TRU ROCK REVIVAL
July 2026
The Return of Robert Smith
with the Cure.
Time, Space &
the Depth of Things
"The songwriter wants control, the performer wants the room to feel something right now, tonight. Honestly I think that argument happens in my head most nights before a show." ~Robert Smith
Recently, on a long car ride to FL, The Cure songs kept playing on Sirius XM. After singing along for a bit, I began telling Kreig stories of years ago, me and some friends going out dancing. We preferred Punk rock clubs and I liked dancing to the Cure a lot. When Kreig and I returned home, he sent me a text, "I got an interview with Robert Smith for you, xo." I jumped out of my chair.
If you've ever been to a Punk/Goth club, then you undoubtedly have heard the Cure played there. You recognize their sound of horns, playful synth, cool guitar and a laid -back vibe. Their music tugs you around. Robert Smith sings in hushed tones, a whisper, a scat, a moan. He gives in. He also happens to be the songwriter of the Cure's music.
For me, their songs are an experience of some Cheshire cat, like from Alice In Wonderland, that keeps whispering stories to me in a corner. I'm drawn in. I enjoy drifting into their galaxy of sound.
Their background? The Cure is an English post-punk rock group that's been around for decades. Their innovative, new-wave style includes goth imagery and melancholy themes. They fuse Pop, Punk and Alternative. Songs like "A Forest" never resolves on purpose. Other singles are playful like "Just Like A Dream," or the sassy "Lovecats,"with tjaat cool scat line that seems like a late night stroll down some alley. Images and shadows come to life. Their music has a Warhol-esque quality oozing colors and moods..
The Cure has undergone numerous lineup changes since the band's inception. They formed in 1976 with Robert Smith, and bassist Michael Dempsey, drummer Lol Tolhurst, and guitarist Porl (Pearl) Thompson. They were first called Easy Cure. When Thompson departed in 1978, the trio of Smith, Dempsey, and Tolhurst renamed itself, the Cure and released their first album, Three Imaginary Boys by 1979, with songs inspired by 1970's Punk. Some of the songs released in North America, were “Boys Don’t Cry,” and “Jumping Someone Else’s Train.”
The album Seventeen Seconds (1980) marked the Cure’s first turn into their signature sound of minimalist instrumentation, heavy, pulsing bass and warbling, frenetic, single-note guitar progressions. This darker style continued in Faith (1981), with Smith’s vocals even more expressive, and lyrical loneliness set against a backdrop of rhythms. In Pornography (1982) Smith’s singing pitted against frenzied instruments like in “The Hanging Garden” and “Pornography.”
The middle to late 80's marked lots of success with, The Head on the Door (1985) including singles, “In Between Days” and “Close to Me,” which made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked on the UK charts. Respectively, their album in 1987, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me featured whimsical horns on “Why Can’t I Be You?,” and the melodic guitar lines of “Just Like Heaven.”
By 1989 their album, Disintegration became the Cure’s best-selling album, with “Plainsong,” “Pictures of You,”and “Fascination Street,” " and the soaring orchestral soundscapes. Other textures featured mainstream pop on "Lovesong” or the deliberate doom of “Lullaby.”
Next up, Wish in 1992 was successful in both the United States and the UK. The album spawned three singles and one of the Cure’s biggest selling hits, the lighter, “Friday I’m in Love.”
In 2019 The Cure was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have often been mentioned as influential to many bands like, Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Fall Out Boy.
In 2024 the Cure released its first album in 16 years, Songs of A Lost World, recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales. The recent loss of Smith's parents and brother led to a three album emotional catharsis during the recordings. Songs of A Lost World is a deep, strong return and received two Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album, and Best Alternative Music Performance for the single “Alone.” The band did not attend the 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony to accept their awards due to attending the funeral of former bandmate, Perry Bamonte, who died in December.
The Cure is now on their Summer European Tour, featuring Robert Smith reunited with longstanding band members, bassist Simon Gallup, drummer Jason Cooper, keyboardist Roger O’Donnell, and guitarist Reeves Gabrels. The companion album to Songs of A Lost World releases soon, as well as a future third album. It was truly a pleasure to interview Robert Smith:
By Abbe Davis:
Congratulations on Songs of A Lost World, winning the Grammy for best alternative album, and all of the accolades around the new album. Well worth the wait, with two other albums ahead! I know you’ve said that Songs Of A Lost World has been about expressing the loss of your mother, father and brother, yet a year ago the band’s guitarist and keyboardist, Perry Bamonte passed away. Though he wasn’t on the album, he rejoined the Cure for shows a few years ago, right? How did that happen and what made him decide to do that?
Well, it's strange, isn't it, how life folds back on itself like that. Perry coming back for those shows a few years ago, that was really just about friendship more than anything else. We'd drifted apart, the way people do, but music has a way of pulling old friends back into the room. I think he missed it, honestly, missed being up there with us, and when we asked, he didn't need much convincing. Losing him last year, so soon after, that's put a strange shadow over everything, even though he wasn't part of this particular record. It's made me think even more about how none of us really get enough time with anyone.
You have spoken in interviews about the process, and how you are the songwriter, but then you are the performer. Tell me, if I sat both parts of you down, what would the performer say to the songwriter, and what would the songwriter say to the performer in you? That might be a great conversation so how might it go?
Oh, that's a good one. I think the songwriter would be quite guarded, a bit precious even, saying something like "Don't ruin this, don't turn it into a spectacle." And the performer, who's a bit more reckless, would say "You wrote it in a dark room by yourself, now let me actually do something with it." I imagine there'd be some arguing.The songwriter wants control, the performer wants the room to feel something right now, tonight. Honestly I think that argument happens in my head most nights before a show.
Ha, I can only imagine, with the amount of songs you have in your head. I get it. I know you felt it was nerve-wracking to put out a new album after so long, and then the first shows, making sure it was how you wanted it to go. Yet it has been very successful for you. However, in the past, when you were starting out, what were some of the “things-went-horribly-wrong” shows, and how did you and the band handle it at the time? Any stories?
God, there were so many. We played places where the power would just cut out mid song, or the crowd would be expecting something completely different from us and let us know about it rather aggressively. I remember early gigs where the equipment was held together with hope more than anything else. We just sort of laughed it off at the time, or pretended to, and got back in the van. You didn't have much choice back then. Nobody was coming to rescue you.
Learning and pro attitudes. I have heard you mention that you are a stargazer, in interviews. Then, to record this last album in two studios, you had it set up like a retro 1960’s theme, with planets and things hanging from the ceilings and even magazines from that decade. So, how do you feel about today’s billionaires and their “race to space” explorations, giving people flights to go see the edge of the moon? Do you agree with that type of thing and would you ever want to go with Mary and do that?
I find the whole thing a bit distasteful if I'm honest. There's something about looking up at the stars because you're curious about the universe, and something quite different about turning that into a ticket you can buy if you've got enough money. I'd rather look up from a field somewhere than pay someone to take me to the edge of the moon. Mary would probably laugh at the idea of me strapped into a rocket anyway. I get seasick on ferries.
LOL!! No boats for me either. Agreed about how space tourism exploits the nature of it. Speaking of time and space, given how you set up the studio to record your albums a few years back, (planets hung on the ceilings, a retro 60's vibe) which decades have made an indelible impression in your mind and why do you think those decades stand out to you?
The sixties, without question. There was a strangeness and an optimism to it that I find endlessly interesting, even the parts that were a bit naive. It felt like people believed anything was possible, which is a lovely and dangerous thing to believe. I think that's why I wanted the studio to feel like that while we were recording, because it put us in a frame of mind that wasn't just about now.
It shows in the music and sounds like it was great to get away and transport. The Cure’s, world tour gets around globally! Poland, Greece. Which countries (besides the UK of course) have felt the most familiar to you automatically? Deja vu, or maybe “past life” types of feelings. Any places feel like that while traveling?
There's something about certain cities in Eastern Europe that feels oddly like home. I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it's the light, or the melancholy in the air, I don't know. I'm not one for past lives exactly, but there are places you arrive at and feel like you've already been there, like your body remembers something your mind doesn't.
A-ha. You never know! The imagery you use in your songs as a teen, it always was fun singing your songs in some Punk rock club with my friends, "Head on the Door", "Love Cats:, “...shaking like milk,” which authors at that time inspired you to go for it with such imagery?
Camus, definitely, and a bit of Kafka crept in there too when I was young and dramatic, which was most of the time. There was something about that kind of writing, the alienation, the strange dread underneath ordinary life, that matched exactly how I felt as a teenager. I wanted the songs to feel like that, like something slightly off just under the surface of things.
Kafka! Raw realism and imagery. Alright then I have to do this. Since I like how you use imagery, will you oblige and play the game we do at TRR? Will you hit me with quick, short, top-of-your-head, answers for these next questions? Just let it rip!
OK, sure.
Great! Here it is:
I can never be understood yet I am always trying.
Mary and I go together like storm clouds and the sea.
In another life I’d love to come back as a cat, mostly for the sleeping.
The planet I would want to explore the most would be Saturn,just for the rings.
On tour you can find me staring out of a window somewhere. During the day I just wait for the night.
When I was in my 20's, the band used to get mad on tour when I would disappear for hours without telling anyone where I'd gone.
The luckiest person in the Cure ages ago was always Simon, because nothing ever seemed to rattle him.
The band recalls some cool things like getting lost in Berlin for a whole day, and that time the crowd sang louder than we did.
My dirty little secret is that I still cry at films I've seen a hundred times.
I’m an open book unless you ask me about my mother's kitchen, that one stays mine.
Now bugger off and let me get back to my tea, it's gone cold.
I love this! Thank you for playing! Wait! One more question before ya head out.
Any hint about when the new album comes out? Summer of '26 post tour maybe?
No firm date, I'm afraid. You know how I am about promising things before they're ready. Summer feels hopeful, but I'd rather it come out right, than come out on time. There might be a few surprises along the way before then, but I'll leave it there for now.
Ha, all good. Robert, thanks to you and the band, and for your songwriting, performance, voice, all of it. The Cure has given us great music, and now yet again. I look forward to hearing the next two follow-up albums. Thanks a lot for your time today. Enjoy the tour!
You're welcome. These questions were wonderful! I especially enjoyed the questions where I had to fill in the blanks.
Cheers!
Abbe Davis, Editor of TRR / Musician
Abbe Davis is editor of Tru Rock Revival magazine and lead singer of American hard rock band, Davis. Their single, Day of Colors is pre-released on Sirius XM rock stations. Abbe's former band (Southern Reach) opened for legendary Blues artist, Buddy Guy, at the Riverwalk Blues Festival. She recently played the Parkland Memorial Concert, and has performed at Tru Rock Festivals.Davis releases their first album this Fall.