Post-punk icons The Cure are gearing up for their first album in 16 years, Songs Of A Lost World, and fans won’t have to wait long for another taste of what's to come. After the release of lead single Alone, the band has now teased their next track, A Fragile Thing.
Yesterday (October 6), Robert Smith and the crew dropped a sneak peek of the upcoming single via their fan WhatsApp channel and mailing list, and today, they’ve shared more on social media. The new song will officially drop on Wednesday, October 9, and fans are buzzing.
The teaser clip seems to feature the intro to the track, accompanied by visuals similar to the ones we saw with Alone: a haunting portrait carved into stone, in true Cure fashion. Judging by early reactions and their preview of the song during the 2022 Shows Of A Lost World tour, this is set to be another atmospheric gem. At that tour’s London OVO Arena Wembley stop, A Fragile Thing earned praise for its haunting piano rhythms and rolling basslines.
There’s a deeply personal touch to the song, with Robert Smith hinting that it was influenced by the passing of his parents and brother. The emotional weight of those experiences has clearly shaped the darker tones of Songs Of A Lost World, which Smith himself has described as "merciless" and "relentless doom and gloom."
Despite the long wait, Smith has been open about why it’s taken so long for the album to come together. “I don’t think there was really a kind of an official beginning to this album because it’s been kind of drifting in and out of my life for like an awful long time,” he admitted, sharing his one regret: “I mean if I have one regret is that I said anything at all about it in 2019 because I really shouldn’t have done that.” Still, Cure fans are more than ready for the wait to end.
Before the album officially drops on November 1, The Cure will play two exclusive shows for the BBC later this month, with tickets available through a ballot that closes on October 9. Meanwhile, there’s still one more mystery in the works – a new track titled Endsong that has been teased, but details are still under wraps.
With A Fragile Thing just days away and Songs Of A Lost World on the horizon, it’s clear that The Cure is ready to reclaim their spot as masters of post-punk melancholy.
Photo: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images
