CURE

With Bloodflowers, Robert Smith and the boys give sway to the most shoegazery elements of their eternally languid arsenal to often stunning effect. Evoking memories of similar classics such as Pornography and Disintegration, the Cure's first effort of the 21st century simmers with serene seamless disorder as Smith lays his usual mixture of lyrical sorrow and delight upon a bed of ambient landscapes. While the terrain is somewhat familiar, the echoing guitars; the lush, alluring keyboards; and the sensually pleading vocals that so unmistakably characterize any Cure album are welcome friends. The air of tranquillity that permeates Bloodflowers is set from the first minutes of the album as "Out of This World" breezes in with a gentle two-minute intro before Robert Smith drops by to ask "will we really remember how it feels to be this alive?" The group proceeds to drift through a quietly enthralling set of nine songs. Smith and company do pick up the pace momentarily on the beautifully buoyant plea of "Maybe Someday," but even that is an ode to reflection. Bloodflowers is a welcome return to the Cure's ongoing meditation on discontent.

Estimated despatch 5-10 days after ordering.