Wild Mood Swings: A Deep Dive Retrospective of The Cure
Click below on the streaming service of your choice to listen to the playlist as your read along. (Note, only the YouTube playlist is complete since Spotify does not have the Wild Mood Swings LP in Canada.)
2018 is the fortieth anniversary of seminal post-punk, goth prototype band, The Cure. Robert Smith, its iconic founder, leader, singer, guitarist, song writer, and only constant member for the band’s history, is curating the Meltdown Festival and The Cure will headline a massive anniversary show in Hyde Park, London in July. The Cure are one of the best known, respected, revered, and cherished acts of the post-punk era. They embody the essence of 1980s experimentation and progressiveness in modern rock and fully deserve the accolades and feting that this summer will entail.
The 'Deep Dive' Playlist
“Grinding Halt”
“It's Not You”
“Three Imaginary Boys”
“In Your House”
“M”
“Seventeen Seconds”
“The Holy Hour”
“All Cats Are Grey”
“One Hundred Years”
“A Strange Day”
“Cold”
“Bird Mad Girl”
“Dressing Up”
“Piggy in the Mirror”
“The Blood”
“Push”
“The Baby Screams”
“The Perfect Girl”
“Closedown”
“Prayers for Rain”
“Open”
“Doing the Unstuck”
“End”
“This Is A Lie”
“Round & Round & Round”
“Return”
“The Last Day of Summer”
“Bloodflowers”
“Labyrinth”
“Before Three”
“I Don't Know What's Going On”
“Underneath the Stars”
“The Hungry Ghost”
“This. Here and Now. With You.”
“Drone: Nodrone”
As a modern rock act, The Cure were rarely chart toppers outside of its native England, yet it’s hard to find anyone over thirty who wouldn’t know who they are and be familiar with at least a few of their songs, their sound, and image. Yet the depth, consistency, quality, and character of their discography begs the deep dive treatment, because to stroll through their greatest hits will introduce you to The Cure, but not reveal the full extent of their charm, intrigue, and beauty. And as is sometimes the case with bands who were so consistent, the singles and hits were often not the best selections from the albums, so a deep dive will allow a less distracting and still solidly engaging review of The Cure’s music.
“Grinding Halt”; “It’s Not You”; “Three Imaginary Boys” \ Three Imaginary Boys (1979)
Robert Smith, Michael ‘Mick’ Dempsey, and Laurence ‘Lol’ Tolhurst were high school friends in Crawley, West Sussex, a community just south of Gatwick Airport near London. They played in bands through school, forming one called Malice that dabbled in the glam music of the 1970s. By ‘77 they had settled into a quartet called Easy Cure, with Porl Thompson joining on guitar. Despite holding auditions to find a frontman, Smith fell into the role and the band’s defining sound was in place. They won a talent contest and a contract with German label, Hansa Records, but the label and the band couldn’t agree on their sound nor was Hansa keen on the song they recorded, “Killing an Arab”. They were released without issuing any music. It was the first sign these young men were not going to follow a typical path.
By 1978, the band was moving to a more stripped down, punk-influenced sound and Thompson was shown the door as his playing didn’t fit. Therefore, it was the remaining trio of Smith, Dempsey, and Tolhurst, now with the shortened name, The Cure, that was signed to Indie label, Fiction. “Killing an Arab” was issued as the first single to both acclaim and controversy. Smith needed to explain the song was not anti-Muslim but was based on Albert Camus’ existentialist 1942 novel, L’Etranger, in which the protagonist shot an Arab on the beach. It was a dark and portentous start for The Cure, clearing the path to the place the band would occupy in the musical landscape.
The first album, Three Imaginary Boys, was released in May 1979. As was the custom in the UK, the singles were released separately. First was, “Boys Don’t Cry”, followed by, “Jumping Someone Else’s Train”, both of which were fantastic songs but of differing temperament and that displayed the unique talent of the band. Neither served to gain The Cure any chart attention, though the album did a little better, coming close to reaching the top forty in the UK album chart.
The LP was a pop-punk sound with stripped down, jangly guitars and simple, catchy melodies. It lacked the energy and anger of the punk sound of the time, but the raw and sparse guitar, driven by propulsive drums and thick bass, separated it from the other pop sounds of the time. It was a great album and a consistent listen start to finish.
“Grinding Halt” had a ska-like rhythm and a catchy feel, while “It’s Not You” was a straight-ahead punk tune. The title track hinted at what was to come as the plodding, moody ballad brought Robert’s voice into focus and showed the potential of what the band could do with their sound. At a tender of age of nineteen when the songs were recorded, Smith’s voice had not yet matured into its iconic form, but his character and playfulness were present in many of the songs, including his thick, British accent.
Once again, showing the band was not going to be typical, Smith and the band were unhappy with the results of the first LP. While touring with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Robert had to step in on guitar after the guitarist quit. Diving into the darker, bolder style of The Banshees awakened the young lad to new possibilities, fortuitously steering him away from the gathering pop-punk genre.
“In Your House”; “M”; “Seventeen Seconds” \ Seventeen Seconds (1980)
The following April saw the release of the band’s second album, Seventeen Seconds. Meanwhile in January, the first album was re-packaged into a different track listing – singles included – and released in North America as Boys Don’t Cry.
The dissatisfaction with the first effort resulted in a different sophomore effort, with Smith exerting greater control. Dempsey left the band out of dissatisfaction with the new sound and joined The Associates. Simon Gallup and Matthieu Hartley joined, making The Cure a quartet of Smith (guitar and vocals), Hartley (keyboards), Gallup (bass), and Tolhurst (drums).
The first example of the new sound was the lead single, “A Forest,” this time taken from the album. It was a brilliant single, becoming one of the band’s signature songs. A slow, ominous build of keyboards and guitar slid into pulsating drums and then a smooth, new-wave melody of drums, synths and guitar that rode over a strong bassline. Smith’s voice echoed over the track as the mood took hold and gave the sensation of being caught alone, cold, and vulnerable in a dark forest, possibly inhabited by the ghost girl of the lyrics.
Early Cure (L to R): Lol Tolhurst, Mathieu Hartley, Robert Smith, Simon Gallup
The rest of the LP mixed dark pop with moody atmospherics, drawing from the sounds pioneered by Joy Division over the prior two years. In recent years there has been a spat with Peter Hook. In his book about his Joy Division years, the bassist accused The Cure of selling out and being jealous of Joy Division. Lol responded on social media stating that Joy Division opened for The Cure in 1979, and only because The Cure liked them. This intimated that Hook and the band owed The Cure a debt of gratitude. Why do UK acts fight with each other so much?
“Play for Today” was the album’s second track – a fantastic pop-new wave song in which the brightness of the tempo and melody were offset by the melancholy of the guitar and keyboards. The album was otherwise rife with gloom, mystery, and contemplation. “Secrets” and “In Your House” followed “Play for Today” with mid- to low-tempo tunes that wallowed in the dark mix of sparse guitar, deep bass, gloomy synths, and simple drums. A couple of spooky instrumentals set-up the opening of “A Forest,” before a return to some semblance of pop with “M.” It was a brief respite as the album closed with two more murky ballads, “At Night,” and the title track.
The Cure’s sound was a little jarring, distinct, and affecting, yet there was warmth and character that intrigued and drew interest. They were accumulating a following. “A Forest” reached #31 on the UK singles chart and the album peaked at #20. Attention outside the UK was muted to non-existent, though the album reached the top ten in New Zealand.
“The Holy Hour”; “All Cats Are Grey” \ Faith (1981)
By the end of the tour for Seventeen Seconds, Hartley, much like Dempsey, had his fill of the band’s new sound and left. The Cure entered the studio for the third album as just Smith, Tolhurst, and Gallup, the trio which comprised the most enduring, classic line-up for the band. The resulting album, Faith, hewed closely to the established sound of Seventeen Seconds yet still moved them forward.
The single, “Primary,” was taken from the LP and was another fantastic tune. It was propelled by a hypnotic guitar and machine-like rhythm. Smith’s voice was stronger, deeper, confident, and commanding of the musical landscape in which it dwelt.
The album was led by “The Holy Hour,” which played as if a natural extension to the closing of Seventeen Seconds. A more prevalent bass gave it more life and a brooding tone to start the LP. After the energy of “Primary” the mood was returned by “Other Voices,” a sonic partner to “The Holy Hour.” This led to the lovely, “All Cats Are Grey”, in which the guitar was given a rest and the synths rode gently over the drums. It was in this song that the future of post-punk and alternative pop could be heard – simple, shimmering, catchy, and creative. The song can be overlooked in their canon (but adroitly selected by Nouvelle Vague for one of their cover treatments), but it was a powerhouse on the album and a defining moment in their evolution. Indeed, the second side of the album failed to capture such an engaging moment, as the frenetic pop-punk of, “Doubt”, was surrounded by more sombre ballads. The second side was, as always for The Cure, a good listen, but their weakest group of songs thus far.
The Cure continued to tour, wallowing in the dark moods of their recent albums. They issued a non-album single in the fall of ‘81, “Charlotte Sometimes”. It hinted at an encouraging new sound, in which the pace and energy of the music was elevated while still swirling in their morose haze. Still, momentum was building commercially, with Faith becoming their first top twenty LP, including a #1 in New Zealand, while “Primary” and “Charlotte Sometimes” both peaked just outside the UK top forty.
“One Hundred Years”; “A Strange Day”; “Cold” \ Pornography (1982)
As the band entered 1982, a chicken-and-egg experiment seemed to be at play. The band was mired in a deep funk, abusing drugs and with Robert in a deep depression. Was this a result of their music? Or was the music a result of their mood? No doubt they were fueling each other, and Smith chose to ride it out and expunge the gloom by pouring it all into the next album. As is often the case with great art, borne in suffering, Pornography was a great example of that cliché. It was one of the best albums of the 1980s and a definitive LP of the post-punk, dark pop sound that became the goth genre.
This was also an important album in my life since it was the only Cure album in our house. It was my brother’s copy, ten years my senior and in university. Thus, it was my introduction to the band and a defining benchmark for much of what I would listen to thereafter. I played it religiously in 1983-’84, my grade eight and nine years, and knew it was unlike anything I heard on the radio or that my friends were listening to (I also hadn’t really discovered Joy Division yet, though that was imminent). My love of modern rock and the dark and experimental elements within were established by this album.
Pornography opened with “One Hundred Years,” in which the epic sound of the guitars, pulsating drums, and Smith’s pained and expressive vocals provided a Cure song unlike any before. It was still dark and atmospheric, but there was an energy, a passion, a pain, a palpable suffering behind the music that affected you as a listener. This wasn’t just pop music, or angry rock or punk, this was artistic expression like you’d find in painting. The next song, “A Short Term Effect,” continued with the pounding drums but with guitar and piano ebbing in and out, creating a chaotic, disorienting feel. “The Hanging Garden” was next and was the single from the album. Drums again charged through, but against a tighter alliance of guitar and bass, and Smith’s vocal was more forthright and less tortured. It was a frenetic song that left you exhausted at it closed the trio of drum-driven songs to start the LP. The first side closed with the dirge-like, “Siamese Twins.”
The second side continued with a focus on drums, though with slightly less pace, as guitar asserted itself more and a rock element slid in on the opener, “The Figurehead.” This led to one of the band’s most overlooked and brilliant songs, “A Strange Day.” I don’t know why this wasn’t a single or a staple of their live sets, but it was the culmination and perfection of everything the band had been working towards. It was dark and foreboding, but not morose and impenetrable. It mixed rhythm and melody in perfect combinations, and all of the vocals, drums, and guitar worked together in a powerful orchestration. I especially loved the guitar work. “Cold” followed in a synth-led, percussion-propelled walk once again through an angst-ridden expanse, continuing to set the bar for all Goth music that would follow.
The LP closed, for the fourth consecutive album, with the title track (though Three Imaginary Boys had a short interlude following to close the album), a frenzied, experimental piece of noisy guitar and drums with echoey vocals. It was a jarring and difficult finale to the album, but also the final cry of anguish from Smith and the band as they closed this chapter of dark, musical exploration. In a 2004 Rolling Stone article recounting this album, Smith stated in response to the suggestion that no other album equals Pornography in intensity and passion, “I don’t think you can make too many albums like that, because you wouldn’t be alive.” Indeed.
The album was their first failure with critics, likely put off by the increased gloom. Over time, that changed and the record was recognized for the influential tour-de-force that it was. The initial negative reaction from critics wasn’t shared by the band’s growing fan base, who embraced it, sending “The Hanging Garden” to #34, almost equalling “A Forest” for their best result. The album was The Cure’s first to crack the top ten in the UK. There was still no success in the US, but given the nature of their sound, this was not surprising.
Starting to look like 'The Cure' - Gallup, Smith, Tolhurst
At this point, the band was having to answer to queries about their image, or rather, lack of one. The album covers were undefined, using vague visuals and blurred pictures and with no clear photos of the band. In concert, there was no discernable style, which for the early 80s in the UK was becoming a liability as acts embraced fashion and style as part of their overall oeuvre. The MTV generation was taking hold and bands could no longer ignore the visual aspect of their presentation. During the album’s tour, titled Fourteen Explicit Moments Tour, The Cure started to marry their look with their sound, taking the big hair and make-up of the new wave scene and distorting it into messy pompadours, pale faces, and thickly applied, messy or smeared lipstick. It was a look in which The Cure, and Smith in particular, would forever be identified.
Before leaving this stage of The Cure’s career, it is important to note this was also the end of a period in which Robert Smith and the band really had a defining influence on modern music. Despite their lack of chart success, the dark style of new wave pop they’d developed over those three successive albums helped launch an entire sub-genre of modern rock. Many would lump them with the goth label, though Smith would always express irritation with that classification. It was true they never fit cleanly into goth given what the genre would become, but their look and style were certainly adjacent and influential. To this day there is a style of modern rock that loves a dark tone shrouded in mystique, gloom, and existential angst, and that came directly from The Cure as well as Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Damned, and others that came out of punk but didn’t fall smitten to the brighter sounds of synth-driven new wave and pop. It is what I label, dark wave.
“Bird Mad Girl”; “Dressing Up”; “Piggy in the Mirror” \ The Top (1984)
Despite the despondency and depression of the band after recording and touring Pornography, they carried on. However, the darkness of their music once again took a toll as Simon Gallup left since he and Smith were no longer getting along. Smith began working with Steve Severin of The Banshees, releasing a flexi-disc single together, “Lament,” under The Cure’s name. Robert also joined Siouxsie and the Banshees on tour. By the second half of 1982, it was unclear who The Cure were and whether they were still a going concern.
Robert now in full 'hair and lipstick'
The answer came in the form of the next single, “Let’s Go to Bed,” released in November 1982. It was recorded by Smith, Tolhurst, and a session drummer, with Lol having moved to keyboards. Phil Thornalley, who had helped produce Pornography, helped out on bass. The song was mostly electronic with a much brighter sound, danceable vibe, and unabashed sense of fun. It was pop. Smith wrote it to help dispel the gloom and to start a reinvention of The Cure. He initially thought to release it under a different name given its departure from their sound. He didn’t care much for the track, yet it went to #44 on the UK chart. The new sound had appeal.
Acceptance was verified with the release of the next two singles in 1983, “The Walk” and “The Love Cats”. The first was another danceable, electronic song, while the second was a whimsical, piano and stand-up bass composition that heard Smith singing brightly and jauntily to a springy melody. “The Walk” went to #12 in the UK and “The Love Cats” brought The Cure their first top ten single. The recent singles and their B-sides were packaged for the Japanese market as an album, Japanese Whispers. The label decided to release it internationally to cash in on the growing attention of these songs.
1983 also saw Smith continue to record with The Banshees. His work with Severin also culminated in an album under the band name, The Glove. The album and single, “Like an Animal,” went unnoticed given the larger focus on their respective bands. Tolhurst also worked on other projects that year, so when Smith returned to the studio to do more Cure work, he began recording mostly on his own. Eventually, he was re-joined by Lol and Andy Anderson, who had played drums for The Glove and on “The Love Cats”. The resulting album, released in the spring of 1984, continued the band’s evolution into new, brighter, more varied soundscapes.
The Top borrowed from varied and international styles. After the cohesiveness of the first four albums, it was a much less co-ordinated package of songs for a Cure album. “Shake Dog Shake” and “Give Me It” sounded almost like straight-ahead rockers, while “Wailing Wall” drew on Middle-Eastern sounds. “The Empty World” rode a military-like drum beat, “Bananafishbones” was as jumbled and fun as its name suggested, and of course the album closed with the title track, tilting back to the darker, sombre moods of the prior albums. The album again released just one single, “The Caterpillar,” which was reminiscent of, “The Love Cats”, in its playful and flitting feel.
The songs on this playlist were the three strongest on the album and revealed the evolution of The Cure over the two years since Pornography. “Bird Mad Girl” (often stylized as “Birdmad Girl”) revealed the band’s new pop sensibility with Smith’s direct vocal approach. The rhythm was jauntier, and while the guitar was consistent to The Cure’s prior sound, it was more subtle and less pained and tragic, sounding like it was being played in a park on a sunny day rather than in a pounding maelstrom. “Dressing Up” displayed the lighter, fun, and new wave approach to keyboards in their new vibe. “Piggy in the Mirror” was a great song that brought all the elements of the refurbished Cure into focus, as melody, rhythm, expressive and not oppressive vocals, and a light guitar carried the tune within a smart composition. I loved how the song finished with the staccato delivery of the lyrics and synths, creating a lovely tension that showed while it was pop music, there was still something truly creative going on.
Phil Thornalley, Porl Thompson, Robert Smith, Andy Anderson, Lol Tolhurst
The Top was their second UK top ten LP in a row. In the US, The Cure remained mired at the bottom of the charts, barely cracking the top two hundred. However, they thrived on college and alternative radio, such as CFNY in Toronto, where The Cure were mainstays. The Top was #23 in the CFNY year-end album chart in 1984. “The Caterpillar” was another UK top twenty but did less well internationally than the recent singles. Regardless, the album, though a bit disjointed and incohesive as a work, did its job in saving the band from itself and opening it up to a future that did not depend on despondent goths looking for music in which to gloomily brood.
“The Blood”; “Push”; “The Baby Screams” \ The Head on the Door (1985)
The Cure welcomed back two alumni as they prepared for the next album. Porl Thompson, an original member who had recently played sax on The Top, returned as a full-time member on guitar and keyboards. Simon Gallup made amends with Robert and returned on bass. Boris Williams also joined to replace Andy Anderson on drums, an important change that altered the band’s sound with new percussive creativity and expression. The band was now a quintet of Smith, Tolhurst, Gallup, Thompson, and Williams, and together they produced The Cure’s most accessible album yet, 1985’s The Head on the Door. It was also the first (and one of the few) Cure albums to be solely written by Smith.
These are a few of the albums, in addition to The Head on the Door, that I listened to the most in ‘84-‘85 that formed the basis of my musical tastes today.
The Psychedelic Furs – Mirror Moves
Ultravox – Lament
Depeche Mode – Some Great Reward
U2 – The Unforgettable Fire
Simple Minds – Sparkle in the Rain
New Order – Low-Life
The Smiths – Meat Is Murder
Love and Rockets – Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven
The Damned – Phantasmagoria
The Waterboys – This is the Sea
Tears for Fears – Songs from the Big Chair
China Crisis – Flaunt the Imperfection
INXS – Listen Like Thieves
This album was a major presence in my life since its release coincided with my full turn into less popular music. I was in grade ten, fifteen years old, and already fascinated with The Cure from having listened to Pornography over the prior two years. It was my first Cure purchase and was a staple on my turntable that year along with those listed to the side. 1984-85 were huge years for me in cementing my love for music and establishing the deep trenches of my musical preferences, and The Cure was a primary influence.
The Head on the Door opened with the lead single, the amazing, New Order-like “In Between Days.” It was a straight-ahead pop-rock tune blended with the usual character that Robert Smith’s voice infused into every Cure song. Williams’ drumming was an immediate and noticeable change to the sound. The energy, pop melody, and absence of any serious dark turns set the new tone for the band. Which was not to say there wasn’t any darkness on the album. In many respects, the band managed to find a balance between the new pop of The Top and the dark elements of the second through fourth albums. “Kyoto Song” was a good example of how those came together, flavoured with a far east tone. “A Night Like This” was another pop-rock song.
The highlight from the album was undoubtedly the second single, “Close to Me,” which immediately rose the ranks to become one of The Cure’s best and most popular songs. It was accompanied by a great video of the band crammed inside a wardrobe perched on the edge of cliff, which then toppled into the sea and filled with water, perfectly encapsulating the tension the song evoked. It was a simple yet smartly crafted tune, playing on a hypnotic rhythm of bass and drums with the melody, as always, riding on Smith’s distinct vocal. And while the band wasn’t yet getting attention on prominent radio stations in North America, the video (along with that of “The Love Cats”) helped establish them on MTV and MuchMusic.
The album’s various elements are heard in the three selected playlist songs. “The Blood” has a Spanish guitar running through it, carrying energy and a pop feel through it, while “The Baby Screams” brought the dark into the mix along with a swirling, bass and guitar rock mix. “Push” was similar to “In Between Days” as a guitar-driven, pop-rock tune with energetic drum fills.
The album closed with the song, “Sinking,” breaking the tradition of finishing with the title track, probably because the LP didn’t have one. The title was lifted from a lyric in, “Close to Me”: “But if I had your faith / Then I could make it safe and clean / If only I was sure / That my head on the door was a dream.” What was interesting in “Sinking” was that it foretold the lusher, dark synth-pop that would be the hallmark of the band’s return to darker music two albums later.
The Head on the Door wasn’t a huge breakthrough for The Cure, but it did reach #7 on the UK charts to establish a new highwater mark for them. “In Between Days” reached #15, marking the fourth consecutive top twenty single in the UK. “Close to Me” reached the top ten in Australia and the album was the #2 album on CFNY’s year-end chart in 1985 (right behind New Order’s, Low Life). It ranks as one of the band’s best (yet often overlooked) albums and, outside of the moody releases of their early career, the first to present a cohesive new pop sound that balanced the dark with the light.
“The Perfect Girl” \ Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
In 1986, a compilation of the band’s singles was released, capitalizing on their growing audience and to introduce many to the many great songs in the band’s catalogue. Standing on a Beach-The Singles (alternatively titled Staring at the Sea in CD format and in some countries) went to #4 in the UK chart, a new high, and reached #48 in the US, achieving a long-awaited breakthrough in that region. They also issued a great concert video, The Cure in Orange, capturing performances in France from August 1986 that revealed what a fantastic live act The Cure were, especially given the impressive array of songs they could trot out.
Smith's scandalous haircut and clothing with - gasp! - colour
Also of note in 1986 was that Robert Smith cut his hair and started wearing colour, though the lipstick remained. It isn’t normally the kind of detail I include in a music profile, but the attention this garnered likely helped promote the band since it was such a shock to fans, media, and casual observers. His hair drew more attention than the music. The new look did not last long and Smith returned to the bird’s nest hairstyle and black ensembles.
Everything was primed for the next album and for The Cure to establish itself as a leading act in the rock world. While I consider the seventh album, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, to be one of their weakest and least interesting… of course that meant it was a commercial success and one of the most beloved by Cure fans. For certain, any album that contained such an enjoyable alt-pop song as, “Just Like Heaven”, could not be that bad. But then you got to the likes of, “Hot Hot Hot!!!”, and, “Why Can’t I Be You?”, and that goodwill was lost for someone like me, who established a relationship with the band via their early, moody textures. Along with a decent fourth single, “Catch,” the moderate success of these songs explained why this, a double album no less, was the band’s first hit LP, hitting the top ten in charts around the world and #35 in the US.
It opened with the indulgent and boring “The Kiss” before meandering through a variety of light pop songs that gave little indication this was the same band that had ever produced the likes of Pornography, now just five years in the rear-view mirror. Towards the end of the album there was, “The Perfect Girl”, a song that still embodied the quirkiness and character of a Cure we could recognize. In the end, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me was a good example of why double albums are always a risky and generally inadvisable endeavour.
“Closedown”; “Prayers for Rain” \ Disintegration (1989)
In 1988, their tenth year, Robert Smith was again struggling with The Cure’s identity. He had changed the band’s direction twice before, first pivoting away from punk into new wave and goth, then rescuing them from despair with three albums of pop and a sudden thrust into the limelight. He had cut his hair to rebel against the fascination with his ‘hair and lipstick’ look and then was annoyed at the attention that garnered. And while the band was now playing larger venues and selling stacks of records, the seriousness of The Cure had been lost, and its leader, who was approaching his thirtieth birthday, was yearning to make something meaningful again and loosen the shackles of stardom.
Rather than strike out in yet another musical direction, he chose to return to the music that had forged the band’s original identity – the dark, swirling mass of passion and angst of their early albums. This time, the music would be crafted less from suffering but drawn from a more positive view. The result was Disintegration, the band’s most lauded and best-selling album of their career.
The Cure was still the quintet that had recorded the prior two albums, but Lol Tolhurst was in a bad way with drugs and couldn’t hold it together for performances or recording. He had been replaced on the previous tour by Roger O’Donnell on keyboards. Smith had to make the difficult decision to kick Lol out of the band, leaving Robert as the only original member remaining in the line-up. So, while Tolhurst appeared in the credits for the album, in actuality he did not contribute.
Disintegration was a beautiful album. It was lush and sprawling yet moody and atmospheric, drawing from the immediacy of The Head on the Door but the ambience of Seventeen Seconds. It was filled with rich guitar, bass, and keyboards to create epic compositions. Eight of the twelve songs were over five minutes long, which was very different than prior LPs.
The album featured four singles, the first was “Lullaby” which reached #5 in the UK to be the band’s second top ten single. It also cracked the top ten in several other countries and peaked at #74 in the US. The next single was a North American release only, “Fascination Street,” and immediately identified itself as one of the band’s best rockers. The third single was, “Lovesong”, which perhaps caught the band by surprise when it vaulted to #2 on the US singles chart, far better than the #18 spot it achieved in the UK (it was a throwaway song Robert wrote for his wife and only included on the album as a lighter interlude to the other tracks). This was followed by, “Pictures of You”, in early 1990 and the cumulative result was an album that peaked at #3 in the UK and #12 in the US. Disintegration was by far the most successful album yet for The Cure. Many tend to give this album the nod as their greatest work. Me, I find it lovely but a bit dull overall. I still get more of a rise out of Pornography.
Disintegration Cure: Roger O'Donnell, Robert Smith, Porl Thompson, Simon Gallup, Boris Williams
You can hear what I mean in the two songs, “Closedown” and “Prayers for Rain.” There is a similarity of sound and texture on these songs that was present throughout the album. They’re great songs, as were all the others, and as an album it was a complete and unified work, but within that achievement there was a lack of edge that rendered it a little too safe for a Cure LP, especially if it was trying to shake the pop casualness of the recent work and return to something of consideration. The album achieved that – this was modern rock for adults more so than any of their previous releases – but how often does ‘adult music’ push boundaries? Disintegration, though, certainly had one thing going for it, and that was in 1989 there was not a lot of great modern rock going on, so this album was a giant in that respect. All that would change starting the following year.
“Open”; “Doing the Unstuck”; “End” \ Wish (1992)
By the release of their next album in 1992, alternative music had broken through thanks to grunge, and veteran bands like The Cure struggled to reap benefits before being cast aside as a relic of the past decade. They had released a remix album in 1990, Mixed Up, that included a new single, “Never Enough,” which reached the top twenty in the UK and kept The Cure in the popular consciousness. That helped set the band up for the Wish album, which was their first #1 album in the UK and reached #2 in the US – surprising results given The Cure were playing against the tides of the time. It was their best charting album, though would not equal Disintegration in sales. The Cure were touring in stadiums and I saw them at The Skydome in Toronto, with the great band, The Cranes, as the opening act.
The new album again saw a line-up change, as Perry Bamonte replaced Roger O’Donnell. It seems to me that other than Smith, The Cure has always been a jumble of participants, but the band had more constancy than it appeared. Wish was the fourth consecutive album recorded with the core of Smith, Gallup, Thompson, and Williams. Additionally, Gallup had now played on six of the nine albums, Lol Tolhurst had been on seven (not including Disintegration), and Porl Thompson had played on six. The Cure was more of a band than it appeared, which often seemed no more than Robert Smith’s backing act. That said, it was coming apart on this album. Smith has said that this album felt like it was his and the others were just playing on it.
I think Wish vies with The Head on the Door as their second-best album and probably their most pleasant, accessible, and consistent listen from start to finish both in tone and quality. Smith has also expressed it’s his second favourite after Bloodflowers (he seems to rate the albums by how enjoyable they were to record).
Simon Gallup (top) & Porl Thompson (below)
While the image of the The Cure is forever linked to Robert Smith, the other longtime members have had their own evolving styles over the years that have also contributed to the band's look.
Wish suffered a bit from the sameness problem that Disintegration had, but it was another rich and well-produced LP. Featuring again long and fulsome compositions, there were so many songs to get lost in throughout the album. What also caught many by surprise were the unabashed pop moments, such as “Doing the Unstuck,” and especially the hit single, “Friday I’m In Love,” which was easily the band’s most approachable song. It and the lead single, “High,” both cracked the top ten in the UK. “Friday I’m in Love” also reached the top twenty in the US, the second-best result after the surprise of “Lovesong”. It was also a song that drove the final nail in the coffin for fans of the band’s dark sound, which Robert would have to work to win back years later.
This playlist includes the album’s opening and closing tracks – appropriately titled “Open” and “End” – to capture the newer, fresher, and broader sound The Cure had evolved into through Disintegration and Wish. “End” was especially a huge song, drawing on some of The Cure’s signature moodiness but propelled by the snarling guitars and energetic drumming of their later, rock-edged sound. These were songs tailor-made for large venues, and the band made the most of them to put on fantastic shows.
“This Is A Lie”; “Round & Round & Round”; “Return” \ Wild Mood Swings (1996) – YouTube playlist only
After releasing eight albums over their first eleven years, by 1996 the band had only released one album in the previous seven. Despite the success of Wish, The Cure were no longer a relevant and compelling band to audiences by the latter half of the 1990s. The core of the band was also coming apart as Thompson and Williams left to join other acts, leaving just Robert and Perry Bamonte to carry forward.
In the four years before the next album, a few songs were issued. They contributed a fantastic cover of, “Purple Haze”, to the splendid tribute album, Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Songs were also provided for movies, first, “Burn”, for The Crow and then, “Dredd Song”, as the theme for Judge Dredd. A new album was finally embarked in 1994, and Simon Gallup and Roger O’Donnell rejoined to fill out the line-up as well as newcomer Jason Cooper on drums.
Wild Mood Swings, finally released in 1996, was a better album than it is given credit. Yet, after Disintegration and Wish, it was a definite step down. The lush arrangements of those prior albums were largely abandoned and some of the eclectic pop sounds of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me returned, but with a little more ‘90s rock edge because grunge, and now Britpop, happened and could not be ignored. The album lacked songs that engaged in the way Cure fans expected, and there was a noticeable lack of bass and deeper registers on the album; though Smith sang in deeper tones in many places which was different for him. Overall, the album suffered from the same issues as Kiss Me, it was too disjointed and varied and nothing clicked. There were good songs for sure, but the album could not be easily heard through in the way of the other LPs. It seemed Smith could not locate the sweet spot between the sameness of the prior albums, which mined a great, modern rock sound, versus trying for some variety with consistent quality. Full points for trying, and I’ll take this album over Kiss Me.
Every Cure album had sold more than the last until this one. Despite releasing four singles, starting with “The 13th,” a salsa flavoured, horn-filled piece that was a departure from the traditional Cure sound (it’s a good song, and points to Smith for mixing it up all the same), the album peaked quickly and then faded. The first two singles (“Mint Car” was the second) both cracked the top twenty in the US but did poorly internationally. The album also cracked the top ten in the UK and the US, but overall sales paled compared to the prior four releases. The Cure were no longer a leading act of modern rock and were slipping inevitably into the veteran’s bracket.
“The Last Day of Summer”; “Bloodflowers” \ Bloodflowers (2000)
Perhaps dismayed by the drop in sales, the band’s label released Galore, a greatest hits album covering 1987 to 1997. It contained a new single, “Wrong Number,” which included long-time David Bowie band member, Reeves Gabrels, on guitar. Unlike their past compilations, Galore did not sell well. In 1998, two more songs were issued, another tribute contribution, “World In My Eyes,” which was on For the Masses, a Depeche Mode tribute; and then “More than This,” a new song on the soundtrack to The X-Files.
History repeated itself as, after a lighter album and with the band seemingly breaking apart, Smith sought to issue another defining, important recording. The result was, Bloodflowers, which Smith declared as a completion of a trinity with Pornography and Disintegration. And while musically and contextually the comparison was apt, the classification felt contrived to assign gravitas and interest to The Cure fans that were lost during the ‘90s. There had never been mention of a trilogy before or even of any connection between Pornography and Disintegration, but who am I to question Robert Smith on his own music?
Bloodflowers was a solid album and unquestionably drawn musically from the same well as those darker Cure LPs. The lush sounds were back with the deep, resonant basslines and the long, drawn-out jams. Every song but one ran over five minutes with one clocking in over eleven (Smith kept the track listing to nine songs to try and contain the overall album length, but it still came in over an hour). The album seemed to be a pet of Smith’s and he’s expressed satisfaction at having been able to make another dark Cure album without bringing the band into a pit of despair.
The album issued no singles, and indeed it is not easy to pull songs out of the overall composition as the album settled into the same consistent groove in the way Disintegration and Wish had. “The Last Day of Summer”, and, “Bloodflowers”, are two of the better and more accessible songs that provided the feel and sound of the album.
The challenge, with the band now in its twenty-second year and on its eleventh LP, was creating something new. Being The Cure has always been an albatross for The Cure – masters and prisoners of their distinct sound and look. Combine that with the continued fracturing of music genres, the rise of competing genres such as hip hop, the demise of rock as a dominant form, and the commodification of music through online sharing, and Bloodflowers could not re-establish The Cure as a top-selling act.
They did, however, embrace touring and headlining festivals, and since then it has not been hard to catch The Cure coming through town at least every two to three years. They have also taken to doing extended shows, and for Bloodflowers performed three separate ‘trilogy’ shows in which the three albums were played in their entirety – which would have been cool if not completely dispiriting (the Berlin shows were issued as a DVD in 2003).
“Labyrinth”; “Before Three”; “I Don't Know What's Going On” \ The Cure (2004)
“Underneath the Stars”; “The Hungry Ghost”; “This. Here and Now. With You.” \ 4:13 Dream (2008)
The new century has seen two more Cure albums, both of which were very solid and drew on the signature Cure sound that was not as dark as the trilogy albums, but not as light or varied as Kiss Me or Wild Mood Swings. In this regard, the new albums compared favourably to, The Head on the Door. The one difference was, influenced by the small resurgence in rock bands and particularly bands influenced by The Cure (e.g. Interpol, The Killers), the albums had a heavier edge and the guitar was less grandiose and a little more urgent.
Jason Cooper, Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Roger O'Donnell, Perry Bamonte
The 2004 album, The Cure (why not wait until your twelfth album to release a self-titled LP?), found a receptive audience and was buoyed by younger audiences discovering older music through the current acts. The album cracked the top ten in the UK and the US. 4:13 Dream, however, came later in 2008 when rock was dying again and thus did less well. What is odd is The Cure seemed more successful in North America now than in the UK.
The albums have many great songs and solid singles such as “The End of the World,” “alt.end,” and “The Perfect Boy.” Of course, none did much on the charts but in these modern times that doesn’t mean much (though oddly three of the singles from 4:13 Dream went to #1 in Spain, while the fourth reached #2. Good promotion there?). The band continued to tour regularly, playing always to large audiences. In 2013, on Robert’s fifty-fourth birthday, the band played an epic, four-hour show of fifty songs in Mexico City. It seems these days Robert is willing to give fans what they want, and then some.
The Cure was recorded with largely the same line-up as Wild Mood Swings and Bloodflowers, but 4:13 Dream saw the departure of Bamonte and O’Donnell and the return of Porl Thompson, which reunited three of The Cure’s longest serving band members: Smith, Gallup & Thompson. On tour, the band was also been joined by Tolhurst and Gabrels. Smith seemed to now have a stable of old friends and bandmates that interchangeably came together and could effortlessly settle into The Cure. It is a unique and fascinating culture of a band.
Gabrels, Cooper, O'Donnell, Smith, Gallup
As The Cure takes the stage for their fortieth anniversary (not sure who will be in the line-up at this point, though seems likely to be Smith, Gallup, O’Donnell, Cooper, and Gabrels) they will do so as giants of the modern rock era. They have not released new music in ten years, and it is not certain if that will happen, but they continue to tour regularly. As it goes for other acts of their tenure, The Cure are beholden to their history, their deeply ingrained identity, long-held relationship with their fans, and their distinct and rich sound molded over thirteen impressive albums.
Likewise, there is Robert Smith and his instantly identifiable, iconic and charismatic voice, possibly only slightly less recognized than his signature look of ‘hair and lipstick.’ Now worn on his weightier, middle-aged frame, the look is perhaps open as much to ridicule as appreciation (check out Sean Penn doing a turn as a recluse, Smith-like character travelling rural America in the movie, This Must Be the Place). But The Cure simply would not be The Cure without ‘the look’. Smith has always been an enigma and deserves most of the credit for what The Cure has done. He is, as he sang on the last song on this playlist, “Oh please don’t ask me who I am / Or when and where my life began / Or why I ended up like this or how / Don’t ask me what I was before / If I was anything at all / It’s nothing you can know about me now.”
If it is hard to discern exactly who Robert Smith is or what The Cure has been – broody, dark rockers or a light and expressive pop act – it has been satisfying enough to just revel in their sound and enjoy the deep treasure of songs they have given us, whatever your preference. And if the Cure is beholden to its look and sound, so is modern rock beholden to the influence and legacy of this band.
UPDATE November 2025
After this profile was published in June 2018, the band indeed played their fortieth anniversary. The line-up at the time was Smith, Gabrels, Gallup, O’Donnell, and Cooper. Since then, Perry Bamonte returned for a brief stint from 2022 to 2024, but otherwise there were no changes. It’s hard to believe Jason Cooper has been part of the band now for twenty years, making him one of the longest serving members.
The Cure being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019
As is now usual for a legacy band such as The Cure, releases have mostly been focused on re-issues, remixes, and live recordings. The band was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, and reflective of their varied history, included no less than ten members: Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Lol Tolhurst, Porl Thompson, Michael Dempsey, Roger O’Donnell, Jason Cooper, Perry Bamonte, Reeves Gabrels, and Boris Williams.
In 2024, with some surprise and much fanfare, The Cure issued its fourteenth album, and extended sixteen years since the prior LP. Songs of A Lost World was critically acclaimed and embraced by fans. It was only the second LP, along with The Head on the Door, to be completely written by Smith. The band launched the LP with two live shows broadcast on the BBC and a third live-streamed globally. They then toured globally.
The album was consistent with the sound well-established from Wish and developed through the prior three LPs. With five of eight songs over six minutes in length, the approach was extended jams in the usual, rich, Cure groove. “Drone: Nodrone” is added to the playlist, selected as an example of the one newer facet of the LP, that of a more muscular, almost industrial, edge to the bass tone. This appeared on a few tracks in the middle of the LP, breaking up the smoother, more lush feel of the other songs.
Whether it was a longing for new music from them or nostalgia, The Cure enjoyed a celebratory response to their return. The response oversold the new music, but it was understandable why fans of their sound embraced it. The question now is, what next? Robert has hinted at another LP and the prospect of retiring The Cure in 2029, the fiftieth anniversary of the first release and when Smith will also reach his seventies. We will wait and see, with no doubt a legion of fans will eagerly embrace what comes.
