The Cure's Songs Of A Lost World: album release date, tracks and more

9 November 2022, 13:24 | Updated: 14 December 2022, 11:15

The Cure in 2022: Roger O'Donnell, Reeves Gabrels, Simon Gallup, Robert Smith and Jason Cooper
The Cure in 2022: Roger O'Donnell, Reeves Gabrels, Simon Gallup, Robert Smith and Jason Cooper. Picture: Andy Vella/Press

Robert Smith and co's first album in 15 years is set to be released any day soon... but how much do we know about it already?

By Martin O'Gorman

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  1. What is The Cure's new album called?

    In the summer of 2019, Robert Smith claimed that the new album was to be named "Live From The Moon", inspired by the 50th anniversary of the moon landings. However, at the Ivor Novelllo Awards cremony in May 2022, Smith revealed that the title was now Songs Of A Lost World. The recent live dates have been similarly titled "Shows Of A Lost World".

    Robert Smith and Simon Gallup of The Cure at the Ivor Novello Awards, May 2022
    Robert Smith and Simon Gallup of The Cure at the Ivor Novello Awards, May 2022. Picture: GettyLuke Walker/Getty Images
  2. Does The Cure's Songs Of A Lost World album have a release date?

    In that same May 2022 interview, Robert Smith claimed that "We will be playing from October and the new album will be out before then."

    However, the October shows came and went without any sign of the LP and it's since been replaced on the release schedules by a 30th anniversary deluxe edition of the classic 1992 album Wish, which will arrive on 25th November.

    It's pretty safe to say that Songs Of A Lost World will not arrive in 2022 and is more likely to see a 2023 release date. Although with The Cure set to play the UK at the start of December, Robert Smith may still surprise us yet.

    A Wish Comes True This November

  3. What has Robert Smith said about Songs Of A Lost World?

    In August 2019, Smith told the Los Angeles Times: “I keep going back over and redoing them, which is silly. At some point, I have to say that’s it."

    He admitted the sound of the album had been affected by family bereavements: “It’s very much on the darker side of the spectrum. I lost my mother and my father and my brother recently, and obviously it had an effect on me.

    “It’ll be worth the wait. I think it’s the best thing we’ve done, but then I would say that. A lot of the songs are difficult to sing, and that’s why it’s taken me a while."

    The Cure performing in Milan, November 2022
    The Cure performing in Milan, November 2022. Picture: Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images

    In July 2020, keyboard player Roger O'Donnell told Classic Pop magazine: "Four years ago, I said to Robert, 'We have to make one more record. It has to be the most intense, saddest, most dramatic and most emotional record we've ever made, and then we can just walk away from it.' He agreed. Listening to the demos, it is that record. I think everybody will be happy with it.

    "The problem is, when you've got a back catalogue like The Cure, it's a lot to live up to. Robert has said, 'If The Cure say any more, it had better be important and it had better be f***ing good'. It is, it's going to be an amazing record. I just suggest a little patience."

    Speaking to The Sunday Times in June 2021, Smith claimed that this may be the very last Cure album: “The new stuff is very emotional. It’s 10 years of life distilled into a couple of hours of intense stuff. I can’t think we’ll ever do anything else. I definitely can’t do this again.”

    The same month, Smith also repeated the claim to Apple Music 1 that the band had recorded enough songs for two albums: "One of them’s very, very doom and gloom and the other one isn’t."

  4. Are The Cure touring in 2022?

    The Cure started a major European tour in October 2022, which continued through Spain, France, Germany and Belgium in November and comes to the UK and Ireland in December:

    The Cure UK and Ireland Tour Dates 2022

    • 1st December 2022: 3Arena, Dublin
    • 2nd December 2022: SSE Arena, Belfast
    • 4th December 2022: OVO Hydro Arena, Glasgow
    • 6th December 2022: First Direct Arena, Leeds
    • 7th December 2022: Utilita Arena, Birmingham
    • 8th December 2022: Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
    • 11th December 2022: OVO Arena, Wembley
    • 12th December 2022: OVO Arena, Wembley
    • 13th December 2022: OVO Arena, Wembley

    See www.thecure.com for full tour and ticket details

    he Cure performing in Milan, 4th November 2022.
    he Cure performing in Milan, 4th November 2022. Picture: Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images
  5. Have The Cure played any new songs from the album?

    The autumn of 2022 saw The Cure head out on a European tour and the first show in Latvia on 6th October saw the debut of the new tracks Alone and Endsong.

    The Cure - Alone (Live Concert Arena Riga 6.10.2022)

    The Cure - Endsong (2022-10-06 Riga)

    Four days later, in Stockholm, fans were treated to another new song, And Nothing Is Forever.

    The Cure - And Nothing Is Forever (World Premiere) @ Avicii Arena Stockholm October 10 2022

    On 20th October in Kraków, Poland, the band debuted I Can Never Say Goodbye at the start of the first encore. Smith explained that it was about his brother, Richard, who had died recently and, according to Robert, had lived in Poland for a number of years. It was Richard's participation in a local collective with the unlikely name of The Crawley Goat Band that really sparked Robert's interest in performing music.

    The Cure - I Can Never Say Goodbye (Kraków, Poland 20.10.2022) NEW SONG / WORLD PREMIERE

    At a show in Milan on 4th November, there was the world premiere of A Fragile Thing.

    The Cure - A Fragile Thing (World Premiere) Multicam

  6. When did The Cure last release an album?

    The last official Cure studio album was 4:13 Dream, issued in October 2008. It was the band's 13th LP (hence the name), meaning it will be a full 15 years between that release and Songs Of A Lost World.

    The Cure's last album, 4:13 Dream, was released in 2008
    The Cure's last album, 4:13 Dream, was released in 2008. Picture: Press

    The Cure's studio album discography to date has been:

    • Three Imaginary Boys (11th May 1979)
    • Seventeen Seconds (18th April 1980)
    • Faith (18th April 1981)
    • Pornography (4th May 1982)
    • The Top (4th May 1984)
    • The Head On The Door (30th August 1985)
    • Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (26th May 1987)
    • Disintegration (2nd May 1989)
    • Wish (21st April 1992)
    • Wild Mood Swings (6th May 1996)
    • Bloodflowers (14th February 2000)
    • The Cure (28th June 2004)
    • 4:13 Dream (27th October 2008)
  7. Are The Cure touring in 2023?

    No tour dates for The Cure have been confirmed for 2023, but it is expected that they will perform in North America for the first time in four years and there may even be some festival appearances if their recent schedule is anything to go by - in the summer of 2019, The Cure played Glastonbury, Werchter, EXIT, Roskilde and even Fuji Rock in Japan.

    THE CURE - Just Like Heaven - Live At EXIT Festival 2019

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