We cover goth heroes the Cure fairly closely, for better or worst. Tunes we've heard so far from the band's forthcoming 13th studio album 4:13 Dream left us curious if a bit underwhelmed. A free gig in Rome's Piazza San Giovanni over the weekend, broadcast on MTV and promptly uploaded to YouTube, featured the entire album played live. Now we have pro recordings of thirteen new songs to consider.
An unruly moptop and spackled eyeshadow remain Robert Smith's concessions to nostalgia. As expected, the new material advances the harder rocking, guitar-centric direction of post-millennial Cure. Overall it's a mixed bag, but even die-hards will find promise in Porl Thompson's swirling slide on the lovesick "Sirensong" and in angry, prog closer "It's Over." Elsewhere, "Sleep When I'm Dead" is a less fun inversion of "Let's Go To Bed." For your convenience, we've embedded the entire new album performance in order. You might wanna come back on your lunch break. [Photo by Elisabetta Villa/Getty.]
1. "Underneath the Stars"
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2. "The Only One"
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3. "The Reasons Why"
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4. "Freakshow"
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5. "Sirensong"
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6. "The Real Snow White"
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7. "The Hungry Ghost"
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8. "Switch"
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9. "The Perfect Boy"
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10. "This. Here and Now. With You"
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11. "Sleep When I'm Dead"
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12. "The Scream"
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13. "It's Over"
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For old time's sake...
"Lovesong"
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