Cure albums these days are like bottles of fine wine: Their nuances only emerge in time. That was the case with 2000’s Bloodflowers, a sprawling frozen tundra of a disc whose macabre moods initially sounded dark and dull. The jury’s still out on the band’s self-titled effort from 2004 and will likely remain so as well for the new 4:13 Dream.
Studio album No. 13 was originally intended to be unveiled last year as a double disc; as it turns out, the band’s self-editing delay was smart. Dream is neither bloated (see Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me) nor stylistically haphazard (see Wish). The production is crisp and uncompressed, and Robert Smith’s voice has never sounded more expressive and elastic.
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There’s something for every Cure fan here, from the shimmering, molasses-paced think pieces of Disintegration (“Underneath the Stars”) to the growling, abstract guitar hurricanes of Pornography (“Switch”). “Sleep When I’m Dead” even has a funk-psych bassline that echoes “Let’s Go to Bed” and some squalling, Smiths-like chords—which makes sense considering the song reportedly dates from 1985’s The Head on the Door sessions.
Dream’s final two songs, “The Scream” and “It’s Over,” are its true highlights, however. The former begins with Smith ominously chanting over skittering electronics, then devolves into an explosion of panicked howls and distorted riffs. The quicksilver-tempo finale continues the chaos; heavy guitars and ferocious drumming combine for an intense, four-minute sonic catharsis.
Like Smith’s iconic bedhead hairdo and exaggerated makeup, The Cure never strays far from its image and thematic tropes. That’s not a dig: Smith explores the same themes of love, loneliness and alienation album after album without seeming tired or insincere. But on Dream, there are enough subtle differences and dynamics to remind us why the band remains relevant after 30 years.
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