Thursday, March 6, 2008

New album article from Blender

Sorry, I missed this one a few weeks ago. From Blender:

In The Studio: Cure

Goth-rock mopesters the Cure get cheery on their 13th album.
Josh Eells
Blender February 19 2008

Attention all Cure fans: Better find some wood to knock on. For their 13th studio album (and first in four years) the U.K. miserablists are basically telling bad luck to suck it—prepping two discs comprising 13 tracks each, with “13” imagery running throughout. “I have never been superstitious,” singer Robert Smith says. “Full moons are my favorite.”

The godfathers of gloom have been recording the album since last summer, when they decamped to an old converted farmhouse—Smith calls it “lived-in”—in the English countryside. “There’s a garden outside, and stables,” he says. “It’s quite genteel.” It’s also just a few miles from the icy waters of the English Channel. Has Smith applied his waterproof guyliner and gone for a dip? “I’ve looked at it,” he says, chuckling. “I’m not much of a swimmer. Only after a few beers.”


Although the album features its fair share of despair (Smith calls “Christmas Without You,” about the death of a close friend, “one of the most unhappy things we’ve ever recorded”), he says it is, on the whole, “more upbeat.” The fastest songs are “manic psycho rock,” and “Don’t Say Anything” stars a colorful cast of aliens and freaks.

“It’s been a fun couple of months,” Smith says. “Certainly the most fun I’ve ever had in a studio.” Might the black-clad master of melancholy actually be approaching (gasp) happiness? He laughs. “I’ll be happy when it’s done.”

All About Our Album
Producer: Robert Smith
Studio: Parkgate Studio, Battle, England
Last Album: The Cure, 2004
New Album: As yet untitled, due this spring

18 comments:

  1. Well, it'd be nice if he dropped the black eye makeup, he kind of looks like a clown. After, the last few albums I don't really have the expectations I did when I was young. I didn't really like 'The Cure' or 'Wild Mood Swings', but I did and do like 'Blood Flowers'. I'm still hopeful though. I'm also curious to see what Porl will bring to the later stages of The Cure.

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  2. just get it over with and get the new album out!!!!

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  3. I never understood what is the problem with WMS for many. I think somebody just started the whole hating WMS wagon and everybody seems to be jumping this "Someone else´s train". Maybe people would be better off actually listening to the album. It is as much a Cure album as Wish or disintegration was or Kiss me kiss me kiss me for that matter. It is not like The Cure where the dislikes are obvious. Get over it already...

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  4. I agree that WMS does get a hard-wrap and doesn't deserve criticism it gets. I think people were just pissed it was the first album without Porl or Boris and called it crap without really being able to enjoy the album.

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  5. Oh, man! 13 tracks each! I'm so excited. I was worried they'd just release a single disc and do some silly upload of mp3s. I don't personally mind the wait. I'm kinda like Robert in wanting things to be perfect. Right now I'm taking forever on my course work to just get everything right. I don't think they should rush things. They've finally got Porl back. They should make this the best Cure album since BEFORE "Wish" for once! The best and most original kinds of melodies. I can't wait, but I'm willing to wait, too!

    Regarding the WMS thing, I didn't know anything about The Cure's member line-up change. I just bought the album -- my first new album purchase -- having spent the previous 3 years getting into and buying past Cure albums -- and was extremely optimistic, but it never gelled with me in the end. I wasn't biased. The singles, while admirably complex and new (except the awful "Mint Car") just didn't do anything for me. "Bare" has beautiful lyrics, but the melody was dull. It just didn't match up, I think. "Adonais" is pretty damn catchy, though. It's should be used as background music for film trailers!

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  6. WMS suffered the same problem as The Cure: a VERY bizarre tracklist, with some B-sides that easily surpass a few of the A-sides.

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  7. agreed. if they left off 4 or 5 songs from wms and added the much superior b-sides the album would have been a classic.

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  8. First of all, don't believe anything you read in Blender - it's a crap magazine done by the same shitty people as Maxim. Do you know they review albums without ever listening to them? When called on it recently after slamming the latest Black Crowes album (a bad review without having ever heard a note of it) they said it was "an educated guess." These people are hacks. Don't support crap like that.

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  9. oh, and second of all (and lastly I geuss, for now anyway) the new album is gonna be great! and WMS is great! Don't complain about "bizarre track listing" when the title of the album is Wild MOod Swings... you're not paying attention.

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  10. I'm not holding my breath. I just remember it took four years to put out "The Cure" in 2004. So I'm not giving any thought to the idea that just because they are taking a long time means its going to be a great album.

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  11. Oi!! What's with the photo?!?? Are Roger and Teddy back in or does Blender not have any recent photos??

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  12. I had no idea Blender was so awful. The good thing about the new album is that Ross Robinson isn't producing and endangering people's safety. I think I read that Robert won't be singing the vocals live, right? I hope so. I want more subtle singing with overdubs. No more painful shouting, unless it's for "Us or Them".

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  13. About WMS:

    I think it's much lower to their previous albums. It's the first Cure album I was disappointed in. But I prefer it over "The Cure".

    As others shave said, with some B-sides included as A-sides (It Used To Be Me, Adonais and Ocean) and some A-sides turned into B-sides, it would have been better. Overall though, it's too pop and lacks depth.

    Say, something like that would have been better (but still below their standards):

    Want
    Club America
    This Is A Lie
    Mint Car (I used to hate it, now I think it's a damn good pop song, I can't help but whistle it when I'm high-spirited)
    It Used to Be Me
    Ocean
    Adonais
    Treasure
    Trap
    Bare

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  14. honestly classic Cure ends with Wish (I don't care about band personnel changes). WMS is ok (b sides VS. a sides etc...) Bloodflowers is rather pathetic (oh, i'm 39 boo hoo). The Cure is a decent record (same argument as WMS though, especially since This Morning is the best Cure track post Wish). Compare The Cure's output from 1978 to 1992, then 1993 to 2008. They are past their prime (and have released 1/4 of the albums)

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  15. "honestly classic Cure ends with Wish..."

    I'll agree with this. Why did so many bands that made their careers in the 80's seem to peek at or around 1988-89? The Cure had Disintegration, New Order had Technique, Siouxsie had Peepshow, Depeche had Violator, etc... The next album after all of these were "good" and then the rest just...ok.

    Were these not the pinnacle of these band's careers? Or were these just great albums to me because I was starting college, booze, and sex at that time?

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  16. I agree with the fact that what the Cure did up to Wish is way better than what has come afterwards. Of course it's disputable and depends on personal taste to a certain extent, but I have heard lots of other fans who share the same opinion.

    As fas as great 80's bands having their peek at the end of the decade or in early 90's... it might be... Don't know...
    Personally I think Depeche Mode have done cool stuff afterwards too. Their last album, for instance, is one of their best in my opinion. Still, Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion are my favourites.

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  17. Honestly kind of looking forward to the new album. I love Wild Mood Swings and I love Bloodflowers also. I've only seen the band once during the Curiosa tour. Although this tour was good I felt like I missed out becuase of the fact that they didn't play their usual 3 hour sets. I do have a ticket to the rescheduled May 15th show in Toronto, which I am so very much so looking forward to. I think that everyone should wait until the album comes out to see if it's good or not. Who knows we may all be very surprised by it. Besides WMS has some great songs on it, Want, Treasure, This is a lie, Bare it's a fairly solid disc. And I challenge anyone to come up with a better album then bloodflowers in terms of quality on a "shorter" album.

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  18. hey ho - we spent a few days in Battle last year. nice old place... certainly a bit lived in, haha. fun to imagine the Cure recording around there...

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