Gothic

Week 45: The Cure- Songs of a Lost World

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I first heard The Cure when they released the relatively upbeat ‘Friday I’m in Love’. I then saw frontman Robert Smith on the television on the Chart Show on ITV, and he scared the shit out of me. I was terrified of how he looked for several years, and my phobia of him and goths did not subside until I met them in high school. It was then that I started to understand that they were nothing to be afraid of, and my perception of goth culture changed. Anyway, I have been listening to the band for a few decades and was thrilled to see Noel Gallagher ask Robert Smith to remix ‘Pretty Boy’. Who saw that coming? Noel, a fan of The Cure, and requesting Robert to remix a High Flying Birds track? Back to the band, this is their first album in 16 years. Their last being “4:13 Dream” in 2008. They played a year earlier at Teenage Cancer Trust, where I saw the band in a new light. I only knew them for their pop classics, but this showed more of their gothic persona. Long intros and guitars tuned into D. The latter represents a more gothic and metal sound.

It’s quite strange that the band has toured consistently since 2008 but hasn’t released a new album. The fans feared that the band were becoming a greatest hits act, so it was nice to hear new material being teased since their 2022 tour.

The fans were relieved to hear new material and accepted it, which can be a gamble because the majority turn up to the gigs to listen to the classics and other familiar songs. I disagree with this, but most do. I would prefer to hear a balance. Funny how things change, eh? In 1995 at Glastonbury, Robert joked that their forthcoming “Wild Mood Swings”(released the following year)would probably be purchased at Camden market before its release. These days, records can be streamed, downloaded, and leaked on YouTube before they are even available for purchase.

‘Alone’ opens the album and is a sign of things to come. Long, drawn-out intros before Robert utters a single verse, usually beginning around the 3-minute mark as most of the eight songs last over 7 minutes, with the final track lasting almost 11. The themes are also pretty heavy. Discussing the deaths of his parents and his brother among them.

This record, unlike the commercial pop-friendly uptempo songs such as ‘Friday I’m in Love’, ‘In Between Days’ and ‘Just Like Heaven’, delves into deeper subject matters. Despite its weightiness, it’s still relatively easy to listen to because you get lost in what Robert says. My favourite on the album is a song I first heard during the previous tour, which only recently ended, called ‘I Can Never Say Goodbye’. This song, a heartfelt reflection on the loss of his brother, is a testament to the album’s emotional depth. Robert’s struggle to perform it live without succumbing to his emotions was evident, as he often moved away from the microphone, tears silently streaming down. I recommend listening to the lyrical content. It is wonderful yet heartbreaking.

The final track, ‘Endsong’, is the lengthiest track on the record, just under 11 minutes. It’s a journey back to Robert’s childhood, where he was playing in the garden, gazing up at the moon in awe thinking about how man went there. Now, as an adult, he’s attempting to piece together the significance of these memories. It’s this deeply personal connection that resonates with fans like Noel Gallagher , who, as a songwriter himself, can truly appreciate the genius of Robert’s songwriting.

There are some new additions to the band. Roger O’Donnell rejoins to play keyboards to be reacquainted with Robert, Jason Cooper on drums and Simon Gallup on bass. Before I talk about the next member, I would like to say that, as usual, Simon never disappoints. I often compare him to Peter Hook, and it is easy to understand why. They sound similar and are both sublime bassists. Now, back to the final addition, and making his debut on guitar, Reeves Gabrels, who did a fine job considering the nerves must have been jangling during the recording sessions. I am unsure whether the other returning member, Perry Bamonte, is featured on the album, but he has most certainly been performing live. The new album, ‘Songs of a Lost World ‘, is a return to their former glory creatively and musically, and the title reflects the themes and inspirations behind the music.

Can they improve on the next? Hopefully, there is another album in the offing, but they will have to do something extraordinary to beat this one. The Cure could have settled for playing albums in full during anniversary years or playing their greatest hits, as it is more than enough to satisfy the masses. However, they chose to dedicate themselves to creating fresh material, a decision that paid off. Hopefully, it isn’t the end of their recording days, and they are given time to work on it as they please, but if it is the final record, then the 16 years of waiting were worthwhile.

Song recommendations: ‘I Can Never Say Goodbye’, ‘Endsong’, ‘And Nothing is Forever’

9/10

Week 2: the Weeknd- Dawn FM

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I cannot believe I hadn’t written a review since late November when Adele released “30” and then proceeded to hold on to the top spot for the majority of December before being overtaken by Ed Sheeran in the first week of the new year. However, it was widely known that the Weeknd’s “Dawn FM” would take the top spot. It is quite a quirky little record with its premise of you listening to the radio, complete with jingles and advertisements featuring the likes of Jim Carrey and Quincy Jones, to name a few. It made the interludes more intriguing, although I did skip them because you all know my opinions on interludes. Abel has gone for that 80s feel again, as he did on the previous album that spawned the 2020 ‘Blinding Lights’ track and featured on the Mercedes advertisement. It sounds futuristic and retro, with music by Daft Punk and Nile Rodgers. The aforementioned do not feature on the record save for some samples. The production this time includes Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia, among others. 

Another thing you will notice about the album is you are listening from inside your vehicle in a traffic jam, but you are dead. It is quite a dark concept. Why, you ask? The theory follows from the previous records where the narrator has finally met his end. Is that true? It could be because the lyrical content seems to suggest it. As we know, Abel talks about drug use and the perils of it and sex in a non-romantic way. 

Abel can sometimes be compared to the Cure for his use of gothic elements but still staying sonically within the chart-friendly confines. 

So, you have him discussing gothic things, but the music fits nicely with the singles charts and takes the edge off, like the Cure executed perfectly in their prime. Since then, the band has gotten darker, but they balance out their shows with those pop classics we grew up with (Well, it depends on who is reading this and how young you are.). Abel, thus far, has kept it under a tight lid, but he unleashes the gothic narrative from Pandora’s box on this record.

This album would make an excellent soundtrack for a remake of Buck Rogers or the gang warfare classic the Warriors. My favourite track was ‘Take My Breath’; I heard the sample of Daft Punk’s ‘Da Funk’ and Nile Rodgers-esque guitar playing. I particularly enjoyed the “Alternate World” section with a remix of ‘Take My Breath’ featuring Agents of Time. It felt like a moment of being in a club, enjoying life and reaching up as the song reaches the drop. I cannot wait for the club-inspired remix to be played out across nightclubs worldwide. So, with “Dawn FM”, we have an album where you listen to the radio while stuck in a traffic jam en route to the other side with lost souls DJing or on advertisements, not fully accepting that they are no longer alive. It is quite a departure from Abel’s usual subjects. He appears to have matured and is willing to refrain from talking about drugs and sex. Although the music may be uplifting 80s, the topics are far darker.

Song recommendations: ‘Take My Breath’, ‘Take My Breath(Remix)’, ‘Out of Time’

8/10

Week Thirty-Two: Fontaines D.C.- A Hero’s Death

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I remember hearing about the buzz of this band from Dublin a few years back from some folks I follow from Scotland on Twitter, so I first assumed they were an up-and-coming band from Glasgow or Edinburgh. Imagine my surprise when I finally listened to one of the many videos shared on that platform via YouTube. The track, funnily enough, was also the title of their debut album “Dogrel”. I have to say, I loved the energy, but the lyrics were…beyond basic. Their lead vocalist, unfortunately, didn’t impress me much, and I wondered what was the point of having Grian Chatten in the first place. His vocals sounded like a drunk punter slurring through a song on the karaoke machine. Despite that, his flat vocals work pretty well in the punk genre. Let’s face it: Johnny Rotten was hardly blessed with amazing vocal ability. I can’t think of many punk vocalists who can sing. Billie Joe Armstrong, maybe? After hearing the title track, I gave their debut album a full listen and was impressed with the picture they painted of their beloved Dublin City. I found the album had more structure lyrically than just that one song. Even if you’ve never been to Dublin or Mother Ireland, you have a good idea of what life is like from “Dogrel”. As much as I have never found the lyrical content impressive, I appreciate the energy the music provides; it is a bit like IDLES. There are minimal lyrics but fantastic energy in the instrumentation.

That’s enough brief history on the band and their debut; let’s review their second and latest album, funnily enough, also named after the track “A Hero’s Death”. They didn’t bother relying on the success of “Dogrel”; as you can imagine, they decided to intentionally head into another direction with the whole instrumentation and lyrical content. After all, writing about living in Dublin becomes quite challenging when you last visited before being on the road to promote your previous work. Grian has said that the band would have felt like they were frauds talking about life in Dublin again, as they haven’t been there much to experience it the past year, and therefore, it wouldn’t be fair on the listener to buy an album, which didn’t represent anything

authentic, thus making the listener lose interest in the band.

Instead, the band has talked about the places they have been on the road and what they have experienced and seen. As you can imagine, life on the road isn’t always sweet when you’re constantly sharing space on a tour bus, and this album certainly shows that as it discusses their excessive drinking, loneliness, depression, and fighting with each other because you are sick of the sight of each other during a long and arduous tour. I recommend a good documentary on life on the road and how this is depicted perfectly. It’s about Keane, so go and look online or buy their DVD. This album is more downbeat and lacks the energy of “Dogrel”, but I suppose that would always be the premise to replicate their mood on tour. For example, “Living in America” is very slow and melancholic. Then the tempo is switched up on “A Televised Mind.” the latter is not great lyrically, but you can feel the energy from the rhythmic pulsing of the guitar and the thumping bass of the drum. Once again, the title track is minimal with its lyrics (I believe, from what I remember hearing, it just repeats “Life isn’t always empty” for the duration?), but the instrumentation does it justice.

The band does not apologise for their change in direction and even know they may lose fans by not keeping in line with the debut. They even acknowledge that some people will be disappointed with the second record, but unfortunately, life has changed, and this is who they now are, so they cannot write songs about living in Dublin anymore. In fact, “A Televised Mind” is a dig at those who want to be appeased. “A Televised Mind” seems to be about people stuck in their ways and refusing to accept change. It is like some Oasis fans who can’t take that Noel does the music he wants to do.

Dan Carey’s services proved very successful on “Dogrel”, so the band chose him again. This time, as mentioned in this review, the sound would be very different in line with the band’s fresh outlook. The first record was very compact, but Dan gives more of the spotlight on the music this time, so you can fully appreciate Carlos O’Connell and Conor Curley on the guitars and Tom Coll on the drums. There is also room for ballads like “Sunny” with a gothic-like sound.

It is also worth noting to get the sound they wanted, and they were listening to quite a lot of the Beach Boys while they were touring stateside. The band wanted to make a record that wasn’t straight down the line, and that the Beach Boys heavily inspired “A Hero’s Death”.

As much as I liked the record, I am once again left unimpressed with the elementary lyrics that anyone could make up on the spot and the flatness of Grian’s vocals. Now, he is quite passionate about his profession, but it doesn’t come through in his studio performances and onstage performances. It’s quite sad. The music has the energy, albeit at times on this record brings it down, but Grian remains at the same tempo throughout. It is good that the band is willing to experiment so early in their career, but they are in danger of losing their identity, which accrued them fans. They must maintain sight of what made them unique, or they will fall into the generic bands they are frequently associated with.

Song recommendations: “Sunny”, “No”, “A Televised Mind”.

7/10