The Cure: Classic or Dud?

I would say I’m sorry
If I thought that you would 69

This is stranger than I thought
Six different ways inside my heart
And every one I’ll keep tonight
Six different ways to 69

Wait, just occurred to me that we haven't done the joke in the opposite (Magnetic Fields) direction.

The book of lovecats is long and boring

I really want a cover of Lost that undoes all the ugly production/screaming and really knows what to do with that bassline - the latter swoops in and out a la Swastika Eyes in the version in my head

― you can see me from westbury white horse, Monday, 17 October 2022 15:05 (seventeen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Such a pity this wasn't seventeen seconds ago.

<ding>

Another new song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD_Eumowa5Q

Musically sounds like they calculated the exact median between Homesick and Untitled, then went from there. Lyrically it is (unusually) openly about the death of his brother, there was a bit of a preamble about it too. Followed up with the most committed version of Disintegration I've seen in years and years.

Really hope this new album is well-recorded. The new songs sound Disintegration-y but with (even) less variation - reminds me a bit of that last Pink Floyd album The Endless River, where every song sounds a bit like another song and the resulting effect creates a kind of ambient rock feel.

Stunning, I want this album NOW.

Another new song, Fargile Thing;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmxUSFj8p1o

Sorry, song is actually called "A Fragile Thing.'

i preferred the original title

Yeah, "Fargile Thing" would be a great title.

probably my least favourite of the new songs? the closest musically to that Bloodflowersy MOR plod - underwhelming drum patterns have killed a lot of latter-day Cure songs for me and this feels like another casualty

musing on what an Actually Good Cure LP might sound like in 2022, I thought that it could be great if they took Laughing Stock as a jumping-off point - really leaning into sparseness and silence, taking that lovely facility for constructing interlocking melody parts and deconstructing it- minimal goth pastoral, if you will

(admittedly it is a weird pastime daydreaming about how beloved legacy band might make interesting creative choices, but I suppose ILM is a relatively safe space for this kind of thing)

Step 1: Sack Jason
Step 2: *literally anything*
Step 3: Brilliant album

I just want the new album to drop already, obviously it's done. I only listen to these previews once or twice so they will be still sort of unknown when that finally happens.

xp tbh i am still pretty skeptical of Reeves Gabrels as a Cure member - recently someone on twitter posted video of his solo from From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea - and it sounds dumb but it struck me in a way it hadn’t before that a member of Tin Machine was in The Cure - and at that point I had to have a little lie down

Bee OK there was some talk on twitter that something would be released digitally before the end of the year (but vinyl wouldn’t be til 2023)

multiple pinches of salt required obviously

I don't see it happening this year because of Wish but it should happen in the first of 2023.

*First half

gabrels is a good guitar player but he is wanky in ways that the cure don't need; but generally speaking he kind of tones it down in the cure. which also means, I'm not sure why he needs to be there, or why it needs to be him.

He and Jason certainly don't make the band *better*, at least not to my ears, so clearly Robert must just like having them around.

If Perry coming back means that Reeves gets to Wrong Number all over the new album, I can put up with Jason

I guess to Robert the lure of a Bowie guitarist was irresistible. I do like his work on Earthling altho it’s not remotely Cure-appropriate.

I am an actual big Tin Machine fan and have a lot of time for Reeves as creative foil for Bowie - but yeah not at all sure that his aesthetic really sits well with the Cure, to AKM's point, he seems to be fairly diligently playing away from his own style and thus starts to feel a bit like a session muso

He's pulled off less weird solos than I would have expected and that honestly is a plus. I was pretty impressed with the solo he did on "A Night Like This" when I last saw the band in 2016; I was expecting him to wave his dildo around but instead he did a really nice replacement of the sax solo part without replicating it.

Reeves’ wife spent a good amount of time chatting with me about him and the band on Twitter, it was very sweet

I think it’s obv that Robert and him get along well. They’ve been doing random collabs since the mid 90s. More puzzling to me is why he brought back Perry who doesn’t seem to be anything on stage and looks pretty miserable doing so.

My theory is he has major dirt on Robert

"he wears makeup, you know"

BRING BACK LOL

wow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXxiLwwmx4M

wow indeed. I hope the music is healing, it's amazing to see him so engaged and present in his work after such a long time.

I'm not sure I approve of this kind of bleakness being unleashed on fans of The Cure - I mean, if I was in a bad enough place, I'm not sure this couldn't be the push. And I'm not even gloomy or depressed, usually.

I had avoided all of the new songs until now and oh my god, this is legit the best thing I’ve heard from them since 1992

This new song has an extremely strong "Bloodflowers" vibe. Not saying that's a bad thing.

this guy knows what's up

Good band imo

It's been rumored.

got my Wish deluxe edition in the mail today!

quite Disintegration heavy tonight. apart from Burn nothing later than Wish except for 4 new songs all of which I liked. amazing gig, super glad I went

I've had the Wish deluxe CDs on repeat in the car for a couple of weeks now. Lots of interesting bonus tracks and alternate arrangements.

Last night’s THIRTY TWO song setlist from @thecure at Wembley last night (2 hours and 37 minutes of utter bliss) pic.twitter.com/fiAmiq2G7G

— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) December 14, 2022

Loving this Wish reissue a lot, really worthwhile demo material imho.

Made a Lost Wishes Plus playlist that adds the other instrumental demos that never ended up as album tracks or B-sides, just to ride the vibe.

1. "Uyea Sound"
2. "Cloudberry"
3. "Off To Sleep..."
4. "The Three Sisters"
5. "A Wendy Band"
6. "T6"
7. "T7"
8. "T8"
9. "Now is the Time"
10. "Miss Van Gogh"
11. "Abetabw"
12. "Heart Attack"
13. "Swing Change"
14. "Frogfish"

might play around with the order, but was having fun with their naming convention for a few of the demos in that placement

So there's a big ol' photo book out and I had things to say

https://thequietus.com/articles/32523-pictures-of-you-the-cure-tom-sheehan-review

Okay, American tour dates:

MAY '23

10 NEW ORLEANS, LA SMOOTHIE KING CENTER
12 HOUSTON, TX TOYOTA CENTER
13 DALLAS, TX DOS EQUIS PAVILION
14 AUSTIN, TX MOODY CENTER
16 ALBUQUERQUE, NM ISLETA AMPHITHEATER
18 PHOENIX, AZ DESERT DIAMOND ARENA
20 SAN DIEGO, CA NICU AMPHITHEATRE
23 LOS ANGELES, CA HOLLYWOOD BOWL
24 LOS ANGELES, CA HOLLYWOOD BOWL
25 LOS ANGELES, CA HOLLYWOOD BOWL
27 SAN FRANCISCO, CA SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE

JUNE '23

01 SEATTLE, WA CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA
02 VANCOUVER, BC ROGERS ARENA
04 SALT LAKE CITY, UT VIVINT SMART HOME ARENA
06 DENVER, CO FIDDLER'S GREEN AMPHITHEATRE
08 MINNEAPOLIS ST. PAUL, MN XCEL ENERGY CENTER
10 CHICAGO, IL UNITED CENTER
11 CLEVELAND, OH BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER
13 DETROIT, MI PINE KNOB MUSIC THEATRE
14 TORONTO, ON BUDWEISER STAGE
16 MONTREAL, QCBELL CENTRE
18 BOSTON, MA XFINITY CENTER
20 NEW YORK, NY MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
21 NEW YORK, NY MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
22 NEW YORK, NY MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
24 PHILADELPHIA, PA WELLS FARGO CENTER
25 COLUMBIA, MD MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION
27 ATLANTA, GA STATE FARM ARENA
29 TAMPA, FL AMALIE ARENA

JULY '23

01 MIAMI, FL MIAMI-DADE ARENA

And per Bob's ALL CAPS ways:

THE CURE HAVE AGREED ALL TICKET PRICES, AND APART FROM A FEW HOLLYWOOD BOWL CHARITY SEATS, THERE WILL BE NO ‘PLATINUM’ OR ‘DYNAMICALLY PRICED’ TICKETS ON THIS TOUR

Pre-register link here:

https://verifiedfan.ticketmaster.com/thecure2023

THE CURE HAVE AGREED ALL TICKET PRICES, AND APART FROM A FEW HOLLYWOOD BOWL CHARITY SEATS, THERE WILL BE NO ‘PLATINUM’ OR ‘DYNAMICALLY PRICED’ TICKETS ON THIS TOUR

Who knows if it'll make a difference, but this is how you fucking do it.

A confirmation email is on its way. Registration does not guarantee tickets - we expect there will be more demand than there are tickets available. A lottery-style process will use random selection to determine which registered Verified Fans will receive a unique access code and which will be put on the waitlist.

You’ll receive an email on Tuesday, March 14 confirming next steps.

If you are verified and receive a unique access code, the Verified Fan Sale will begin on Wednesday, March 15.

wow, the sisters of mercy AND the cure are both playing in LA on may 23

Eldritch is certainly pissed off about that lol

And in the way back when they were labelmates (in the US at least)

and the monkey's paw curls