London (Nov. 3, 2024) — Robert Smith of The Cure has revealed that his wife, Mary Poole Smith, was instrumental in completing the tracklisting for the band’s newest album, Songs of a Lost World, which released Friday.
After a 16-year break following their 2008 record, 4:13 Dream, the album, The Cure’s 14th studio release, marks the band’s return.
For Smith, who has struggled with the deaths of his parents and brother in recent years, this long-awaited album comes at an emotional time that shapes its very intimate tone.
Last Friday, The Cure debuted the record with two performances at the venerable BBC Radio Theatre in London.
Later, Smith performed Songs of a Lost World at London’s Troxy venue, where he revealed that the live performance of these songs has given him cathartic release from his loss. “You just suddenly feel something,” Smith remarked during a Huw Stephens interview on BBC Radio 6 Music.
“That communal moment with a crowd: there’s something really, really wonderful about it.”
When Smith thought back on the album’s production, he acknowledged his wife Mary for pushing him to incorporate lighter songs to counter the heavier subjects of the record.
“I was finishing the doom and gloom ones, and Mary remarked, ‘Your finest albums are the ones that just have a few more happy tracks,’” Smith said. “She was correct. I wanted to finish everything since I thought that’s only fair to all the songs—like they’re all tiny children—I don’t want to pick favorites.”
Fans of The Cure have been eagerly awaiting fresh music from Smith since he first mentioned a new album in 2019, noting that he has been working on tracks delving into the darker side of existence.
Speaking with NME in a 2020 interview, Smith said the band had been working on “two new albums and an hour of noise,” among other projects.
Smith has suggested that Songs of a Lost World might mark the start of The Cure’s next period.
The band has a second album virtually finished and a third one under development, he revealed in a recent interview with BBC Radio 6 Music.
“Considering the third album, you can see what I mean. Smith laughed, saying he has always battled with finishing tasks and simply cannot help himself. “After waiting this long, I was like, ‘Let’s just toss out Cure records every few months!’”
While some of the tracks on tracks of a Lost World were finished more recently, others go back over a decade, with demos going back as far as 2010. “The most of them—probably five of them—have been written since 2017,” Smith said.
“Three of them: one was 2010; another was 2011; still another was 2013 or 2014. There were an abundance of tunes available for selection.”
In 2019, Smith observed that the band produced about 25 to 26 songs that would eventually shape three albums.
Smith also discussed the challenge of writing songs he believes are worthy of performance, a task that has become increasingly challenging as he has aged.
“It’s the one thing that, as I’ve got older, I’ve found much, much harder to do—write words that I want to sing,” he said.
“I’m not very inclined to sing, even though I can write words. It has so become quite difficult to reach that point where I believe that singing these songs is worthwhile.
Fans who appreciated the album’s main singles, Alone and A Fragile Thing, will find significant resonance in Smith’s candor regarding the creative process. These tracks capture Smith’s melancholy reflection as well as the musical fortitude that has always marked The Cure.
At their London concert, the band sang these songs live, sharing the depth of the new material with an audience ready to embark on the band’s next chapter.
Beyond her function as a loving wife, Mary Poole’s influence on Songs of a Lost World shapes an album that strikes a mix between The Cure’s trademark gloom and a lighter touch.
Meeting Poole in middle school, Smith has said she is a grounding force in his life and thanked her for guiding his creative decisions throughout time.
Originally formed in Crawley, West Sussex, in 1978, The Cure became a pillar of alternative rock, mixing a clear blend of post-punk and gothic rock sounds with lyrics full of anguish and sorrow.
Guiding the band through many musical transitions and lineup changes, Smith, the guitarist and main songwriter for the band, has stayed The Cure’s only permanent member.
The touring members today are long-time bassist Simon Gallup, guitarists Reeves Gabrels and Perry Bamote, drummer Jason Cooper, and keyboardist Roger O’Donnell.
Smith’s most recent thoughts also addressed his dissatisfaction with the music business, including dynamic ticket pricing he referred to as “a scam,” driven by “greed.”
Fans who value Smith’s integrity and commitment to make music available may find resonance in his open posture. He briefly thought of ending The Cure in 2018, a concept he called a transitory but important turning point in his life.
Both fans and critics of the album have found immense resonance in its very personal quality. Said to be “arguably the most personal album of Smith’s career,” a five-star review from NME complimented the record’s ability to strike a mix between gloom and beauty.
NME noted that the album “Although mortality looms, there is color in the black and flowers on the grave,” drawing inspiration from Smith’s family losses, especially the song “I Can Never Say Goodbye,” which explores the anguish and guilt after the death of his brother, Richard.
Singing songs from Songs of a Lost World has helped Smith deal with his loss and establish a close connection with listeners. “Singing live became greatly cathartic,” he said on BBC Radio 6 Music. “You simply experience something out of the blue. You connect.”
