We’re a little more than two weeks out from The Cure‘s Songs of a Lost World and Robert Smith has been opening up about it in a few interviews. Most notably there’s one hour, 40 minute video interview you can watch on the Songs of a Lost World website where Smith talks about a wide range of subjects.
It was shot at Abbey Road Studios and you may have seen a few clips from the interview that The Cure have already shared on their socials. He discusses making the new album, what he did during lockdown (he finally read War and Peace), the Cure documentary that’s being made by longtime collaborator Tim Pope, the songs from other album he thinks fit the vibe of Lost World, and lots more. “I still feel like that 10-year old kid staring at the moon,” he says at one point, talking about how the Apollo 11 moon landing affected his life.
As to Songs of a Lost World, Smith says he kept this album focused and shorter than the last few Cure albums, which is why he thinks this one is so good. It almost ended with an acoustic song but he cut it at the last minute, saying it didn’t quite fit the mood. Fans have also noted that a few Cure songs that they played on the Shows of a Lost World Tour are not on the album, and Robert says the band are still on track to have two other albums out sooner than later. He says the next album is “virtually finished.” As for the third, “it’s a bit more difficult because, well if we get that far… Talking about the third album, you see what I mean? I just can’t help myself.”
This is the interview where he says The Cure will tour starting in the fall of 2025 and stay busy through 2028 which will be the 50th anniversary of the band. In 2029, Smith will be 70s and says that may be a good point to stop. We shall see. You can watch the whole thing here (the date code to unlock the video is I – XI – MMXXIV). UPDATE: You can also watch via YouTube below.
Meanwhile, Smith also talked to The Sunday Times and among the subjects discussed were the price of concert tickets, dynamic pricing, and being good to your fans. “I was shocked by how much profit is made,” Smith said. “I thought, ‘We don’t need to make all this money.'” He goes on to say:
If people save on the tickets, they buy beer or merch. There is goodwill, they will come back next time. It is a self-fulfilling good vibe and I don’t understand why more people don’t do it.
It was easy to set ticket prices, but you need to be pig-headed. We didn’t allow dynamic pricing because it’s a scam that would disappear if every artist said, ‘I don’t want that!’ But most artists hide behind management. “Oh, we didn’t know,” they say. They all know. If they say they do not, they’re either fucking stupid or lying. It’s just driven by greed.
Read the whole feature at The Sunday Times.
Songs of a Lost World is out November 1 and you can listen to “Alone” and “A Fragile Thing” below.