The Cure – 4:13 Dream

• 23rd Nov 2008

The Cure has lost a couple of long-term names from their line up, but has gained an old favorite in guitarist Porl Thompson. He joins Robert Smith, Simon Gallop and drummer Jason Cooper in a quartet effort here.

Anyone in search of another return to the dark and moody Cure so relished from the 80’s need to put an end to those wish fulfillments now. Their last album was one of their most Rock-centric albums, but anyone even expecting more of that will be sadly left wanting as well. So the Cure has returned to a pop-edged feel again. Something that worked best in their ‘The Top’ and ‘Wish’ Albums. This album feels more like ‘The Top’ crossed with ‘Wild Mood Swings’ which sadly was probably the Cure’s most unsatisfying album to date.

There are undoubtedly Cure-isms going on here. Smith’s voice and lyrics are very much Robert Smith. There are sounds that will ring familiar to long term fans. But the trouble is that there isn’t any new sound going on, or any inventiveness that is making any of the songs stand out hard enough for impact.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that impact aside, 4:13 is an accomplished album in terms of maturity. Repeated listening does bare greater fruits. The re-inclusion of Thompson really pays off and his work with Smith prevents the album veering into the mundane. Towards the end of the album things pick up dramatically with a couple of impressive displays of just what these guys are capable of.

The album floats neatly on the surface of their body of work to date. It is neither anything classic, nor anything bereft of charm: A grey area album that does its job well enough but could easily be dismissed and forgotten.

Perhaps a return to the stripped down and moody is what is called for. Simple riffs made instantly memorable for their starkness. When combined they are capable of greatness much more deserving of audience attention than this dissipated return.