Songs of innocence and experience combine spectacularly

cure

Troxy, London, 1 November 2024

16 years have passed since then cureHis last studio album (2008 4:13 Dream), and almost a year since they played Bogota, Colombia on the final date of their 2023 tour. Tonight, they release their new album Songs of a Lost Worldand – perhaps unsurprisingly, given the excitement surrounding the band’s long-awaited return – there was huge demand for this intimate sold-out show. Lead single Single was released in September, and some songs from the album have been performed on the world tour, but this is the first time anyone will hear the album live in its entirety.

A flamboyant Grade II listed Art Deco building in the old East End, the Troxy feels like the right place for such a grand and comprehensive set of songs. Sounds of thunder and rain blare through the speakers, adding to the excitement of a crowd that includes Gen Z enthusiasts and 60s punks. When the lights go down at 8pm, the band is on stage and ready, launching straight into Alone, Jason Cooper’s imposing drum pattern driving the majestic wall of chords and guitars. In the background there is a film of the earth receding into space as Robert Smith returns to his childhood watching the stars.

They continue into And Nothing Is Forever, a hymn to friendship, fallibility and regret, and the soulful swing of A Fragile Thing, before moving into the dark and monstrous state of Warsong. “All we’ll ever know, are bitter ends, ’cause we were born for war,” Smith sings, his plaintive tone underscoring the futility of struggle, both personally and globally. He leads the band inexorably through the saddest and most powerful song of the first set – I Can Never Say Goodbye, which is about the death of his older brother Richard. “Something bad is coming this way,” he intones, his voice almost drowned in a wave of synth chords and guitar feedback as footage of a ghostly, deserted carousel plays behind them.

For all its heavy themes of grief and loss, The Cure’s new album has a stunning eloquence and focused intensity. It’s a lot to take in, though, and some of the audience grow restless, wandering off for beer and chatter—that is, until the finale Endsong, where Reeves Grabels’ pulverized guitar solo stuns them into silence.

The end of the first set is met with loud and appreciative applause, then a ten minute interval and a natural transition into the dense and epic 1989 Plainsong. Disintegration. Pictures Of You lightens the mood, especially with the black-and-white image of a teenage Robert Smith in the background, and Lovesong lifts the crowd even more into a blistering singalong.

Now the band is on a roll – Burn, their song from The raven soundtrack, packs a punch tonight as Cooper and bassist Simon Gallup lock into a hypnotic groove. the 1985s Head Out the Door it’s also well represented, with the synth pop madness of A Night Like This, In Between Days, and the open-hearted Push where the crowd joins in, arms up and voices to the rafters. There is no anxiety now. Smith slides into a transcendent Just Like Heaven from kiss me kiss me kiss meand it is remarkable how strong and clear his voice is. Even though in a recent interview with the Cure website he asked himself, “Do I (at 65) have the drive and the tenacity to keep doing this?”, his bright energy and enthusiasm is palpable.

The sounds of thunder punctuate another short break before the band return with a treat – five tracks from their austere 1980s second album Seventeen seconds. The taut, melodic guitar of Play For Today always goes down well, as does the gothic distortion of At Night (“It’s like Hammer Horror tonight,” quips Smith). But to the crowd’s delight, there’s also Secrets, which The Cure haven’t played live since 1987. In contrast to the rest of the set’s splendor, the song stands out for its spare guitar rhythm and Roger O’Donnell’s simple playing. piano. There’s also the giant red holographic M that floats in the air as the band sings the M, and a huge spooky post-Halloween finale with A Forest.

It would have been nice to end the night there with everyone enjoying the top hits. The Cure have already been on stage for two and a half hours. But there’s more with the encore – 1983 single The Walk, a comical, rocking lullaby, plus Why Can’t I Be You and Friday I’m In Love, complete with a backdrop of giant psychedelic hearts.

Among his somber reflections on mortality, Songs of a Lost World It frequently finds Smith looking back at his childhood innocence, so it seems only right to celebrate his livelier triumphs alongside his darker melancholy. It’s fitting then that they end the night with a warm ironic version of Boys Don’t Cry.

SETLIST:

Songs of a Lost World

Single

And Nothing Is Forever

A fragile thing

War song

Drone

I can never say goodbye

All that I am

The final song

(BREAK)

Country song

Pictures with you

High

Love song

Burn

Street of Fascination

A night like this

pressed

Between Days

Just like Heaven

From the edge of the deep green sea

Disintegration

At night

m

secret

Play for today

A forest

BIS:

Lullaby

walking

friday i’m in love

Close to Me

why can’t i be you

Boys don’t cry

Photos: Tom Pallant

Diamond dog! Young American! David Bowie transforms! Get the latest MOJO to read the full story of David Bowie’s incredible 1974 metamorphosis. Also in the issue, The Cure’s new album revealed, Queen reviewed, Tom Petty’s crisis year recalled, Supertramp The crime of the century reimagined, Small Faces, Faces and The Who relived by Kenney Jones, King Crimson, Tina Turner and many, many more. More information and to order a copy HERE!