4:13 Dream

Reportedly whittled down from more than 30 tracks, the Cure's 13th album, '4:13 Dream', finds black-clad frontman Robert Smith leading his long-running goth / post-punk ensemble through a dynamic set of songs that often nods to past records, while still sounding at home in 2008. Adding to the admirably vintage part of the equation is the returning guitarist / keyboardist Porl Thompson, who last played with the band in the early 1990s, and essentially replaces departed members Perry Bamonte & Roger O'Donnell.

'4:13 Dream' begins with the beautifully drifting "Underneath the Stars", a track that evokes the group's lauded 'Disintegration' era, and then quickly shifts into pop mode as "The Only One" bounces on pure romantic elation. Elsewhere, Smith leads the Cure into punchier, edgier territory with "Sleep When I'm Dead", and descends into 'Pornography'-worthy darkness on "The Scream", proving that he's still capable of brooding mightily as he steers the act through what is arguably its most eclectic & enjoyable album since 'Wish' (1992).

"It is classic, inconsolable Smith - with a twist... Smith sounds less like a lovesick prince in '4:13 Dream's looping-riff viscera and swallow-you-whole echo, and more like the avenging middle-aged Roger Waters on Pink Floyd's 'Animals'."
-ROLLING STONE

"Smith once again indulges in his patented bipolar cocktail of feedback-drenched swoons... After all these years, he's still the undisputed king of pain."
-ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY