By Olly Constantine,
Staff Writer.
The Cure’s newest album, Songs of A Lost World, was released on Nov. 1, 2024, being their first album in over a decade. The last album they released was 4:13 Dream in 2008. The band released the first song off the new album, “Alone,” as a single on Sept. 26, 2024, and later “A Fragile Thing” on Oct. 9. Most of the songs were recorded in 2019, and the album was supposed to be released then but was delayed because the band kept deciding to re-record some of the songs. Before the album was released, some of the songs were played on The Cure’s 2022-2023 tour.
The album is only 49 minutes long and contains eight 4- to 7-minute songs. The last song titled “End Song” is the longest song in the album with a run time of over ten minutes.
Songs of A Lost World is emotionally raw, being focused on themes of grief and love. Junior Kai Kee noted that the album differs in comparison to The Cure’s past albums. “It was really, really sad the entire way through. A lot of their other albums have hits like ‘Just Like Heaven,’ where they pick up the pace but I think it’s similar to, like, Disintegration, their other album, where it’s kind of just droning on and on,” said Kee, who really liked the album overall.
I personally enjoyed all of the songs on the album, but the ones that stood out to me were “A Fragile Thing,” “I Can Never Say Goodbye” and “End Song.” “A Fragile Thing” is the third song of the album and explores the fragility of love on the brink of falling apart. The sixth song of the album, “I Can Never Say Goodbye”—written for Robert Smith’s brother—is about grief but also hope despite sorrow. The introduction of the song begins with a piano which continues throughout the song and synth that sounds like a storm. “End Song” was inspired by Robert Smith’s experience of stargazing with his father when Apollo 11 landed on the moon.
Overall, Songs of a Lost World is a great album despite being different from some of The Cure’s past albums.
