The Audio Perv

A wave of nostalgia crashes over me as I listen to the first track “Underneath The Stars”. The instrumental build-up and the sweeping crescendo of other legendary album openers. It reminds you why you love The Cure. This would be a great song for them to open a show with (Checking The Cure’s setlists from their tour this year, it turns out that they have been opening with this song).

Although I was merely a baby when The Cure were at their peak, I became a fan thanks to the influence of my sister, who loved Robert Smith, the lead singer of The Cure. Robert Smith’s aching, emotionally wrought voice is still there. It carries the first half of the CD. The second track “The Only One” brings back memories of older Cure songs like “Friday I’m In Love”. A surprising standout track is “The Real Snow White” which wasn’t released as one of the album’s four singles. It’s a bit of an attempt at modern emo/pop rock which somehow carries. It feels like All American Rejects if they were more mature. Otherwise, the first half of the album hits the same emotional chord and seem to blend together except for “Freakshow” which has a bit too much cowbell. Unfortunately, the second half of the disc is mostly filler where the band seems to have grown bored with the whole dream theme. It sorta just drags on without any real direction.

It’s hard to listen to a Cure album and do anything else because the music does dominate and commands your attention. I had to drive around for an hour twice to fully accept the album. This record is The Cure formula at work trying to go somewhere new. It almost seems as if Robert Smith is happy. We like that.

B+ for nostalgia
C+ for creativity
B- for overall enjoyment

Recommendation: Borrow your friend’s copy or buy it cheap.
Download: Underneath the Stars/The Real Snow White