The Cure [Deluxe Edition w/ Bonus DVD]
Having threatened to enter into retirement after 2000's bleak goodbye letter,Bloodflowers, weathered British goth idols the Cure turned around only to discover their sound being commandeered by the likes ofthe Rapture,Hot Hot Heat, andInterpol. Is it any wonder the band seems a little put out on its self-titled 13th studio album? The disc sounds like a terse history lesson covering all eras of its back catalog, from the baroque post-punk of 1981'sFaith("Labyrinth") and jangle-pop of 1987'sKiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me("Taking Off") straight through the atmospheric dirges of 1989'sDisintegration("The Promise") and the dark-tinged MOR of 1996'sWild Mood Swings("The End of The World"). It's not so much a comeback effort as a collection of templates affirming that no one does the Cure better than themselves.--Aidin Vaziri