Album of the Week

At their best, The Cure have always let romance shine in a gothic darkness. 'Plainsong', 'Pictures of You', you know them. You know them through and through, because new music from the Sussex band hasn't been there for years. They didn't even need it, the live shows were still that good and timeless. But that need came to Robert Smith and co. Perhaps it was the death of father, mother, brother Smith, the approaching retirement age. Suddenly the lyrics came again, there was romance and darkness again. Songs of a Lost World is full of The Cure's best moments and none of it is easy. A seven-minute thundercloud as an opening track, a ten-minute epic at the end. They don't mince their words: "we're left alone with nothing at the end of every song," Smith sings on 'Endsong'. But is that true? In all their doom and gloom, The Cure are still with us. “I know that my world has grown cold / But it really doesn't matter if you say we'll be together / If you say that we'll be with me in the end”. CD / LP

New in

	91 years, 152 albums, of which 76 studio albums and Willie Nelson still knows how to do it just a little bit differently. Last Leaf on the Tree is a cover album but certainly not an uninteresting one. With the help of Daniel Lanois, John Densmore and son Micah, Nelson gives his own twist and well-known and lesser-known songs by Neil Young, Tom Waits, Nina Simone, Beck (!) and The Flaming Lips (!). CD / LP
	Adrianne Lenker discovered the music of Tucker Zimmerman and wondered why this man wasn't much better known. The next question, via email: say Tucker, would you like to make an album with my band Big Thief? Sure. And voila, Dance of Love . A folk album as cozy and heartwarming as a campfire - with the poetic, gentle Zimmerman who encourages you to quietly sing along. CD / LP
	Bon vivant Thijs Boontjes goes into battle with a straight leg against the Calvinist hardness of the Netherlands today. Dancing Boontjes is full of party and protest music. 'Fiasco (Embarrassing, Embarrassing)' fulminates against the Schoof cabinet; 'Nachtportier' against increasing xenophobia. I hear you thinking: that includes punk and... italo-disco! Why not? CD / LP
	Microgenre 'sapphic pop' is - thanks to Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish and Renee Rapp - making it to the top of the charts these days. Katie Gavin of pop group MUNA (you may know 'Silk Chiffon') doesn't aspire to those charts, but on her debut album What A Relief she combines the best elements of the queer indie genre. Country, folk and pop in a mixture as soft as silk bedding. Snuggle up with her. CD / LP

 

Of course, more came out this week: Peter Perrett joins forces with Johnny Marr and Bobby Gillespie, among others, on double album The Cleansing ( CD / LP ); and the late singer-songwriter and producer Richard Swift is honored with compilation album 4 Hits & a Miss ( LP ).

Pre-orders

	Indie troubadour Bonnie "Prince" Billy is actually making The Purple Bird (January 31, 2025) with a producer. David Ferguson (Johnny Cash, John Prine) to be precise. CD / LP
	FKA twigs immersed themselves in Eastern Bloc techno and dreamy trance for their third album Eusexua (January 24, 2025). CD / LP