4:13 Dream

Performer: The Cure
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Reportedly whittled down from more than 30 tracks, the Cure's 13th album, 4:13 DREAM, finds black-clad frontman Robert Smith leading his long-running goth/post-punk ensemble through a dynamic set of songs that often nods to past records, while still sounding at home in 2008. Adding to the admirably vintage part of DREAM's equation is the returning guitarist/keyboardist Porl Thompson, who last played with the band in the early 1990s, and essentially replaces departed members Perry Bamonte and Roger O'Donnell. DREAM begins with the beautifully drifting "Underneath the Stars," a track that evokes the group's lauded DISINTEGRATION era, and then quickly shifts into pop mode as "The Only One" bounces on pure romantic elation. Elsewhere, Smith leads the Cure into punchier, edgier territory with "Sleep When I'm Dead," and descends into PORNOGRAPHY-worthy darkness on "The Scream," proving that he's still capable of brooding mightily as he steers the act through what is arguably its most eclectic and enjoyable album since 1992's WISH.

Rolling Stone (p.130) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "It is classic, inconsolable Smith -- with a twist....Smith sounds less like a lovesick prince in 4:13 DREAM's looping-riff viscera and swallow-you-whole echo, and more like the avenging middle-aged Roger Waters on Pink Floyd's ANIMALS." Spin (p.108) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his 30-year-old band's densest and most detailed effort ever....Smith finally rewards longtime fans with a proper Cure album..." Entertainment Weekly (p.62) - "Smith once again indulges in his patented bipolar cocktail of feedback-drenched swoons....After all these years, he's still the undisputed king of pain." -- Grade: B Mojo (Publisher) (p.101) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "'Switch finds [Smith] hacking away at the trauma of ageing, while 'This. Here And Now. With You' has him meditating grimly on romantic obsolescence." Blender (Magazine) (p.76) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The shimmering opening track, 'Underneath the Stars,' recalls the Cure's 1989 gossamer masterwork DISINTEGRATION..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.87) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Familiar Cure motifs -- angels, sleep and suicide -- are present with epic canvasses such as opener 'Underneath The Stars.'"

Led by depressive pop prince Robert Smith, the Cure have taken their legions of fans on a journey from post-punk to gothic to new wave to art rock, stopping only for refills of hairspray along the way. An amazing band both live and in the studio, the Cure may have shifted its lineup numerous times, but Smith has remained a consistently fascinating rock icon throughout the changes. The group's most popular work (DISINTEGRATION, THE HEAD ON THE DOOR) was recorded in the 1980s, but it has held up incredibly well, leading to continued tours and albums despite exaggerated rumors of their demise.

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