The Cure will return this week with a new song, their first in 16 years, and the first sure sign of a studio return from the band, who have been looming since at least 2019. “Alone”, the band’s lead single. the album is called Songs of the lost worldwill arrive after the premiere of Mary Ann Hobbs’ BBC 6 music radio program on Thursday morning at 7 Eastern. Listen to a snippet on the band’s social media and scroll down to see the cover art.
From their last album in 2008 4:13 DreamThe Cure has consistently toured, attended award shows and spoken to the press, often hinting at new music. False alarms started in earnest in 2014 when they said its sequel 4:13 Dreamtitled 4:14 Scream!would be released and packaged with its predecessor. After making the announcement, Robert Smith recorded the record, then re-released it and ultimately decided it would never be released. Finally, the band’s promised return to the studio did materialize in 2014, albeit in the form of a cover of the Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye” for a Paul McCartney tribute LP.
In 2019, Smith announced that the Cure had entered the studio and recorded 19 songs between 10 and 12 minutes long, later said to comprise two albums. “We will finish [an album] before we begin [touring] in the summer, and the summer will mix,” he said Rolling Stone that battle. A few months later, he admitted that several re-recordings were in the works, but insisted he would be “extremely bitter” if the 2019 release date didn’t happen.
The following February, when asked to confirm that the album would arrive that year, he replied: “No. I’m too old to do stupid things like that.” Two years passed, mostly during the pandemic. Smith eventually scoffed Songs of the lost world title in 2022 and introduced several new songs to the set list. Two of these, ‘And Nothing Is Forever’ and ‘I Can Never Say Goodbye’, will be released as live singles this November.
The latest news about the album had a ring of truth. in the modern tradition of major releases, the band sent out mystery cards to fans, updated their social media logos and put up an album release flyer in their hometown pub in Crawley. A mysterious website, www.songsofalost.world, was launched this month, opening on November 1, 2024 in Roman numerals. Previously blank except for a sculpted head, the site now hosts the same song preview as the band’s social media sites.