Hi, everyone. Wellthony Craptano here, the Internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of the new Cure album, Songs of a Lost World.

Yes, here we have the first full-length studio album in 16 years from the legendary influential UK band The Cure, a group that arguably changed the alternative music game with contributions that essentially went on to influence the fields of Gothic rock, new wave, as well as post-punk, and a host of other genres, too. Truth be told, few bands truly have it all in the way that The Cure does. Influence, a signature sound, a large and versatile discography, as well as hits that have such intense popularity that they transcend the band itself. I mean, "Friday I'm in Love"? Come on. You're lucky as an artist if over the course of your career, you achieve one of these things.

Over the course of three decades, Robert Smith and company essentially gained so much cred and staying power that they were essentially able to call it quits more or less in the late 2000s. After dropping a couple of records whose biggest problems were really just featuring some dodgy mastering in production, even if these records were far from the Cure's best, in retrospect, there was something wild and liberating about how raw their sounds were.

Plus, some of the song ideas were certainly less hair-brained than the bland guitar tones and ill-fitting arrangements that surrounded many tracks on Wild Mood Swings.

I digress, though, because the strength of The Cure's most classic albums are certainly more than enough to make up for a weak third act in their catalog. Robert Smith is stellar enough of a songwriter to have me holding out hope for a great comeback after 16 years of studio album silence. With that being said, though, I still think Songs of a Lost World faces many of the same questions and hurdles that many comeback albums do. Like, why is the band returning after so long? Will this record be plagued by nostalgia and a need to feed into fan expectations? Will they relive the sorts of sounds that the group is most celebrated for? And will the writing and production still be on point after so long?

And after hearing the first single "Alone", I was certainly concerned that the band might end up trying to fit a square peg through a round hole. In other words, make an attempt to bring back an older sound or vibe or aesthetic of theirs with production that felt stiff and lifeless and artificial, maybe even plain. Because while "Alone" itself, I don't think is a bad song at its core, still, though, the airy synth chords rigidly changing back and forth in the of the track are just so boring. The ultra-distorted, heavy, crunchy bass guitar sticks out like a sore thumb, and the drums are crisp and harsh to the point where that gated sound and presentation that they have is just grading.

I mean, I think Cure wouldn't be the first band to miss the mark when it comes to trying to bring back the sounds and aesthetics of the '80s. Something weirdly that a lot of newer underground goth artists who are obsessed with the past do better. But yeah, there was something about the sound of this track that, to my ears, came across stale as well as unflattering.

Thankfully, this track, though, is maybe the worst offender in the tracklist, followed up very closely by "I Can Never Say Goodbye", whose monolithic layers of guitars and synths are just so mushy with compression. But across the board, I will say, generally, I think the sound of this album could have been better. It could have been richer and more vibrant in a way that actually brings the mournful intentions behind songs to life. I just don't think the dynamics on these tracks are all that great, to the point where the recordings are left feeling very saturated and claustrophobic in a way that reminds me of the band's 2000 album, Bloodflowers. Though I'm sure you will hear people who are praising the hell out of this record, comparing it to the oppressive sounds of Pornography instead.

Comparisons and production aside, though, I still think Songs of a Lost World is in a lane of its own. It's very much its own album and its own experience. It is decidedly one of the Cure's moodiest projects to date, with many lyrical themes revolving around dying or being on the way out, the end or end times, as well as the forsaken world we live in. Or maybe you could frame it as Robert Smith attempting to do what he can to give the band a proper send-off of sorts.

To make one final statement while we're still existing in a musical and cultural paradigm in which their sound and influence is relevant: There are tracks where these feelings of impermanence and the world moving on without you are really at the forefront – "Alone", like I mentioned earlier. There are others where these feelings are maybe playing second fiddle a little bit more but are still impacting the narrative and vibes of the song, like on the following, "And Nothing is Forever", which comparatively is one of the hookiest and most whimsical songs on the entire record. Really a love song of even if it's not overtly romantic in tone. But it's really a track about needing these feelings of care and connection during a time when you feel like the end is near or the world you once knew is dying and fading away.

Meanwhile, "A Fragile Thing" is all about mourning the loss of a love that was broken or got off track. Essentially, there's nothing you can do to get it back or fix it as attempts to reconcile. Just leave things feeling fake and unfulfilling. Which, I mean, you could even read this as a commentary of Robert Smith engaging in music, popular music, the music industry, the process of coming out with new albums and performing as an artist or as a part of the cure on the whole.

And while I do feel like the instrumental, once again, on this track leaves a lot to be desired, the following "War Song" is one of the few moments on the record where this distorted bass, the saturated mix, the dramatic embellishments actually make sense and complement the tune really well as it is such a heavy, despondent, slow-burning rocker. It's a song whose abrasive sound makes sense given Smith's lyrics. Humanity's cycle of self-abuse through hatred and war and shame.

We also have "Drone:Nodrone", which I think serves as a decent centerpiece on the record. A groovy meditation, a visceral pick me up that is all about recollection and confusion and to an extent, disorientation. These feelings of being lost and unsure. Robert Smith tries his best to just paint a picture of a mental haze of sorts, and I think the instrumental captures that relatively well, even if the aesthetics of the song are dated because those synths and grinding bass and whaling psych guitars are certainly on fire.

I think, though, this album's somewhat nostalgic sound is given a bit more purpose in its final moments, like with the "All I Ever Am", where Smith describes in the lyrics of the song engaging in this weary dance with age. And among other things, this track is just packed with regret, as well as ghosts and memories that are just haunting him to the point where he feels like this is all that encompasses him.

The record, fittingly, ends off with the massive and lengthy "End Song", which musically and emotionally comes across like a funeral procession, a dirge that marches off into the unknown, with lyrics about one's hopes and dreams and youth essentially just being erased by time. And the dismal feelings around this are personified perfectly by Smith's just absolutely heart-wrenching vocal performance, as well as the bleak, airy and droney palate of instrumentation hanging in the background that's reminiscent of early Cure releases like Seventeen Seconds.

But yeah, I would say overall, I feel like this record's somewhat weak start is made up for by a pretty strong finish. And while, sadly, this comeback record is plagued by very meager flat production that really could have used more balance, more nuance, more dynamics, the sound is still mostly there, and these shortcomings don't necessarily take away from the quality performances, songs, lyrics, and thematic focus across the record. And all of these things coming together still put the album over the finish line pretty handily.

So yeah, while I didn't exactly find this album mindblowing – I don't think I would place it in a top five of Cure albums for me personally – still, it is rare that you get comeback albums that are this good, as well as cohesive, which is why I'm feeling a decent to strong 7 on this one.

Anthony Fantano. The Cure. Forever.