Let me preface this post by saying this: I know Songs Of A Lost World isn’t synthpop music. I know it’s not even in the realm of synthpop music, though Roger O’Donnell’s keyboards play a crucial part in shaping its sound just as they did on Disintegration and countless other Cure classics.
But here’s the thing: I don’t care. I think genre categories help us find music more easily, but they are ultimately meaningless. The very best music defies classification. I write about music that I think is good, and Songs Of A Lost World is a very good album.
That said, this will probably be the last time I write about Songs Of A Lost World. I don’t intend to include it in my top ten lists or my year-end lists because something feels unfair about ranking it over an honest-to-god synthpop act. Besides, The Cure doesn’t exactly need my support.
So let’s get into it. I’ve sat with Songs Of A Lost World five or six times since it arrived on Friday, and it’s seeped in. These are my three favorite tracks.
The Cure – “I Can Never Say Goodbye”
Keyboardist Roger O’Donnell takes the lead on “I Can Never Say Goodbye” with an elegant yet hauting keyboard melody that lays the foundation for fuzzed-out guitars and Robert Smith’s pained vocals. Smith wrote the song about his brother Richard’s death and infused it with a bit of Shakespeare. I choke up every time he sings: “Something wicked this way comes to steal away my brother’s life.” It is devastating in all the best ways.
The Cure – “A Fragile Thing”
Robert Smith says “A Fragile Thing” is the album’s love song, though it’s constructed in that melancholic way that The Cure does so well. Layers of dynamic instruments build and swell, creating a lush, romantic sound. Of all the tracks on Songs Of A Lost World, this one most resembles Disintegration, my favorite Cure album—my favorite album ever, really. From the “she said” dialogue to the way Smith’s voice lurches on the word “regret,” there are so many familiar beats on “A Fragile Thing” that it already feels like a Cure classic.
The Cure – “Endsong”
The Cure concludes Songs Of A Lost World with an epic, 10-minute closer called “Endsong” that is absolutely mesmerizing. Layers of guitars and synths crash and whirl, whipping up a maelstrom that sets the mood dour for Robert Smith’s vocals, which finally arrive more than five minutes into the song. I’m not really a guitar person, but I recognize craftsmanship when I hear it. Bowie’s former guitarist Reeves Gabrels wah-wahs and shreds like a psychedelic master. I urge you to watch “Endsong” from last week’s livestream to truly experience his incredible performance. When Robert Smith laments on the chorus, “It’s all gone, it’s all gone,” he eulogizes the album’s end-times theme. If this is the last song The Cure ever records, it would feel fitting.
