| Songs of a Lost World | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 November 2024 (2024-11-01) | |||
| Recorded | 2019–2022 | |||
| Studio | Rockfield (Monmouthshire, Wales) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:13 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| The Cure chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Songs of a Lost World | ||||
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Songs of a Lost World is the fourteenth studio album by the English rock bandthe Cure, released on 1 November 2024 viaFiction,[4]: 113 Lost Music,Universal,[5]Polydor, andCapitol Records.[6] It is the band's first release of new material in 16 years since the release of4:13 Dream in 2008. All the songs on the album were composed solely by singer/guitaristRobert Smith, for the first time since the 1985 albumThe Head on the Door. It is also their first studio album to feature guitaristReeves Gabrels. The record was released a day afterHalloween at Smith's request.
Upon release, the album received critical acclaim, with particular praise for the lyrics, dark sound,[7] and Smith's vocals.[8] It was also a commercial success, being their first album sinceWish (1992) to reach number one in the UK,[9] and was also one of the fastest selling albums of 2024, having at one point outsold the entire top 10 of the week combined.[10] It also reached number one in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland. It gave the band threeBRIT Award nominations for Mastercard Album Of The Year, Group Of The Year and Alternative/Rock Act.[11] The album won theGrammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album at the68th Annual Grammy Awards in 2026, and the single "Alone" wonBest Alternative Music Performance at the same ceremony.[12]
The live albumSongs of a Live World: Troxy London MMXXlV, recorded at The Cure's album launch show at theTroxy inEast London, was released on 13 December 2024. Aremix album,Mixes of a Lost World, was released on 13 June 2025.[13]
Songs of a Lost World was several years in the making, and is the Cure's first studio album since4:13 Dream in 2008. The album was originally intended for release in 2019.[6] It is the band's first full-length album to featureReeves Gabrels on guitar since he joined as a full-time member in 2012, although he was previously featured on the band's 1997 single "Wrong Number". It also features the studio return of keyboardistRoger O'Donnell, who rejoined the band in 2011 after a six-year hiatus. Five of the album's songs, including "Alone",[14] had been performed live in 2022 and 2023 during theirShows of a Lost World international tour.[4]: 108 Multi-instrumentalistPerry Bamonte rejoined the band in 2022 for that tour, but does not appear on the album as most of the recording was completed in 2019.[4]: 111
The songs were entirely written, composed, andarranged byRobert Smith.[4]: 107 During the writing process, Smith had difficulty "find[ing] the right imagery" for the lyrics to "Alone", ultimately finding inspiration from theErnest Dowson poem "Dregs".[4]: 109 AllMusic described the song as "dense swirls of synths, simple, pounding drums", noting that "themes of loss, isolation, impermanence, and mortality" were present in the lyrics.[15]
"I Can Never Say Goodbye" was written after Smith's brother's death; he said he "didn't want the words to dominate the song, in a way that the music can become a backdrop to what you're singing. In this, I think the music is more important than what I'm singing in a way. It's a very difficult song to sing. People say 'cathartic' too much, but it was. It allowed me to deal with it, and I think it's helped me enormously."NME called the song a highlight on the album, saying it "lays waste with an emotionalH-bomb".[16] Smith has said earlier versions of the song were "so overwrought", reportedly being told by people he would play them to they were "too much". He also expressed difficulties with performing the song live, saying "sometimes it would really break me up and it was really difficult to not go over the top."[17] "Endsong" was inspired by a starlit night that reminded Smith of when he watchedApollo 11 land on the Moon in 1969 with his father in their backyard.[18]
In several interviews following the release, Smith noted that the album was originally intended to be much darker, with his wife Mary Poole ultimately stating that "people won't listen to this", resulting in several track changes and revisions, such as the inclusion of "Warsong" and "Drone:Nodrone", both of which were not on the original running order. A final song, "Bodiam Sky", initially concluded the album following "Endsong". Although cut from the final release, its lyrics still appear printed halfway through the album's accompanying lyric booklet. This track, along with other omissions, is expected to be released on the "companion piece" toSongs of a Lost World, tentatively to be released in 2026.
Smith choseBagatelle, a 1975 sculpture bySlovenian artist Janez Pirnat, to illustrate the sleeve.[5] The album cover was then designed by Andy Vella.[19] Robert Smith has since stated in interviews that he now owns the sculpture.[20]
The album's release was officially announced on 26 September 2024, with the release of the lead single, "Alone",[19] and a dedicated website.[14] The track listing was revealed by an email sent to mailing list members on 9 October 2024, and was subsequently posted on the Cure's official website.
The second single, "A Fragile Thing", was released on 9 October 2024.[21] On 14 October 2024, Smith said that a tour in support ofSongs of a Lost World will begin in "autumn next year" after the completion of a projected follow-up album.[22]
The band performed a concert atBBC Radio Theatre on 31 October, one hour broadcast byBBC Radio 2 on theIn Concert show including versions of "Alone", "A Fragile Thing" and "Endsong",[23] and another hour broadcast byBBC Radio 6 Music forHuw Stephens show, including versions of "I Can Never Say Goodbye", "And Nothing Is Forever" and "All I Ever Am".[24]
The album was launched worldwide with a concert that the band played at theTroxy in London on 1 November 2024. The show was streamed live onYouTube.[25]
The record was made available after Halloween's evening at Smith's request – it was a demand he had specifically made at his record company's director.[25] The album was officially out at midnight.[25]
It was released on multiple formats. The vinyl was released through six different variants in the UK, all pressed onbioplastic on Polydor: black, marble stone, marble stone withobi, white, picture disc and picture disc 'glow in the dark'. Another vinyl edition was double half-speed mastered version. A further US bioplastic vinyl was released on Capitol records. There were also a cassette edition and a double cassette. A further "blood red moon" vinyl edition was released – a line taken from "Endsong" – featuring a red hue to the regular artwork and including the regular songs plus their instrumental counterparts.
In addition to the standard CD, a 2×CD+Blu-Ray deluxe edition featuring instrumental versions of all 8 songs was also released, along with a Blu-ray featuring Hi-Res stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes of the songs.
A further digital-only deluxe edition of the album was released on 5 November 2024, featuring live versions of five songs from the album performed at Shoreline Amphitheater in 2023.[26] This edition features unique faded/white artwork.[27]
The album went to number one on theUK Albums Chart, with 51,362 sales in the first week (19,838 CDs, 23,182 vinyl albums, 1,219 cassettes, 4,546 digital downloads and 2,577 sales-equivalent streams).[28] It also reached the number one position in France, selling 20,678 units the first week.[29]
The album also reached number four on theBillboard 200 in the week ending November 7, their highest position since 1992'sWish. Sales reached 57,000 equivalent album units, of which 53,000 were from album sales, their best sales week since their 2004self-titled album.[30]
A 7″ vinyl release for the single "A Fragile Thing" was released on 11 November 2024, featuring two remixes of the song by Smith: "RS24 Mix" on side A and "RS24 Remix" on side B. On 29 November, a 3-track digital single was also released. This included a radio edit, the "RS24 Remix" version and a live version: "Live Troxy London MMXXIV".
On 21 April 2025, the band announced aremix album,Mixes of a Lost World, featuring 24 reworks of songs fromSongs of a Lost World by artists includingFour Tet,Paul Oakenfold, andOrbital.[13] The album was released on 13 June by Fiction Records and Capitol Records.[13]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.8/10[31] |
| Metacritic | 93/100[32] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [15] |
| Clash | 9/10[33] |
| The Guardian | [34] |
| The Irish Times |  [35] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 8/10[36] |
| Mojo | [8] |
| NME | [37] |
| Pitchfork | 7.9/10[38] |
| The Times | [39] |
| Uncut | 9/10[40] |
According to the review aggregatorMetacritic,Songs of a Lost World received "universal acclaim" based on aweighted average score of 93 out of 100 from 25 critic scores.[32] Franck Vergeade ofLes Inrockuptibles reported that "only two listens were authorized by the record company" to review the album: he qualified it "flamboyantgothic".[41] Andrew Trendell ofNME gave the album a five-star review, stating "there's always enough heart in the darkness and opulence in the sound to hold you", and believed it was "arguably the most personal album of Smith's career. Mortality may loom, but there's colour in the black and flowers on the grave".[37]
Éamon de Paor ofThe Irish Times praised the album, giving it four stars and describing it as "majestically desolate, gorgeously grim", adding that it "moves like a glacier at midnight – magnificent, unstoppable and with a chill that settles in hard and heavy and does not leave". De Paor likened the sound of the album to bands such asNine Inch Nails,Cocteau Twins,Pink Floyd, andNew Order.[35]
Sam Walker-Smart ofClash gave a score of 9/10, and felt the album "is one of their most emotionally raw", citing "Endsong" as the highlight of the album.[33]John Robb ofLouder Than War gave the album a score of 5/5, observing, "An album of elegiac, brooding masterpieces that deal with the heartbreak of loss with dark, masterful music dripping with melody, nuance and atmosphere."[7]
Victoria Segal ofMojo gave the album four out of five stars, praising Smith's vocals: "On a record so alert to the cataclysmic effects of mortality, it's remarkable how fundamentally unchanged Smith's voice is", while also noting the album lacked anything "approaching a pop song ... The 'Never Enough' grooves of the spectacular 'Drone' slide closest to a gear-change, but even there, the ground is unsteady."[8]The Times's Will Hodgkinson praised it in a five-star review saying: "On thegoth rockers' first album in 16 years, Robert Smith tackles the death of loved ones and his own demise in music of expansive sophistication."[39]
Fred Thomas ofAllMusic praised the album and felt the eight songs "often reach the same slow-moving grandeur of the Cure's high-water mark album, 1989'sDisintegration, only without any of the playful pop".[15] Rob Sheffield ofRolling Stone gave the album four out of five stars, saying, "Robert Smith reaches into the depths of his cobwebbed heart; it's the best Cure album sinceDisintegration",[42] describing the album as a "vividly propulsivespace-rock goth elegy, eight songs in fifty minutes, kicking with a full-blooded band attack".[2]
However, the German edition ofRolling Stone was less enthusiastic and criticized the album for "flat songs" that sounded "redundant" with endless introductions.[43]
Songs of a Lost World wonBest Alternative Music Album at the68th Annual Grammy Awards.[44]
| Publication/critic | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The A.V. Club | 25 Best Albums of 2024 | 3 | [45] |
| Exclaim! | 50 Best Albums of 2024 | 28 | [46] |
| The Independent | The Best Albums of 2024 | 8 | [47] |
| Louder Than War | Top 100 Albums of 2024 | 2 | [48] |
| Loudwire | The 11 Best Rock Albums of 2024 | 4 | [49] |
| MOJO | The Best Albums Of 2024 | 31 | [50] |
| Mondo Sonoro | Best International Albums of 2024 | 3 | [51] |
| MusicOMH | Top 50 Albums of 2024 | 2 | [52] |
| The Ringer | 30 Best Albums of 2024 | 3 | [53] |
| Rough Trade UK | Albums of the Year 2024 | 23 | [54] |
| Spin | Best Album of 2024 | 1 | [55] |
| The Telegraph | 10 Best Albums of 2024 | 3 | [56] |
| Time Out | The Best Albums of 2024 | 5 | [57] |
| Uncut | 80 Best Albums of 2024 | 69 | [58] |
| Vulture | Best Albums of 2024 | 1 | [59] |
All tracks are written byRobert Smith.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Alone" | 6:48 |
| 2. | "And Nothing Is Forever" | 6:53 |
| 3. | "A Fragile Thing" | 4:43 |
| 4. | "Warsong" | 4:17 |
| 5. | "Drone:Nodrone" | 4:45 |
| 6. | "I Can Never Say Goodbye" | 6:03 |
| 7. | "All I Ever Am" | 5:21 |
| 8. | "Endsong" | 10:23 |
| Total length: | 49:13 | |
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes[60] andTidal.[61]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Italy (FIMI)[103] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| France (SNEP)[104] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[105] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[106] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Après seulement deux écoutes autorisées par la maison de disques (After only two listens authorized by the record company...)
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)| Studio albums | |
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| Live albums | |
| Compilations | |
| Remix albums | |
| Extended plays | |
| Singles |
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| Other songs | |
| Video releases | |
| Tours | |
| Related articles | |
