Mogwai: the only modern band Robert Smith got “blown away by”
The Cure have never compromised when engaging in creativity. Every album they have released, regardless of what period you are listening to, is laced with some of the creative ingenuity of Robert Smith, who has always pushed the boundaries of music and lyricism with every creative project.
When you have as many hits as The Cure does, you could make a career parading the hits every now and then. However, their attitude towards creativity means that they were never happy simply repeating the classics, and instead have always been keen on making something new, exciting and honest.
This can be seen clearly in their most recent musical offering, Songs Of A Lost World. This is a wonderful exploration of life and the tormenting nature that comes with the passage of time. It combines troubling themes and contains the iconic Cure sound, which has become so famous over the years.
In a four-star review of the album, Far Out waxed lyrical about the record. “Amid the more melancholic strokes, Songs Of A Lost World has a vibrancy that echoes eras gone by, matching The Cure’s signature motifs without neglecting the album’s broader message,” the review said, “What more is there to say about the record’s intrinsic theme of the beginning of the end? More than usual, Smith forcefully stamps his impending finality, enhancing lyrical precision while loosening his grip on the band’s usual tropes, creating something that feels liberated in every sense.”
When you think about the unrelenting creativity that The Cure packages into every one of their songs, it won’t come as a surprise to hear that he appreciates bands who do the same thing. He has a lot of musical inspirations; however, one of his favourite modern bands is a shoegaze outfit The Cure took on tour with them.
“Mogwai are the only band in the last five years that I’ve been so blown away by that I’ve gone out and bought everything they’ve ever done, [all the] bootlegs,” said Smith in 2004 to Spin, “I’m kind of obsessed with them. They’re one of the best bands I’ve heard in my life, and I can’t believe that, because they’re never going to have a hit single, obviously. I’m hoping people will connect with them [when they tour with us] this summer.”
Mogwai is a shoegaze outfit fronted by Stuart Braithwaite. When it comes to making music, Braithwaite and Smith share a similar mindset in that they run with their creative ideas and don’t let outside interference plague their decision-making.
“I’m often bemused when criticism is levelled against music for what it is not, rather than how successfully it has managed to be what it actually is,” he said, “With music you are trying to achieve what you want, whether you successfully manage it is the issue. To say something is at fault because it is not what you (the writer) want it to be is ludicrous.”
