Is a new Cure album imminent?

 

Robert Smith has been promising a new Cure album for a while now. In fact, he said last last year that one of two completed records was on its way. The band has been previewing songs from Songs of a Lost World on their European tour, including tracks like Alone and Endsong which we heard last November when they played in Paris, and the "doom and gloom" album, as Smith puts it, sounds very promising indeed.

Smith had hinted at a possible September release and said that the delay was partly due to the vinyl manufacturing plant backlog... September came and went, and now it's six months later and there is still no sign of the album. The band has announced an American tour for the spring, and it is speculated that the record could be released right before the trek kick-off in New Orleans on May 10th.

It's been almost 15 years since the Cure's last LP 4:13 Dream. While it was well-received by most fans, it failed to impress critics and barely made a dent in the charts. This new record would see the recorded debut of guitarist Reeves Gabrels, who joined the band in 2012, and who used to play for David Bowie.

I think the album will magically appear one day, without notice. It will suddenly become available on streaming services and physical record stores when we least expect it. Is it going to rival the best Cure albums like Pornography, Disintegration or Wish? Unlikely. But The Cure is one of a handful of bands that haven't made a bad record. Sure, some are better than others. But they have no real stinker in their discography. 

Here's my wish; they need to keep it down to a reasonable running length. Under 50 minutes. Like albums used to be before the advent of CDs and digital. 8 to 10 songs, all killer no filler. We know Smith can still write some great songs, we've heard them. We also know his voice is still pristine. There is no reason for this new album to not be awesome. It just needs one thing: it needs to see the light of day.