The Cure have released a new single, “Alone,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted band’s first new song since 2008.
“It’s the track that unlocked the record,” frontman Robert Smith shared of the seven-minute epic in a statement. “As soon as we had that piece of music recorded I knew it was the opening song, and I felt the whole album come into focus. I had been struggling to find the right opening line for the right opening song for a while, working with the simple idea of ‘being alone’, always in the back of my mind this nagging feeling that I already knew what the opening line should be… as soon as we finished recording I remembered the poem ‘Dregs’ by the English poet Ernest Dowson… and that was the moment when I knew the song – and the album – were real.”
“Alone” is the opening track on the Cure’s forthcoming LP, Songs of a Lost World, set for release Nov. 1 via Capitol Records. The album, the group’s 14th studio release, is their first in 16 years. They previewed several tracks during their recent Shows of a Lost World tour (the band first performed “Alone” live nearly two years ago in at Arēna Rīga in Latvia).
Songs of a Lost World was written and arranged by Smith, produced and mixed by Smith and Paul Corkett and performed by the Cure. The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales. Smith created the sleeve concept, and Andy Vella, a long-time Cure collaborator, handled the album’s art and design. The LP’s cover art features “Bagatelle,” a 1975 sculpture by Janez Pirnat.
The album will be released in several formats alongside its digital release. These include as a 1LP, a Miles Showell Abbey Road half-speed master 2LP, marble-colored 1LP, double Cassette, CD, and a deluxe CD package with a Blu-ray featuring an instrumental version of the record and a Dolby Atmos mix of the album. Fans can pre-order the album here.
Smith began teasing a new LP over the summer. In August, he shared a cryptic post that read: “And then…” A few weeks later, content on the band’s official website was wiped and replaced with an email signup link. The Cure also brought longtime fans into the fold to help tease the release. Postcards featuring the album title and apparent release date were mailed out to fans in the U.K. The cards read “Songs of a Lost World” and a set of Roman numerals that translate to Nov. 1, 2024.
In 2019, Smith told Rolling Stone the album was slow to take shape. It was tentatively titled Live From the Moon, drawing inspiration from the musician’s memories around the moon landing. “In a funny way, I was trying to achieve nostalgia for a world that never happened. And I think that’s still what I want the world to be,” Smith said. “That’s why I’m struggling a little bit with the lyrics. Musically, I think we’ve done it. It’s just lyrically, I need to make sure that it’s working.”
The musician added, “We seem to keep rewriting songs. I don’t think I’ve quite nailed some of them. I’ve sung most of it, but I think it has to be the best thing. I can’t do the whole, “That’ll do.” I’ve never felt that with a Cure album, but with this one in particular, I think we’ve waited more than 10 years, and I can’t just think, ‘Oh, that’ll do.’”
