S Poddar
At their intimate London show at the Troxy, The Cure delivered a powerful, finely tuned performance that showcased songs from their new album Songs of a Lost World alongside a treasure trove of classic hits. After all, the band is now on the cusp of nearly five decades. Yet Robert Smith and company appeared more focused and connected than they’ve been in years.
From the first beat, the atmosphere had already been set, and you could feel the weight of the music within the grandeur of the Troxy. At one point during this night, when the band was taking a quick break before their encore, Smith playfully asked the sound crew to skip the effects of thunder and rain that had been filling the venue. It’s a bit Hammer Horror,” he quipped, adding, “Play some sunshine.” The brief moment highlighted Smith’s characteristically dry humor, even as the night’s music struck deeply personal and poignant notes.
Songs of a Lost World feels timeless, with sounds and themes that could easily have emerged at any point over the last few decades. Known for themes such as mortality, longing, and love in darkness and light, Smith has always captured intense emotions through his words. In this album, he appears to be dedicated more to his art rather than reinvention. This, therefore, makes it deeply authentic, honed in the kind of artistic precision that only comes with several decades of experience.
A heavy yet precise rhythm section held sway over most of the songs, though the tone swung wildly with the assistance of Smith, who expertly traded light and darkness: “Here’s looking at you, Klaus.” Such tonal shift was effortless throughout the show, so a set sometimes intense, even heavy. One moment when Smith gave voice to such feelings involved a more moving highlight – “I Can Never Say Goodbye” – that he did to honor his late brother. As the last notes faded from the recording, the only sound remained Smith’s raw, painful line “Something wicked this way comes to take away my brother’s life”. It felt almost like being in another place, because the anguish of the emotion was very personal, and all the sadness poured out into an almost- silent crowd.
Personal intensity runs through the whole evening that Songs of a Lost World might be viewed as the best addition. This night’s two-hour performance weaved in hits across the Cure’s discography, with a few from the group’s 1980 album Seventeen Seconds warranting its own dedicated encore. The energy was in a state of flow, and ebbed; the euphoric zest of “Friday I’m in Love” and “Inbetween Days” stood balanced with the anxious tenseness of “At Night” and the hauntingly powerful “Fascination Street.” It was very clear when the band finished with the pulsing menace of “A Forest,” that the songs are quite as current and cohesive in their telling, whether it’s from old or new.
The Cure certainly hadn’t run dry but did seem to revel in decades of history with the music, and new material was given new life and purpose. Approaching the 50th mark, Smith’s farewell speech echoed across the Troxy: “We’re almost out of time … but just for tonight.” That was when it dawned that The Cure is a band that would not only look back into the past but, at the same time, move forward with a firm commitment to creating music as relevant today as it is decades ago.
