The Cure Release New Singles

The Only One and Freakshow Singles Preview Robert Smith's New Album

Jun 13, 2008

British rock band The Cure have begun releasing new singles to promote their currently untitled next album slated for release September 13th.

Born out of the British post-punk boom of the 70s, The Cure first achieved world-wide commercial success with the 1987 album Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and have successfully maintained a global audience. Since their first release in 1979 the band has constantly changed both genres and line-ups, the only consistent member being the singer/writer Robert Smith.

The Cure's The Only One

May saw the release of "The Only One" and echoes the band's light-hearted pop-oriented side. The release was not readily available in all areas, however. According to the band's official website Universal Music Group failed to distribute the CD single to many retailers by the intended date of May 13th. Digital distributor iTunes met the release date, however, giving many fans their first preview of the band's new material. June's single, “Freakshow,” was released on the 10th, 3 days earlier than originally planned.

Unlike its predecessor "Freakshow" is less direct in both sound and execution. The beat is punchy and mechanical and features the unusual inclusion of a cowbell. The guitar bends and twists around a bouncing rythm. The result is a wall of live and funky sound.

Smith joins in the chaos almost immediately, using excited, fast paced vocals to illustrate himself lost in an “alien crowd,” seemingly unable to stop some radical behavior. His words are just as bizarre as the music supporting them, relying on sci-fi imagery to further push his sense of absurdity (“The stuff from Mars makes it harder to choose/Looks like the final frontier got moved”).

The song is unusually short for a commercial single, ending abruptly after 2 and a half minutes, the final line being aprroptiately enough “I have to stop.” "Freakshow" makes no attempts to be cheery nor downbeat but rather to be groovy and fun.

All Kinds of Stuff on the B-Side

Freakshow's b-side “All Kinds of Stuff” is the more direct rock song that The Cure have been comfortable with in recent years. Though it drops the chaotic party sense of its lead, "All Kinds of Stuff" is complimentary to it, with the narrative picking up where "Freakshow" stopped.

Smith has come to his senses and desperately offers excuses with lines like “So maybe I took to much/Yeah maybe I lost my touch/And maybe all kinds of stuff.” The once lively guitar now serves as a point of mounting tension as Smith gradually realizes that maybe he's done too much harm to recover.

Rich with repetition, "All Kinds of Stuff" is every bit as catchy as "Freakshow" despite being much darker and slower-paced.

The next single will be released in July. The Cure are currently on the North American leg of their 4Tour and playing several dates thoughout June.

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