace, my brother Karl.
That's no way to judge an album.
@@lucasoheyze4597 I understand. Every album has its own flaws . This album is not the best of cure but I really felt it song by song. Some people don’t like Dark Side of the moon either.
It's a Good Record.
If it connects with you on that level, then isn't it one of their best ?
@siliyemoodislam - It doesn’t matter if it’s among The Cure’s best or not. It resonates with you and that’s all that matters. Regardless, I do think it is amongst Thier best work
“Miserable bastard of an album..?” Shut up and take my money.
@@sugarraybarrett2052 exactly
it's a fantastic album, I love it this album helped Robert deal with the death of people close to him and we all lose people and life isn't all happy.
such beautiful words and music.
and he just mentioned drone:no drone that bass at the beginning is fabulous.
them making more music in this time of their lives is just amazing, the whole band sounded phenomenal live on the Troxy stream and was free, thank you the cure for that, my son went down to London but I can't because of my health.
I was a casual Cure fan over the years and I like a good few songs but now I want to listen to all their work.
one of my favourites was Lullaby and was stoked when the played it and it was amazing!!!!
Emotions are the driving force that moves our lives. Happiness lifts us up, and sadness takes us deeper, leading us to places where we discover hidden parts of ourselves. This album was born from melancholy, from that introspective state that compels us to connect with our deepest emotions and channel them into every note, every lyric, and every sound.
They have no right to come back with an album this good after a 16 year hiatus but i`m not surprised. They have always been my favorite band an i`m now approaching 60 so this album resonates with me deeply. I truly think this is some of there best work. Long live Robert Sith and The Cure......
I'm 70 next month and I love them too !
@Alan-vk6bk - After 16 years, they’ve had enough time to write an albums worth of good songs and they have no right not to put out a record this good after 16 years
Robert Sith the Dark Lord is the best Robert.
It’s awesome. Best album I’ve heard in decades
:D
"Work of wisdom and grace" you words are exactly on point ☝️👌
You are wonderfully descriptive and articulate. I subscribed.
Thanks and welcome
The new album by The Cure took me back to the late '80s. I felt nostalgia; it made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me yearn. I missed this phase of the "The Cure" that, after 34 years, has finally returned.
I would say 25 years. Disintegration was the last good The Cure album in 1989 I thought.
@@RolandoRatas You are right. 2024 -34=1990 (Disintegration was their masterpiece).
@@ponchodeandatv that's what you get from lack of sleep and lots of stress the day before. A maths brain fart. But sh1t son, has it really been 34 years ? I remember listening to Disintegration on a holiday to Santander (Spain) in 1989 and it only seems like yesterday.
@@RolandoRatas we're getting old! 😂 but our soul is still young! Disintegration is absolutely the best "The Cure" Album. I would still put "Songs of a lost world" in a top 3.
Already a classic to my mind, can't stop playing it. ALONE and ENDSONG as the bookends are perfect. I wish it could have been a few tracks more, but there is another album on the way. The Cure are at their very best right now...
Epic. Top 5 Cure albums easily, arguably Top 3. What an incredibly pleasant and somewhat sadening surprise this album is.
The first band I ever saw live. Newcastle Mayfair, 22/04/1992. I was 17. Wish tour. I still love them and they’re still in the top 3 live acts I’ve ever seen.
My two favourite albums by The Cure are Faith and Disintegration. They both kept me sane and helped me greatly during a teenage depression between 1992 and 1995. I have ordered this album and I am so looking forward to hearing it. My mother recently passed away, and I have a feeling that this album will resonate strongly with me at this point in my life.
Faith is one of my favourite albums ever.
Fantastic album! Not many bands release great work in the twilight of their career. This is exactly what I was hoping for and its timing is right on! I was not looking to be cheered up. I wanted this!
The sister of Bloodflowers. I was surprised Robert decided to off a few tracks…omitting Another Happy Birthday was a let down . Apart from that I love it .
Robert said in a recent interview that Another Happy Birthday will be on the next album, which is well on the way to completion.
Or the son of Disintegration
Excellent review. You summed up most of my feelings regarding this exceptional finale of The Cure's discography.
But not a finale. Pretty much have another album nearly finished. You’ll notice lyrics in the liner notes of a song that’s not in the album. Supposedly coming in the next one. 🤷♂️
2 more albums coming
I heard four of these songs at the Cure show in Denver back in 2023; they opened with Alone, played A Fragile Thing soon after and Endsong before they left and came back for the encore. I Can Never Say Goodbye was the first song when they took the stage again. I knew this album was going to be special. It has the dour sound of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me's darker songs with Disintegration's melancholia. It's fantastic.
Sounds like the album that I need to hear right now because this is how I've been feeling lately.
I feel the same way. One of my best friends probably has days to live. He’s a huge Cure fan but I’m not going to share a link to this music. I think it would hit too hard.
Agree.
I recommended my 13 year old daughter check out The Cure today. She likes 80s and 90s music and film. My cell phone must have decided I needed to see this video as it came up in my feed a few hours later. The Cure are far from my favourite band, but they occupy a special place in my heart and musical taste. I'll be listening to this album after I finish typing this.
I watched the live performance of "Endsong" on the Beeb and it was so atmospheric and enthralling. I'll buy the album based on the high quality of "Endsong" alone.
I agree with you totally, since I am now in my mid sixties I am also starting to look at my mortality and wondering where the world has gone. It is a brilliant album!
I was a huge Cure fan in the late 70’s early 80’s. I wasn’t a fan of Disintegration compared to earlier work, but still enjoyed it. But it seemed to me the loss of Lol took a chunk out of the band. I sort of drifted away after Wild Mood Swings. On first listen it all kind of started blending into the same song, but I imagine that was Smith trying to recapture some of the Disintegration zeitgeist. I’ll keep trying, but just happy they had at least one more in them, bleak as it may be.
I agree, maybe I need more listens, but I thought there was nothing new here.
Love the Cure ❤😂 .
Saw them live in Western Australia many years ago.
One if the best shows 😂❤
I love this album , can’t stop listening to it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
At last, people are noting how much the addition of Reeves Gabrels has added to the sonic landscapes of this new material!
agree at least from the youtube show i watched listended to this weekend and the new single fragile on indie radio
I’ve not listened to the album yet, but did watch the UA-cam posting of the live stream from Friday.
I can’t profess to be a huge Cure fan, but anything that can make me watch a 3hr gig straight has clearly got something. I was really impressed, (and equally jealous of a friend who managed to be at the actual launch).
Apparently, many of the commenters don't realize that Barry is praising the album.
My father passed away a week before I went to see The Cure at Wembley, when they played Nothing is Forever it totally floored me, it's now easily one of my favourites, a really remarkable and touching album.
Thanks for the review. You nailed it at the beginning. The 1st time heard it I thought it was a continuation of Disintegration. Especially the opening number and it continues throughout the album. Need to,listen a few more times because it initially doesn’t grab me the way Disintegration did right out of the gate. Rock on.
Absolutely loving the new album, keeps getting better and better with each listen.
You didn't mention the Keats poem quoted in the booklet, 'When I have Fears That I May Cease To Be'. It sets the whole album up. Great review all the same. Stunning album, and a truly great achievement.
The tour was phenomenal and the album was what I expected. Perfection, to myself
Truly special record. One of the best cure albums and certainly in the running for one of the best releases this year.
I Can Never Say Goodbye is devastating
I listened to it and... I don't know, man. By tracks 4 or 5 I started feeling that they all sounded a bit undifferentiated to me. They sound too freakishly similar! But I got stuck on "Disintegration": from then on, I never really connected to anything they released. Except for 'Out of this World': 'Untitled' ended with a long fade out, as a ship would disappear in the horizon; 'Out of this world' begins with a long fade in, as if the ship was coming back. Love your channel, mate - cheers from Brazil.
Watched many of the 2022 and 23 shows on youtube. Admirable the way the new songs were brought to the fore even before the album was finished. And this material struck home. Endsong with its wailing wah wah guitar in the pulsating crescendo/dimminendo (?) (It's not Duke Ellington at Newport in 56 I realize when one could tell a crescendo in blue).
This gent is So Good, what a marvelous review.❤
Thank you so much, please do subscribe
Great review! You picked up on the lost civilization vibes I also got with the cover and lyrics. I think it’s very timely. To those who say it’s boring, I’ll be honest that was my first impression as well. The intro to alone gets a bit overstated in the section with the two cords repeating, it does however work in the context of the album as a whole. I also agree the guitars are not loud enough and the mix is a bit flat. However, this Saturday night, I put it on my best stereo system and cranked it and listened start to finish, and the album really grew on me big-time. I would now say it’s certainly on the level of Bloodflowers and perhaps even at the level of their major works. All I ever am is a great song. Simon is killing it on bass
As a recent convert to the Cure, this absolutely blew me away. The instrumental sections are sheer genius and although lengthy, just keep weaving more subtle changes and additions into them. I found myself totally sucked into the subtle chord changes and tiny nuances. There was no escape and I didn’t need or want one. The best album I’ve heard in a very long time !!
The Cure are sublime .Robert Smith played with Siouxsie & the Banshees on Nocturne probably the best gig I went to in '83 .Love your review which is rich in references and heart felt appreciation and questioning humour .A Cure albums release is a precious moment
There are few bands with the consistency of The Cure.
Seriously, they've pretty much, never let me down.
It's definitely an album I want to hear live.
Always appreciate your sage insights. Looking forward to listening to this album tonight. Thank you!!
My pleasure!
Like 'em or not, there's no denying their uniqueness and talent. I like 'em. Nice review . . . as always.
I love that the Cure released a new record, and I think that Robert sounds great! There's also a track on the record that I quite like. There really isn't a bad thing that I have to say about it... except that it's not the Cure that I fell in love with when I discovered Seventeen Seconds and Faith. It's not the Cure that pushed its boundaries in pleasing new directions with Head on the Door, and Kiss Me, KM, KM. And it's not the Cure that would have hit a remarkable coda with Disintegration, had Robert followed through on that initial plan. Rather, it's the Cure that I left behind as time wore on, because their life force no longer resonated with mine. I understand that this is the version of the Cure that many adore, but it would make me very happy if they still had some of the other tricks up their sleeve, just waiting to be pulled out.
I agree, I prefer the experimental Cure, rather than the trawling the same ground Cure.
You beautifully articulated what I feel and couldn't put to words myself.
Masterpiece!! Robert Smith has done a modern Disintegration!!🖤🖤🖤
Not even close. Which song in the new album can compare to Last Dance, Disintegration, Fascination Street, Pictures of you? None. Not even with any other of Disintegration. Compare it to Bloodflowers instead...
... and it's weird how you never see a 65 year old Robert Smith and a 700+ year old Beetlejuice in the same room together.
I I’ve this album and Robert Smith sounds stellar for 65 years old. The whole band sounded really great.
Loved this album. The 2 Geffen albums were disappointing but here are The Cure back on Polydor/Fiction and back at their best. Bloodflowers was supposed to be the the final part of a trilogy with Pornography and Disintergration. Maybe it's a quadrilogy now.
..i feel this new album might have some relevance if bloodflowers had never happened .. so here we are treading the same old ground.
@@bepitan For once a comment I agree with. I can't understand the love for this new album, what am I missing? It is like a Cure parody, the same kind of album I have already bought 4 or 5 times.
An album that is masterfully done, that few artists have the ability to attempt these days. Whether it is the plaques formed from consumption from micro-plastics, artists just lack the cognitive ability to produce albums like this anymore. Definitely buy the album than attempt to listen track by track on UA-cam or spotify.
They’ve always done their own thing and that thing has mostly been great
Friday I’m in Love is an abomination from one of the best bands ever to grace this planet.
Its the real low point after masterpiece like ponography. Other low point is Wild mood swings or japanese whispers. We can argue if friday im in love is lowest, or Lets go to bed recorded right after ponography
I always took it as a deeply sardonic take on the love song. It drips acid like a lacerated Alien.
@@Brian_Boru it def came across as sarcasam. It's cheeky and dismissive and most people missed that the song is a paradoy. That's why I like it. It pure sarcasm.
The title in the picture, is it any good, wow, what a statement. It is a brilliant album and conjures up a tapestry of emotions, it is a dark, gorgeous, haunting and tackles some of the heaviest subject matters of life. What an accomplishment!
Their best work since Disintegration, I watched the entire concert special live. I really enjoyed it, but the best thing, is that most older acts don't stay relevant....this is actually very relevant and relatable.
Thanks for this review. Considering buying this one.
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On first listening, it's pretty close to Bloodflowers.
listened to about an hour of the yt show other night i thought the same om a few songs
Beautiful dark album. Their best since Bloodflowers.
Blood Flowers is one of my favourites
@ Mine too. Fantastic album. Lovely production on it too.
it's funny how bloodflowers polarises ..even smith doesn't speak about it that highly but it's easily up there with disintegration ._this new album isn't in the same league im afraid.
2 times listening through and very profound and challenging. Not easy to get through. Definitely makes you feel grateful for each moment and the humbleness aging brings to all of us. Time is running out. The music definitely mirrors Disintegration a bit. Really good imo.
Great review, thank you.
The Cure are not a big favorite of mine but I was intrigued by this release so much that I've watched two reviews of it now, yours being the second one. I got the feeling from the first reviewer that it sounded a lot like Disintegration, a CD that I found borderline interminable with is long droning sections. Based on your review, as a man in a dying country just about to turn 60, I think there is much here that I could relate to. Not sure I want to add more darkness to my days right now though. Enjoy your well thought out critiques and commentaries, even when cat's testicles are not involved.
I shall be getting this.
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great review ❤ 🙏
Reeves Gabriels is the star of this album. his work on the stunning Endsong is tremendous
This feels like the natural successor to Bloodflowers. It's like the last two albums never happened. They had some good songs, but let's be honest, they were inconsistent & poorly produced. This is the exact opposite! It's beautiful! My first reaction...
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Excellent review again 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Any band that quotes Ernest Dowson is all right with me! I'm buying the album on that basis alone. My wife heartily approves having been a life-long Cure fan.
I really appreciated the focus and sequencing of the tracks. Its consistently heavy and dark, but not too oppressive. And I found an odd sort of triumphalism within Endsong. The old world may be lost, but Smith is still standing.
Their best since Disintegration imho.
Great review, absolutely spot on.. superb album
I love this album. I also love Nick Cave's new album Wild God. I love these darker tones.
Ive been listening since fri morning its a masterpiece i think its there best since kiss me and disnt.. its what i wanted and more after repeated listening the hooks the words stick in my head ill be humming something and its happened a few times this week and ill think oh thats the cures new album in my head one of my favourite albums of the year along with the the ensoulment another masterpeice paulie
During the 80's and 90's the nearest I got to the Cure were the jangly upbeat pop of Friday i'm in love and Cool for Cats. With age ive revisited the Cure with Disintegration now firmly in my top 20 Albums of all time. Songs of a Lost World feels like an older gloomier brother. A bloody masterpiece
I agree 100% & I felt that way after just 1 listen. Nice review.
Beautifully said, thank you so much! 💥
Might not be the strongest Cure album, but this one feels like one of Smith's most personal, like a showing a diary to the world. Less commercially driven as there's no radio-friendly singles at all, most songs are long and have long intros. Guess that drive to have a number 1 album/single wanes as one gets older. This feels more akin to Disintegration, and Faith. No colorful moments like in their more kaleidoscopic albums: Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Wish, and Wild Mood Swings. If this is the Cure's final work, it's certainly a good one to end with.
No, actually he has 2 more releases planned. And a tour in 2025. Possibly into 2026.
Lol, he said Blood roses, its Bloodflowers!!!!
He lost me at that point as a credible review. Pretty sure he’s just researched other interviews, hence the quoting of others and regurgitating it in his own words.
“16 years and two Kate Bush albums…..”😊
And I think it’s bloody brilliant too 😁
I put on the stereo in the car while driving,I slipped into a coma and came round in a ditch,but it has grown on me since
I really wish Robert would return to a stripped down sound like 10:15 or M. In those songs I could hear his guitar playing. This wall of sound just isn’t for me. But I still love The Cure.
I am a bit 'preaching to the converted ' as there are very few cure albums I don't like .. some took a lot of growing on me though I will admit! That said I was a fan from the start 3 Imaginary Boys was fun but then 17 Seconds came along ..loved it .. still do it still speaks to me. one single .. I don't like any of the poppy tracks one bit that the Cure has released since. I am clutching the 45 single and Lps of Primary, faith, pornography, disintegration and Bloodflowers which I bought over the last 40 years in one hand and SOALW in the other and I am close ( but not quite) to saying that SOALW is possibly the best of them .. could be my declining years perhaps and a feeling of empathy with Smiths writing .. though he has done that for decades too. I feel this one is sonically much better than the others not since Deep Green Sea have they sounded so full and all-encompassing.. New album .. love it .. with another one written and due soon and a final follow-up ( requiem I guess) I will probably feel the same and be excited to see how it really ' all ends ' .. for now .. colour me very chuffed!
Great review! 😊
Endsong is nice. Rest is forgettable. Been a cure fan for 25 years. They’ve needed a good producer since 1996 to make the records sound the way they did in the 80s.
What about Alone? I can never say Goodbye?
I saw them back in 1978😂...17seconds..tour...£2.50..on the door 😮was brilliant...never seen them since...as don't like arenas but hey Robert smiths longevity says it all...they were brilliant on in concert 👏 Saturday night...I still have killing an Arab on 7"single 😮...love the new stuff.....endsongs great 👍
Lyrics are interesting. On bloodflowers 39 "fire is almost out and theres nothing left to burn", on New album Alone " fire burned to ash"...
on par with Bloodflowers IMO
It's very, very f*cking good is the answer!
One of their best ever. It is a perfect companion to "Disintegration", coming from the very same place but in a darker, gloomier mood. It grows up very well with time. I am so glad Robert only chose these eight songs out of the "three albums" he said he had written. Less is more.
My favourite band bringing an absolutely beautiful album. It’s well worth the wait and better than those before it. All power to The Cure x
I’m glad you liked it. I’m a big fan of your withering put downs, but I don’t think I’d have been able to handle it if you weren’t impressed.
Fair enough!
Hope you have a good day!
When hasn't the cure been there thx Robert and the whole band crew etc
Great album!! They haven’t missed a beat!! 😎
I do like your verbal flights of fantasy, although sometimes you do talk fluent Bollocks. Fortunately, on this occasion we seem to agree. Happy days. ps you didn't mention that 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' is lifted from the story (and later film) authored by Ray Bradbury.
I think it's a cracking album..there will be lots that will call it boring because it's not got tracks that sound like Friday I'm In Love but I'm absolutely made up there's no songs on it that sound like that.
Oh man, Friday I'm in Love was a betrayal of the highest order. Though I did forgive them for Love Cats... Robert, please never be possessed by that again...
This album is a masterpiece the best since pornography I love it
Excellent review
Can't wait for buying my LP copy 🙌
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Great review, as always ☝️👏🙌
My copy is supposed to come in the mail today. I've gone out of my way not to listen to it digitally so I can put that record on the turn table with multi channel amp, and as recommended by Robert Smith on every album, turn it up loud. What better way to listen to a new Cure album in the US than right before election day.
Just finished listening, and you were right. Absolutely brilliant album. At first, I thought, "Best post, Wish?" And your comment that if you liked Bloodflowers, then you'll like this album had me worried. Didn't hate Bloodflowers, but it wasn't a stand-out album. Live it sounded amazing, but on record...eh. Songs of a Lost World is leaps and bounds better. I think the best since Disintegration. Robert Smith feels the way he feels, but Songs of Lost World sounded way more in step with Disintegration and Pornography as the Trilogy. Sorry for the bad grammar. This follow-up is being typed on a very cracked up screen mobile.
I've always preferred their more atmospheric/gloomy albums. Whenever they delve into that overly happy pop sound it just comes across as forced and silly to me.
I'd rank it the 2nd best of their career, behind only Disintegration. Definitely a breath of fresh air after all of the post-Wish releases!
Amongst their best.
Just this morning, George Harrison’s “all things must Pass “popped up on my inner jukebox. Ah yes.
" bloodflowers" not "blood roses"