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Sun 27 April 2025 14:00, UK
Despite the importance often placed on originality, few legendary acts achieved popularity without repurposing the greats who came before them. After all, we might listen to The Cure and find it hard to pinpoint the obvious influences of Robert Smith, especially after he curated a sound that feels entirely his own. However, like many others, Smith rose by building on those who shaped his world.
While it’s not hard to believe that Smith’s broad repertoire of influences pulls in from countless corners of the industry, his sweet spot was always those in the punk rock spaces, setting the singer on a path to discovering the glorious convergence between music and dark themes. After all, the beauty of The Cure has always been Smith’s troubled mind, and how these ambiguities enrich life in more ways than we’ll ever be able to stick meaningless words to.
In addition, Smith has always known where his strengths are. Many legacy acts lose their spark after a few decades, as their loosening grip on what once made them great starts to diminish an otherwise perfect discography. Sometimes, the nostalgia is strong enough for some to disregard new material entirely, but what made Smith and The Cure consistently relevant is that, at the crux of it, the music remains good.
This is why their latest record, Songs of a Lost World, gripped as much as it did. Although not a Disintegration or Pornography, the record ticked all the quintessential Cure boxes, from Smith’s essential poetic macabre and navigation of lifelong despair, with vagueness and intricacy reflecting life’s ambiguities in a way that feels anything but background.
What’s even more impressive about Lost World’s success is that, when looking at the success of comebacks throughout music history, especially when it comes to popular bands, it’s inherently difficult to get it right. Some opt for creating more of the same to recreate that magic, while others choose a full reinvention to try to stay fresh. The Cure exists somewhere in the middle, taking advantage of nostalgia without compromising on sonic progression.
However, it all started in the threads of their beginning, when several bands helped to shape Smith’s approach to musical composition and thought-provoking lyricism. In many ways, punk rock was the perfect place to start, as it bred a different flavour of authenticity that placed the mind and all its dark corners in the spotlight in a way that was as haunting as it was emotional.
As a young, aspiring musician, Smith was drawn to acts like the Buzzcocks and Siouxsie and the Banshees, enjoying the refreshing sonic elements they brought to the table, complete with melodic charm and subtle accessibility without leaning too hard into commercialism. “I love the Buzzcocks and I love Siouxsie and the Banshees,” he once said, adding, “and I had this plan to be in a band that combined the two of them in terms of style and music.”
While he also grew up listening to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and others, these two bands pushed him to create and explore his own artistry, giving him a direction for blending rawness with atmospheric aesthetics.
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