The Cure have finally returned with a new album: Songs of a Lost World, the group’s first new release in 16 years, is out today via Fiction/Capitol Records.
Though it was formally announced back in September along with lead single “Alone” (which we named Song of the Week upon release), The Cure have been gearing up for Songs of a Lost World for quite a while. Frontman Robert Smith revealed to NME that their new album was titled Songs of a Lost World back in 2022, and despite not sharing any of its songs, they even embarked on the “Shows of a Lost World” tour in 2022-2023.
During that tour, The Cure debuted several new songs that would appear on the album, including “Alone,” “Endsong,” “And Nothing Is Forever,” and “I Can Never Say Goodbye” — the latter two being included on the band’s recent 12-inch eco-vinyl single, Novembre – Live in France 2022. They then swapped their social and website logos and opened a new mailing list back in early September, later sending out cryptic postcards to fans teasing Songs of a Lost World and its November 1st release date. After officially announcing the new album, they also shared the new single “A Fragile Thing.”
Songs of a Lost World, their first album since 2008’s 4:13 Dream, is now here in its entirety. All songs were written by Smith, who produced the album alongside Paul Corkett. It’s their first album with guitarist Reeves Gabrels, and also features the return of keyboardist Roger O’Donnell, who rejoined the band in 2011 and recently recovered from lymphoma. Stream Songs of a Lost World below, and purchase a bio-vinyl edition of the album here.
Though he’s likely relieved to have Songs of a Lost World finally out, Smith is still focused on completing another album from The Cure. “Seriously, I have to finish the second album,” Smith recently said in an interview. “We were going to play festivals next year, but a couple weeks ago, I decided that we weren’t going to play anything next summer. The next time we go out on stage will be autumn next year.”
The band plans to keep going until their 50th anniversary in 2029. “I’m 70 in 2029, and that’s the 50th anniversary of the first Cure album [Three Imaginary Boys],” Smith said. “If I make it that far, that’s it. In the intervening time, I’d like to include playing concerts as part of the overall plan of what we’re going to do.”
Songs of a Lost World Album Artwork:
Songs of a Lost World Tracklist:
01. Alone
02. And Nothing Is Forever
03. A Fragile Thing
04. Warsong
05. Drone:Nodrone
06. I Can Never Say Goodbye
07. All I Ever Am
08. Endsong