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This is worth a watch. The whole of the new album then are series of encores. They even do Burn.

https://www.youtube.com/live/_aWDlaxvEZ ... JLY9JqmntT

Honestly a bunch of 60+ year olds still playing this well is pretty astonishing. Smith’s voice is as good as it was 35 years ago. In itself this is incredible.

Love it. I like it more than the self-titled album, and a bit more than 4: 13 Dream, which I think is a great Cure album.
I think the songs are very beautiful.
That said, I don't like some of the production/mixing choices. Some of it does sound really lovely, and fitting for the songs. But, they're my favourite band, and I want to like it. When I'm not happy with the sound, I just kind of shut that off and enjoy the song. Sometimes it's fucking hard to do.

Try to "find" the Atmos downmix which is allegedly in circulation. Apparently it's a lot less fatiguing and harsh to listen to.

I've listened to it probably twenty times from start to finish, including just now.

It's very good, though it's not an easy listen. It leaves me in a dour mood, like many other albums by The Cure, so I'm not sure how frequently I will listen to it in the future.

I don't mind the longer instrumental intros or the mix.

I'm very happy for Robert Smith and the band that they are able to create something this good after making music for about as long as I have been alive. The fact that they have more music in the pipeline is pretty cool and I'm excited to hear it, but man this sounds like a final album to me.

TylerDeadPine wrote: Fri Nov 15, 2024 6:17 pm

tallchris wrote: Fri Nov 15, 2024 12:04 pm Love it. Sounds like it could have been released anytime in the last 30+ years and sounded like the new Cure record, and I mean that as a compliment.

Also no filler, which I don't think they've made an album without at least 1-2 filler songs since...Pornography? Even Disintegration would be improved if you cut out "Lullaby".

Agree on all of this

Counterpoint, I agree with none of it (love ya, Chris!). I wish I could hear what y’all are hearing. I think this new record is almost entirely filled with throwaways. I don’t mind the long instrumental intros. At least in theory. And Lullaby fits nicely on that record. I get dogging on singles, but I think it’s a decent song. If I HAD to cut something from that record it would be Last Dance.

tommy wrote: Wed Dec 04, 2024 2:29 pm

TylerDeadPine wrote: Fri Nov 15, 2024 6:17 pm

tallchris wrote: Fri Nov 15, 2024 12:04 pm Love it. Sounds like it could have been released anytime in the last 30+ years and sounded like the new Cure record, and I mean that as a compliment.

Also no filler, which I don't think they've made an album without at least 1-2 filler songs since...Pornography? Even Disintegration would be improved if you cut out "Lullaby".

Agree on all of this

Counterpoint, I agree with none of it (love ya, Chris!). I wish I could hear what y’all are hearing. I think this new record is almost entirely filled with throwaways. I don’t mind the long instrumental intros. At least in theory. And Lullaby fits nicely on that record. I get dogging on singles, but I think it’s a decent song. If I HAD to cut something from that record it would be Last Dance.

I get what you're getting at - I didn't like it at first listen, then it grew on me, then I loved it. Watching the above linked live set while I cooked helped i think
https://www.youtube.com/live/_aWDlaxvEZo

Listened again this week after binging it and needing a break.

Maybe their third or fourth best album? Wildly great. Again, it absolutely could be that the first versions for about four of these songs I heard were live (and were GREAT), but in spite of that I think it stand on its own really well.

Youngest person on this album is 65 years old.

Drummer is 57.

Simon Gallup is 64.

How about 'The 65-year-old on this album is younger than the person or people older than him.'