Photo credit: Ida Marie Odgaard / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP
Words by: Sam Walker-Smart
It’s been 16 years since alternative icons The Cure released their last album, 4:13 Dream. During that time, the band’s legacy has only grown. The moody hitmakers have regularly headlined major festivals like Glastonbury, Coachella, and Lollapalooza, and received recognition from The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Ivor Novello Awards. While comfortably in their legacy era, there has remained an unusually strong desire for new material, material that has been teased for many moons now.
Five years ago, the picture became clearer when frontman Robert Smith mentioned a nearly finished “doom and gloom” record. This was so seemingly finished that, come 2022/2023, the British act was touring behind the unreleased but forthcoming Songs of a Lost World. The gigs and new material were rapturously received, with fans feeling that the melancholic majesty of these fresh songs matched the intensity of their beloved earlier work. Then, silence. That was until this September when mysterious postcards began appearing in the mail. With a release date of November 1 finally locked in for what may be their final album, CONE thought it was the perfect time to explore The Cure’s lasting influence on pop culture.
The Sound
Part of The Cure’s enduring appeal is Robert Smith’s restlessness. While the band has a distinctive and recognizable sound—characterized by flanged guitars, Fender Bass VI melodies, and epic synths—they have never stayed in one place for too long. Their willingness to experiment with various genres is a testament to their genius. From the pop-punk leanings of their debut to the dreamy grandeur of their magnum opus, Disintegration, Smith and company have changed their musical worlds with little care for fan or label expectations. Since 1979, they’ve helped shape post-punk, inspired gothic rock, and later influenced shoegaze, to name a few genres. Throughout this evolution, their knack for marrying emotional depth with memorable pop hooks has contributed to the birth of the alternative genre that would explode in the late ‘80s and early ’90s.
Their kaleidoscopic catalog has stood the test of time, inspiring artists as diverse as Blink-182, Slowdive, Nine Inch Nails, CHVRCHES, The Smashing Pumpkins, Phoebe Bridgers, YUNGBLUD and countless others. Never disbanding and rarely taking a full year off from performing, The Cure has spent over four decades on fog-drenched stages, helping generations connect to their feelings of love, loss, and faith. This emotional connection is why skating legend Tony Hawk chose to have a version of “Plainsong” played at his wedding. As Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite told to The List in 2019, “It’s very honest music, very dreamy, it has something unique, it can go from being really melancholic to being really celebratory. A lot of bands have great miserable songs or great joyous song, but the Cure manage to cover it all.”
The Look
Even today, The Cure is rarely discussed without at least one mention of its look. Rocking a bird’s nest of hair and a slash of red lipstick across his kisser since the early 80s, Smith’s visage is as iconic as his songs. With the whole outfit dressed head to toe in black while playing emotionally intense music, it’s no wonder why The Cure has appealed to millions of goths and outcasts. The Cure’s aesthetic has permeated pop culture as a whole, inspiring countless artists and filmmakers.
Director Tim Burton sought out Smith to create the soundtracks to 1991’s Edward Scissorhands and 1999’s Sleepy Hollow, but Smith declined due to recording commitments. Burton instead settled for borrowing Smith’s gravity-defying hairstyle for Edward. Indie act Vampire Weekend lovingly imitated Smith’s look for their ‘80s-themed music video for ‘Cape Cod ‘Kwassa Kwassa, where frontman Ezra Koenig magically transformed into a spooky soul. Surrealist comedy group The Mighty Boosh even used Smith’s tears to create the strongest hairspray known to man, while actor Jonah Hill adopted a Cure-inspired for a deleted scene in 22 Jump Street, which has since become a meme representing all things dark and emo.
Contemporary acts like Pale Waves continue to draw visual inspiration from the band, and The Cure’s artwork and covers have adorned everything from boutique high-end jumpers to collections sold at H&M. By refusing to age gracefully, The Cure has become fashion icons for those who want to stand out and find their tribe.
The Spirit
Forged in the aftermath of the UK’s punk explosion, it’s no surprise that The Cure has stubbornly charted its own path. Signing to Chris Parry’s newly formed Fiction Records in the late ‘70s, the band became Parry’s primary focus. He managed them for 20 years, granting them an unusual amount of artistic freedom. Over the years, the lineup has shifted, Smith and right-hand bassist Simon Gallup racking up the most time, but The Cure’s unusual ‘revolving door’ element has seen former members return for second or even third stints. Although times have changed and relationships have soured and healed, Smith’s commitment to the music has never faltered.
Alongside artists like Bruce Springsteen, The Cure is known for its epic sets, two and a half hours being quite normal and over three not unusual. Scarred by a dishearteningly short set by David Bowie he witnessed as a teen, Smith vowed never to rip off his fans. This commitment was proven in recent years when he spoke out against Ticketmaster’s unjustifiable fees, successfully securing partial refunds for ticketholders. Smith could not abide by this after purposefully making his tickets as low as $20/£16—so that fans of all incomes could enjoy their shows. This is not the first time the messy-haired one has lashed out at corporations, either. In 2008, he dropped some F-bombs at iTunes for overpricing a remix EP.
Unlike other beloved British acts of a certain age, Smith has no interest in receiving a royal honor. He is a staunch and hilariously vocal anti-monarchist. The band has frequently received thousands of pounds in fines for playing past curfew, and proceeds from much of their merchandise and entire live albums have been donated to charity. Despite most members now being in their 60s, a punk spirit prevails.
This Is the End of Every Song We Sing
Smith has often threatened the end of The Cure, and with Songs of a Lost World taking longer to release than the infamous wait for Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy, it seems we may finally be approaching a conclusion. The revealed tracks evoke a sense of finality, with themes of death, dreams, and the past prevailing throughout. After tinkering with the material for so long, it feels as if they are striving to perfect their final chapter. And yet, if there’s one thing you can count on with The Cure, it’s that they are anything but predictable.