Music is oxygen to me. Simple as that. I can’t live without it. I listen to practically any kind of music, even with some favorite authors or bands. Among them, as you may have noticed, are The Cure and Robert Smith. That’s why, unsurprisingly, I’m so excited for November 1, 2024, when they release the album Songs of a Lost World because it ends no less than 16 years of a hiatus of new music. The anticipation is through the roof.

There’s a lot that contributes to a scenario of possible hysteria in a few days: being a fan in the 2020s is being a “stan”, which is a version of a possessive admirer of your idol, a scary type as the definition suggests and the opposite of what the shy Smith could anticipate.

I’m sure it crossed his mind, as well as that of his record company, that going more than 15 years without recording anything new would lead to oblivion for The Cure, but the effect – in line with today’s times – was the opposite. The band’s fans, who are in their 50s and older, are thrilled. The stans, who are the children and grandchildren of the original admirers, are the aforementioned stans, who, to be specific, are defined as “extremely or excessively enthusiastic and devoted fans”. For the stans, having something new from one of the most idolized groups of the last 40 years is an event.

Who can deny that it really is something incredible? Robert Smith wrote some of the most representative and iconic songs of the 1980s and 1990s, his style is unique, his attention to the fans is genuine and his authenticity is unmatched. I was at their show in December 2023 and I confirm that they are still the best.

By singing some of the new songs at their shows (they opened with the moving Alone and played others, such as Endsong), The Cure confirmed to us that loving them is worth it because the paradox of having something new that sounds familiar is a comforting journey that only music (and geniuses) can provide.

As a teaser, they released two singles in October 2024, Alone and the also delicious A Fragile Thing. The other one on Songs of a Lost World is another one they played at shows: I Can Never Say Goodbye, declaredly ultra-personal to Robert Smith because he sang it while crying and dedicated it to the brother he lost a few years ago. That leaves five other songs that we haven’t heard yet.

Yes, there are only 8 tracks after 16 years of waiting, we are hungry. Critics who have had access to the full album warn: that it is the best and most melancholic since what they consider the band’s masterpiece, Disintegration, from 1992. The reason would be the perfect combination of melancholic and emotional lyrics, melodies, and arrangements.

This is great news for fans (stans are obsessive enough to refuse reviews) because The Cure‘s last albums have indeed shown signs of wear and tear. Nothing that Robert Smith didn’t warn about. For decades he sang and warned that he was going to stop, that he was no longer inspired.

The albums Wild Mood Swings (1996), The Cure (2004), and 4:13 Dreams (2008) were far from what the band was doing without being commercial enough to “make up for it.” Bloodflowers, from 2000, was at the time announced as “The Cure’s last” and as it included Maybe Someday, where Smith sings “No I won’t do it again, I don’t want to pretend. If it can’t be like before I’ve got to let it end. I don’t want what I was, I had a change of head But maybe someday…” it confirmed that he was exhausted.

With that, in an interview with NME, the singer chose what he considers to be still good, admitting what he likes less of what he did. I’m happy to be 100% aligned with him. The 2004 album? No pride. To Wish For Impossible Things, from 1992, is one of his favorites (and mine!), as is Faith (yes!) from the 1981 album of the same name and Untitled from Disintegration, from 1989.

Although the album is the first in 16 years with new material, throughout those years The Cure embarked on a series of tours and live recordings that solidified the loyalty of those who clicked with them. From strangers to famous and finally to legend, they are today one of the most revered bands of today, by musicians and fans alike. Hence the certainty of the stans. If someone reaches the level of Gods, they follow closely behind. And no one does not love The Cure today.

Not that he needed to, but Robert Smith opened his heart to explain the context of Songs of a Lost World. It was not (only) perfectionism that made him abandon songs halfway through, nor did he go back on statements that he was working on something new. His personal life, marked by losses, put unexpected brakes on his creative process. As he explained, his brother, sister, uncles, and aunts died in the last 16 years. For a melancholic soul like his, the impact of this pain helped transform the pain into music.

And those who love The Cure then increase the anticipation. Anguish has always been part of the band’s repertoire. group, what can the certainty of mortality contribute to this feeling? The lyrics of Alone, “This is the end of every song that we sing”, a quote from the poem Dregs, by Ernest Dowson, which explores melancholy and disenchantment with life and love, is the answer.

Described as “powerful”, Songs of a Lost World is already available on platforms and stores as one of the most important songs of 2024. Thank you, Robert Smith. Certainly, our healing is in melody.

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