Full disclosure: Wish is my top Cure album. I'm going to describe how I experience it, by going through the tracks, so that even if it isn't *your* top, maybe you can see where I, and people who like it best, are coming from.

- Open: The guitars are louder than ever. Perry's bass is grinding with a new level of growl and groove here. The guitars are also both pretty heavily distorted, for the band, and quite reverb-drenched. There are always two, sometimes three intertwining guitar parts, all echoing all over each other on this track. Boris' drumming has never sounded this free and this syncopated before. Robert's voice is clear and loud enough, but more muffled and competed-with in the mix than ever before. This is a new Cure sound. A more rock-n-roll sound than ever. And the production quality is both new for them and pushing the envelope for popular music a bit. The mix is very dense and chaotic. The mid-range is a very loud tangle of reverby vocals and guitars. It pulses and weaves and wails and echoes. I think there's a decent amount of compression on these midrange parts—otherwise the whole track would probably just sount like a muddy mess. But restricting the low and high ends to the bass and percussion almost exclusively anchors all the distortion and jangle...and the total effect is powerful. This general sound will carry throughout the album, in the loudest tracks at least. Robert's vocal sounds despairing and lost...a song about feeling like one is losing control and losing touch with meaning in a shallow public-party social situation. The track is as anguished as anything they've ever done, imo—Pornography-esque even, but with a more personal, lived-experience and grounded feel, whereas the Pornography album can feel a bit abstract and detachedly philosophical at times.

- High: The oppressive atmosphere immediately lightens with a pop track. The fun drumming syncopation continues with a bouncy groove. The guitars are jangling, light and very melodic. Windchimes keep chiming. The lyric is happy. The only element of unease comes from the heavy, heavy reverb. So echo-ey, which gives even this simple pop tune a psychedelic, trippy feel. There are some cool phasing effects on background vocals that add to the psychedelia too. Wind chimes wrap the track up too.. Like in the Plainsong intro from Disintegration, but here they're just all over the place.

- Apart: Speaking of Disintegration, the third Wish track sounds a lot like it could have been on that album. A dirge tune. The bass part is quite steady, and EQ-ed a bit thinner here than on Open. Keyboards play a larger role. But whereas Disintegration tracks often feel abstract, Apart is a straightforward and specific breakup/failing-relationship song. For me, the specificity gives it a new kind of punch. It sounds real and concrete, and pretty devastating. We're not "praying for rain" or feeling vaguely "homesick" here—we're at the rock bottom end of a real-life love relationship.

- From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea: The guitars crank again. The ascending bass groove sounds like it's coming at us through a jet engine in a 500ft concrete cave-tunnel. The guitars answer it wailingly in the same tunnel. The groove keeps looping on itself for seven epic minutes. The phasers are phasing at eleven as the solo swirls through the bridge part. What an epic track. The Cure had never reached this kind of apex before this released. Every cylinder firing. A dark epic dream.

- Wendy Time: Lightening the mood again. A funk song with extreme wah-pedal guitar swirls and a dance beat. Just sexy funk, but with a growing, threatening, dark undertone of excess, and a confession of either over-pleasured or circumspect numbness and coldness toward temptation.

- Doing the Unstuck: The threat level decreases as this pop song more innocently encourages a purer joyful attack on life. The reverb-soaked echo here just feels like swirls of hope and happiness...if perhaps a BIT bipolar-y and over-loose, but fuck it..."throw back your head and kiss it all goodbye," "get up and GO!" Definitely an upper, and a good tune.

- Friday I'm in Love: The pop tendencies of the album congeal into three minutes of absolute perfectionist pop precision. Melody and skillful instrumentation don't get much more polished and successful. The wrench thrown in it is the cynicism of the lyric. The shallowness of the "up" is highlighted lyrically, so the lyric brings a level of irony which is very satisfying.

- Trust: From a tryptic of pop happiness to another dirge. Wish is the real "Wild Mood Swings" album, in the best way. A piano melody anchors this one. Strings and soft arpeggiated guitar enter and accompany, but the highlight of this track is the drumming. I think it's my favorite Cure drum part. Boris throws all these snare grace notes in at surprising places, and then does some cymbal artistry that takes this track to another level. The lyric is another sincere personal relationship testament, like Apart.

- Letter To Elise: *Another* personal-relationship-journal-entry type song. Rather mellow mooded. Great tune. Jangly guitar and bass. Neither happy nor sad. Just thoughtful, a bit yearning and sincere. A real love song, or breakup song. Bit of both. About persevering through life's changes, I think, this one. The band sounds so loose and groovy. Some of the back catalogue, great as it all is, sounds kind of try-hard-y or something up against this version of their music making..

- Cut: Maybe my favorite Wish track. Kind of like Edge of the Deep Green Sea on speed, here. Fast groove, pounding bass, wailing vocal and absolutely wailing guitars. Maximum thrash. The Cure have never thrashed like this. Another love song, lyrically. The higher register Robert sings in on this makes it pop emotionally on the album. Kind of the emotional mountaintop of the album really.. and it's both anguished and absolutely infused with jam and funk. Trippy as hell.

- To Wish Impossible Things: Or this might be my fav Wish track. A meditation. So dreamy. The Wish echo reverb wash is in full effect. Some neat african slap-drumming and atmospheric violin give this one uniqueness. Yet another love song, but a rather philosophical, contemplative one.

- End: Last track is a slammer. We won't be let off easy. The guitar is churning us into butter. A ringing, distorted groove and rollingly harmonic grinding bassline underneath. Then the wah-guitar wails on top, and Robert does an extreme, near suicidal misery impression. Punishing tune, but what really matters in the track is the arrowlike intensity and passion in it, because it's not actually a song about limply giving up as the lyric wants you to believe. It's a furious fight song musically, one that outfights "Fight" from Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. Just pure, pointed, obsessive sonic fury here, behind the lyric. And it leaves you on a... a complete high? A complete low? Which is it? Well, it's fully both, which reflects the genius of this band's work.

Wish is incredible. The sound is just peak and overwhelming. I don't think the band ever equalled it sonically except maybe close to it on Songs of a Lost World. Disintegration is a great record, but it's exploring a narrower range of emotion. Wish expands to everything. And the sonic palette is fuller and freer and louder and more complex. Wish is the record, for me.

How do you hear it?

Saw someone use this on the Mogwai sub, a great tool to visualise your gigs and setlists: https://whativeheard.com

I synched it with my setlist.fm account and this is my Cure one. What’s yours?

TLDR: Plainsong, Just Like Heaven, Pictures Of You, High

The Cure just grew into being my favourite band right now, I remember checking out the post punk genre on rate your music seeing Disintegration at the top, the cover looked cool and I wanted to see what it's like. Outside of Lovesong, Lullaby and Disintegration, I just didn't get it and I had a bad impression and association with windchimes.

Later when I really got into post punk from a different band i started listening for more and Fascination Street came on with that bass I was flabbergasted that that song was on that album and I never noticed how good it was. So I listened for more and one by one every song just clicked. The hardest grower was Plainsong though. The type of synths and chords just reminded me of old people...(Sorry if that's mean) but then it just got totally reframed over time and now it just feels so ethereal, heavenly and euphoric. Its really pleasing to listen to. The chimes are also beautiful to me now rather than jarring. Complete 180

It's one of the best examples for me of how just exposure and different perspectives make music you aesthetically dislike at first, shed all the preconceived notions over time and shape it into something cool.

Then Pictures Of You also just clicked when I listened to that bass line, the textures, the icy chimey guitars. The song just clicked right away coming back to it somehow.

Just Like Heaven also had to do a ton of growing. It's all due to how sparkly and sugary the song felt and that 80s synth again just reminded me of old people, but overtime I found myself wanting to listen to the song and then I kinda got addicted to it and that synth sounds so good now. Also realized it has some subtle melancholy to it with the chords I didn't realize before and it made it not feel so straightforward, more digestible.

Also all of that pornography era minimalism grew on me an incredible amount. I always loved A Forest but then the entire Faith album felt dull to me. Now I find myself fascinated by that cold feel and want to listen to it and it's weirdly become catchy.

I flew from Los Angeles to Berlin for 3 shows and I managed backstage on night 3. I’ll repost what I had before on my Facebook but thought I would share here too.

“😭

The Cure
Parkbühne Wuhlheide Berlin night 3

The interaction with Robert was only a few minutes. I had backstage passes after the show but was instructed not to talk to anyone. I thought they meant the Cure but after talking to James from Twilight Sad we got a very stern talking to that we would get kicked out if we kept the behavior up.

The guy said you’re a guest of the band but don’t disturb anyone. Have a drink and shut up and sit down basically.

I think this troubled James too because about an hour later he approaches us and apologizes on that guy’s behalf saying it doesn’t represent him or anything

As we sat having a few beers, we saw Roger come out and talk to some people and have drinks. Then Jason came out and was eating some food and having drinks and chatting it up with others. I even noticed he gave his drumsticks to some younger kid (14 possibly).

Eden came out and was chatting it up in another group.

It was great to see but we were just sitting there as if we were on time out or in trouble.

My dad hated it and wanted to talk so much shit but we told him to bite his tongue for now and we wait. He wanted to leave as he didn’t think it was worth waiting it out to be treated in such a way but we asked him to stick it out

Robert came out and was chatting with a different group and at one time had about 3 beers with him 😂. The crowd started to die down and people were leaving and I noticed a group of two women approach him and get a photo. At this point I thought I’d go and try to approach respectfully.

He was very pleasant and I was able to gesture my dad and girlfriend to join me. My dad got to share his feelings about Pictures of You and Inbetween Days and how they have a different meaning now from hearing them as a kid to his age of 56 now. Robert goes “how do think it makes me feel? 😂 “

He also said his wife Mary encourages him to continue playing those old songs with the feeling he had when he wrote them.

I spoke to him about how we made the journey from Los Angeles. Talked to him about how my favorite was The Big Hand and he goes “we don’t play that one too often” to which I think I said Radio City Music Hall 2008. I asked for a photo and I thought it would be a selfie but he asked his assistant/bodyguard to take it for us. And I was going to walk away after and thanked him but he goes “we should check it to make sure it’s good”. Which is why I have two photos. Super polite and amazing man and very humble. I’m grateful for the opportunity and even more to share it with my family.

Going back to James apologizing for that man’s behavior. I was talking to him about their last album and he says it’s his best work. I teased him that “doesn’t every artist say that” but he said no he means it. That the album is about losing his mom to dementia/alzheimer’s. He says that’s why it’s called the Long Goodbye because it’s like he was losing her for a long while.

My dad really respected James and I think became a Twilight Sad fan as a result of these shows. James wore a Scotland football ⚽️ jersey and my dad was wearing a Mexico one. My dad gifted James his jersey. My dad’s the type of person like the phrase “to give the shirt off his back” for someone. Which is why he’s in a white undershirt in the photo with Robert.

So I guess we need to see if James wears a Mexico jersey at an upcoming show.

TLDR;
It was everything and better.”

I’ve bought tickets from a friend for the cure live in Manchester next month. He’s unable to transfer the tickets over to my Ticketmaster account due to there being an issue. Will they become transferable nearer to the time of the gig or is the tickets even on ticketmaster not transferable? Thanks

Hello there! I was curious, is there some specific rules about posters on the cure concert? I just wanted to make one when I’ll shortly write how thankful I am to Robert. And so is it better to write it on fabric or I can do it on paper anyway? I will also look for the stadium rules, just wanted to know some of yours opinion. Thanks!

I will be coming to this show from the U.S. What's the best way to get from my hotel to the venue? Do people there use Uber? I understand there is a train from Central Manchester that stops fairly close by?
Also if anyone has any particular recommendations for hotels, restaurants, stuff to check out, etc. I've added a couple of extra days to check out the city since it's a long trip. Not too concerned about price, more the vibe. I'm a chef by trade so I like places that are a bit posh but still funky, if that makes sense.

Hi there The Cure subreddit! Been a bit but I'm back with another one of my updates or "reviews" if we can call them that

Had and have been having some really busy months so I haven't had much time to continue listening to The Cure's more recent albums until recently, so here's my opinions on the three I've managed to listen to, that being "The Cure", "4:13 Dream" and "Bestival Live 2011"!

At the end of said albums recaps I'll also leave an update on how my favorites of theirs and general opinion of past albums has changed and evolved since, although I've not had the time to carefully and attentively listen to these two albums until recently, I've continued listening to them in the meantime when I could alongside other artists and my ever beloved Depeche Mode!

That said, let's start with:

•| The Cure

When I read that this album leaned on a heavier instrumental approach compared to their preceding albums I was thrilled; as someone whose journey into music started with heavy, death and all kinds of metal, I was more than curious to hear what they'll do with said direction and I gotta say I've got mixed feelings on it

Let's start with just that, the heavier instrumentation is interesting and a welcome change and is done well overall, nothing to write home about for most of the songs tho; but where I'll write home (In this case Reddit, lol) is where I feel like it compliments Robert's voice and lyrics exquisitely, starting of with the album's opener: "Lost" which is haunting and, as an opener, it sets the tone quite perfectly I'd say, Robert's voice genuinely weirded me out at first which is a compliment!

After that we got "Labyrinth" whose main guitar rhythm is so good, I've heard it before for sure but it works so well and it drives the song and the energy it has perfectly, just like Robert's filtered voice during the song's first half that then opens up alongside the song itself to a beautifully desperate song

Then we have my second favorite song on he album, that being "Us or Them", the way it opens tells everything there is to know about it, I think that it is the best example of a "The Cure Heavy Song" on the album, the chorus is so gut wrenchingly direct and out of the heart and I love it, tho I think it goes on for a bit too long so it looses it's punch, but still it's an incredible song that shook me when I first heard it in the best possible way!

Finally, I'd say that "The Promise" is a fantastic catch-all for said heavy-ness, it's 10:16 minutes long, slowly but surely growing into an explosion of sound like "Labyrinth" does and with the same heavy lyrics as "Us or Them" but with a softer counterpart at the start, it's another song I quite like tho I unfortunately don't get around to listen often

That said, let's change lenses and focus on the few more pop-oriented songs present on the album like "The End of the World" and "Alt.End", my favorite of which is Alt.End, there's isn't really much I can say about them other than they're really enjoyable and are good songs, Alt.End specifically gives me deja vu because I've probably heard it at the radio when I was younger and my mind still remembers it, so whenever I play it it makes me happy!

Overall, The Cure is a great album, it could've been better for sure, but it's not insulting to listen to, it's actually a really interesting listen, and with that I'll list my favorite songs from the album:

• Alt.End / Us or Them / Labyrinth

•| 4:13 Dream

4:13 Dream is an album I've heard mentioned sometimes and the name of it got me curious from the get-go, and I finally got around to listen to it and I can say that it's a notable improvement from the previous album, The Cure; it seems that they've found a sweet middle ground between the ideas and styles of The Cure and this album's vision!

The album starts with "Underneath the Stars" which is just a beautiful song, it makes me literally feel like I'm underneath a starry sky reflecting on a time that isn't there anymore, the song's so light too in it's arrangement, it feels floaty if that makes sense!

The next few songs are really nice and give me some sombre, nostalgic vibes for some reason, but I haven't got much to say about them, except that I really enjoy the reverberated chorus effect on Robert's voice in "The Reasons Why"

"Freakshow" is a song that caught me by surprise and that I really enjoy, it's such a groovy, weird and fun song in the vein of the "Lovecats" and "The 13th"; and the same applies for "Sirensong" which is a song i'd almost consider quite soothing, love the guitars in it!

And about loving guitars, "The Hungry Ghost" and it's strummed guitar with the reflective, introspective lyrics make for a classic Cure song that I had to mention, as it is one I quite like; and then we have "Switch" another song which is probably one of the better ones if you ask me, with it's wah-pedal going crazy in the vein of "Cut" from Wish!

Finally, we have "Sleep When I'm Dead", "The Scream" and "It's Over" which is probably the best three-song sequence in the album; "Sleep When I'm Dead" is probably the most unique somg on the album, probably tied with "Freakshow", its got such a cinematic quality to it like "Burn", the overall melody is so drastically different from everything I've heard so far and it actually reminds me of "The Blood" (Which is one damn incredible song) and I overall enjoy the song so much!

Meanwhile I love the driving energy of "The Scream" and "It's Over" they wrap up the album spectacularly if you ask me considering the sombre, slow start to the album!

Overall, I feel like 4:13 Dream is a great improvement over The Cure, and it came with some few, lovely musical oddities of the amazing variety: that said, I'll list my favorite ones!

• Sleep When I'm Dead / Freakshow / Underneath the Stars

•| Bestival Live, 2011

This one will be brief and it's because, apart from the incredible setlist and Robert's ever so good voice, I didn't enjoy this Live Album that much mostly do to the fact that it sounds kinda dull/sterile to me, almost enclosed in its self contained room which really detracted from the live feel if you ask me; Paris and Show so far remain my favorite Live Albums as they capture the essence of The Cure's live performances exquisitely, even if Show's mixing is worse than Paris' and I still can't get over it!

Nevertheless, here's the songs I enjoyed the most on this album:

• A Forest / One Hundred Years / Open

(Honorable Mention: Let's Go To Bed)

•| What's Changed so Far

So, it's been a bit since I've started to listen to The Cure and let's say that, since my first posts, some things have changed and this section is just to reflect on these changes, so let's start with the most important one, that being: Wish is my favorite album as of right now and I think this liking of mine will be hard to topple, it has grown on me so much and the sonority, arrangement and overall vibe it has are 100% my taste and, in fact, it has both been a big inspiration to me and, matter of fact, was one of the inspirations used during the making/producing of my first ever collab; I've also listened to the 30th Anniversary Edition of Wish and let's just say that "This Twilight Garden" is probably one of my favorite The Cure songs ever now, not only because it perfectly reflects my musical style (lot of reverb, really dreamy or surreal vibe) but also because it's just so poetic and beautiful honestly.

Apart from that, some of my album preferences have shifted, resulting in the following order of preference:

|• Wish -> The Head on the Door & Wild Mood Swings (A tie basically) -> Bloodflowers

And that's all, I think, thanks to everyone for reading this post and for the warmness of everyone's comments on every post, see you all in the next one for Torn Down, the other Live Albums, and finally Songs of a Lost World for when I'll be able to hear them!

The talk of deluxe versions have had me thinking that when Suedes Dogman Star had an anniversary it was re-released as a box set that contained a two cd set of the album complete with b-sides, demos etc, a hard back book, separate book of guitar tabs, a dvd, a couple of 12” singles, poster, a Blu-ray audio album plus loads of other bits (including a carrier bag which always made me laugh for some reason) housed in a really sturdy fancy cardboard box and they did a similar thing with their Blue Hour album and they were reasonably priced.

It’s always surprised me that we’ve never had a Cure release like that.

I’d love something like that for Disintergration, Wish, Moodswings etc

I recently saw the Pinkpop Festival live version of Charlotte Sometimes and much prefer it to the recorded version. Obviously it hasn't been released officially, so I'm wondering what live version that _has_ been released is considered your favourite?

cool find

Edinburgh fans - I’m traveling from the States for this show. What’s the best way to get from the city to Royal Highlands & back?

In Berlin

Right, so Robert Smith has basically confirmed the next record is done and there's a poppy, upbeat one coming after it. And I've been sat here trying to work out how I feel about it.

Half of me is buzzing. More Cure is more Cure, always. The other half is going... lads, I have built an entire personality around drumming along to Disintegration in my room with the lights off. What am I supposed to do with upbeat.

Don't get me wrong, Friday I'm In Love absolutely slaps. But there's something about a grey Leeds afternoon and A Forest on repeat that no upbeat track is ever touching.

Anyway. What's everyone actually hoping for on the next one. Companion piece to Lost World, or full pivot.

As a long time (not as long as some of you people) fan of theirs, and especially the early work, lately I've been wondering, why couldn't the label choose this song as a single - it's so beautiful?

I never-never liked the Hanging Garden even if it might reference the gardens of Babylon/Nineveh, I find it soo... Off the tune with the rest of the catalogue. And the video for the song is even worse - they look like they've come to a gothic picnic and someone brought Dolly Parton record - BORED!

I imagine, if A Strange Day was a single it would have this video filmed from the beach and a single ship sailing in the distance, the wind and the band playing while it's messing up their hair.

What's your take on the song and its possibility of having been a single?

Catching halos on the moon, gives my hands the shapes of angels.

I thought you guys would like to see these, especially since there aren't many instances of them online:)

Does anyone have so called 3cd deluxe versions posted on youtube by thecure.pl? They had tracks I can’t seem to find literally anywhere else! Especially the self titled one

Do any fellow guitar-heads have accurate tabs for Roberts bass 6 parts of the track It Can Never Be The Same? I'm struggling to find them.

Thanks