'The End' In Sight For The Cure




The Cure's first album in four years will be a self-titled affair,
frontman Robert Smith announced last night (April 28) in New York at
the first playback of the upcoming release. "The Cure" will arrive
June 29 on producer Ross Robinson's I Am imprint via Geffen. The
group will perform first single "The End of the World" tomorrow on
NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and headline the Coachella
festival on Sunday in Indio, Calif.

"I think it's the best thing we've ever done," Smith said
proudly. "The album is called 'The Cure.' If you don't like it, then
you don't like us." Smith stood silently in the corner of the room
by himself while the 14-track album was played for about 40
journalists and guests, occasionally taking notes in preparation for
approving the final mix and running order.

The album kicks off with the slow, discordant "Lost," featuring the
first of many impassioned vocal performances from Smith. A throbbing
bass groove powers the tentatively titled "Labyrinths," with Smith
wailing, "It's not the same / it never was like this / everything
has to change."

The classic Cure sound is evident on such tracks as "Before
3," "Taking Off" and "I Don't Know What's Going On," which sport
great melodies and foot-tapping tempos. The 12th track, the
tentatively titled "Jason #3" provides the album with a late shot of
energy thanks to a clever, melodically ascending chorus.

But the album has its share of dark and intense material,
particularly the epic penultimate track "The Promise," which runs
past 10 minutes and climaxes in feedback and noise. "Us or Them"
matches its confrontational title with an emphatic chorus ("I don't
want you anywhere near me"), while "Going Nowhere" wraps things up
with sad, dreamy production accented by piano.

"There was a moment where we had to decide whether to do some
conceptual experiment with nothing over 100 [beats-per-minute], and
all of us with our heads down making a heavy, heavy album, but it
wouldn't be as good," Smith said. "The best Cure albums have a
balance."

Smith revealed that former guitarist Porl Thompson, who left the
Cure in 1993, recorded parts for a couple of tracks. At Robinson's
urging, basic tracks were recorded live, yet another throwback to an
earlier time.

"Ross wanted to record us as a band, which we really hadn't done
since the second album we ever made," Smith said. "The days would
build up into these intense periods until we'd get the song.
Everything was played live and I had to sing live."

Smith held back on giving details of the band's summer tour, which
is rumored to feature such Cure-inspired new acts as Interpol, the
Rapture and Mogwai, but promised, "You'll enjoy the whole thing
because it was put together by us."

Here is the tentative track list for "The Cure":

"Lost"
"Labyrinths" (working title)
"Before 3" (working title)
"Truth Goodness and Beauty"
"The End of the World"
"I Don't Know What's Going On"
"Taking Off"
"Anniversary"
"This Morning
"Us or Them"
"Precious Advise" (working title)
"Jason #3" (working title)
"The Promise"
"Going Nowhere"


-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.