The Cure’s next album is “done” and a “really upbeat” separate record is also on the way, Robert Smith confirms
The Cure frontman Robert Smith has provided updates on new music from the band, revealing that they have two albums on the way.
In 2024, after 16 years away, The Cure returned at long last with Songs of a Lost World, which topped the charts in the UK, and now, it appears that the wait for another new album is almost over.
At Primavera Sound in Barcelona over the weekend, which saw The Cure headline and Robert Smith also make a guest appearance with Olivia Rodrigo during her surprise set to preview their new collaboration, the frontman spoke about their upcoming plans.
In an interview with BBC 6 Music, which aired on June 8th, Smith revealed, “We did record three albums’ worth of songs, so the second one is done, so that’s about to be delivered to Universal.”
Additionally, he spoke about the third album, which derived from the original Songs of a Lost World sessions in 2019, explaining, “The third one is weird, actually, now I’ve been doing this, people think, ‘Ah, it’s because he’s been working with Olivia (Rodrigo)’, because the third one is actually really upbeat.”
Smith elaborated, “It’s really poppy, but it doesn’t compare melodically to the stuff that Olivia does, but it’s my idea of Cure Pop. It’s probably 20 BPM slower than anything she does, but (compared to) what we’ve done in last couple of years, it’s really rocking. It’s banging.”
However, fans shouldn’t expect any Cure Pop on the forthcoming record, with Smith sharing, “But yeah, the next one, if anything, it’s more dismal than Songs of a Lost World. I mean dismal is a horrible word to use, but it’s quite dark, it’s related to Songs of a Lost World, but it’s a different perspective on things.”
Smith also acknowledged that it “was a difficult record to write and record”, which is why he “did it at home because I kept getting it wrong,” explaining that he “was upset by a lot of people in my family dying and I wanted to mark it with vocal performances, in particular, that I would listen to and fall in love with.”
It’s a busy summer ahead for The Cure, who returned to the stage after almost two years away at Primavera Sound Barcelona and at North Festival in Portugal over the weekend.
Later this month, they will headline the Isle of Wight Festival, before playing a series of huge UK headline shows in Cardiff, Belfast, Manchester and Edinburgh later this summer.
They will also headline more festivals across Europe, with notable dates including Way Out West in Sweden, Rock En Seine in France, Rock Werchter in Belgium, Roskilde in Denmark, Øya Festival in Norway, and Open’er in Poland.
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