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The Cure inventor Robert Smith remains almost immune to studio dilapidation, but if lucky No. 4:13 Dream could never hope to equal the seminal goth pop of Three Imaginary Boys (1979), Pornography (1982), and/or Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (1987) by design of natural evolution, neither is it the Wild Mood Swings of the post-Disintegration (1989) paradigm.
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The lush arrangements on 4:13 Dream don't build a Wall of Sound so much as a whitewater, where heavily distorted guitar and effects share momentum with fluid melodies and memorable pop hooks.
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Amid the frenzied melancholy, there’s filler and a histrionic misstep or two, but for those willfully lost in the perpetual adolescence Smith has always documented, here’s the new soundtrack to Saturday night.
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Not all this mope-a-dope sounds fresh, but let's hope Smith doesn't find his cure for pain just yet.
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Smartly pivoting from 2004's oddly aggro "The Cure," Smith once again indulges in his patented bipolar cocktail of feedback-drenched swoons ('Underneath the Stars') spiked with bursts of giddy pop ('The Only One').
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The album may lack the emotional heft of the Cure's more patient, atmospheric recordings, but should it wind up being the group's last, it will be remembered as more than an unnecessary footnote.
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If it ain’t broke you may smear it with red lipstick and back-comb its hair. But do NOT fix it.
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He has regularly crept back to the light of the charts and 4:13 Dream is such an occasion. And one which, given the ’80s revival, is timed to perfection.
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He isn’t mellowing with age, but serving up more Cure, as you’ve come to expect.
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The only problem is that the rambling approach that let Smith get these things out has kept the results from being all they might have been.
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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."
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The new album has a more nuanced sound and a wealth of interesting songs.
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Overall, 4:13 Dream is an extremely consistent album throughout its runtime.
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While it's too familiar to be revelatory, it's invigorating all the same.
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Even with a dozen records behind him, Smith, when he puts his mind to it, remains a master at crafting concise masterpieces of bouncy pop majesty.
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4:13 Dream is admirably taut and vibrant.
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The territory is familiar, occasionally too familiar....But it’s not a comforting nostalgic reprise; it’s another plunge into the maelstrom.
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This is the first Cure album in a long time that’s more than just another Cure album.
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Under The RadarAn every-other pattern emerges, where a lesser song is followed by a great one. [Winter 2008]
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While the album won’t produce any converts or even revive interest in the band’s newer music among purists, it’s an enjoyable, self-assured collection of jangly guitar pop tunes that sounds guided by the group’s own creative compass instead of fickle fans’ expectations.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 51 out of 55
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Mixed: 2 out of 55
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Negative: 2 out of 55
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Aug 25, 2015
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Dec 16, 2011
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XantyMar 11, 2009