The Cure

What hath Robert Smith wrought? One of the things The Cure always had going for it as a band was a dramatically pop sensibility that worked alongside floppy-handed protestations against sweetness and light. However, their new album 4:13 Dream, four years in the making, is barely damp with catchiness. "The Only One," which was notably one of the teaser singles released to build anticipation for the record, is a brief respite. It's built on a lovely, layered and jangly guitar bit and percussion that resembles handclaps. Smith's ululations pulse over the melody, raising hairs of delight.

Most of the tracks, however, while they may represent a musical evolution, are dark in a different and uglier way than anything the band has ever done well. Stuffed with messy, grungy guitars that Smith shrieks, squeals or, occasionally, mumbles over to a quick yet dull tempo, they wear on the patience in a hurry, with little evidence of craft. "It's Over" is a particularly egregious example. Even "Freakshow," a slightly peppier number, is sort of awful, with a rhythm that calls to mind the worst of 1990s pop. If this is the cheerful album, with a darker one of already recorded songs to follow, as Smith has promised in interviews, who's looking forward to even muckier tunes?

—Hillary Brown
10.24.08

4:13 Dream may open with the doomed romanticism of "Underneath the Stars," but that slow-crawling mini-epic is a feint, momentarily disguising how this is the Cure's poppiest album since 1992's Wish. But despite the preponderance of sprightly tempos and singsong hooks, nothing about 4:13 Dream feels especially light, perhaps because Robert Smith chooses to pair these songs with a heavy dose of angst. On the "The Reasons Why," the catchiest tune here, Smith sings about suicide with no trace of irony. The pristine production emphasizes Smith's stylized mannerisms -- nowhere more so than on "The Only One," where his caterwauls are clearly articulated. Buried in the back of 4:13 Dream are two songs with hooks that nevertheless dig underneath the skin: "The Perfect Boy" and "This. Here and Now. With You." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide