The Cure – ‘Wish’

Posted On September 14, 2024September 14, 2024

Standing on the edge of a cliff, caught between the allure of the vast, unknown ocean below and the safety of solid ground behind, comes close to evoking the essence of how Wish sounds. Through the crashing waves of its arrangements and Robert Smith’s pain-tinged vocals, The Cure successfully captures the sensation of being suspended between two worlds.

The melancholic shadows of Smith’s past would rarely ever be out of reach, but Wish is unmistakably vulnerable, inspired by the frontman’s grapples with depression and despair. However, the textures and melodic charm also contrast with the band’s signature sombre fare, capturing both the exhilaration of loss and the frustrations of yearning.

More intriguingly, Wish adopts these layers while executing a more simplistic charm, at least in comparison to the earlier Disintegration. Its haunting and romantic ambience presents a more laid-back version of The Cure, one that offers bittersweet reflections without compromising on darkness. It’s an album that still carries the band’s signature emotional weight but does so with a breezier, more melodic approach that invites you in rather than pulling you under.

Opening with the appropriately titled ‘Open’, the tone is immediately set, longing and frustration emitting from the swirling guitar sounds before Smith’s voice enters, raw and yearning, like a cathartic release that still has a firm, distant grip on the burdens of the past. ‘High’, by contrast, continues this scene-setting emotional soundscape with lighter, less perturbed arrangements, revealing a more playful side of the band.

However, as expected, Wish is complex at various junctures — ‘From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea’, for instance, pulls you back into deep waters, its long runtime allowing more than enough space for an extended exploration of emotional depth. Drifting masterfully between tension and release, this track toys with its forthcoming crescendo with cascading guitar sounds that keep you entirely engaged from start to finish.

Of course, the breaker in the mix is ‘Friday I’m In Love’, a buoyant celebration of love and romance that instantly feels timeless and more of an abrupt surge into indie and alternative than their previous gothic rock realm. Its simplicity and anthemic quality stand in stark contrast to the heavier tracks on the album, making the entire record one filled with endearing gems.

After the softer, gentler paced ‘Trust’ and the post-punk, jangly ‘Doing The Unstuck’ prove that this is an album where anything is possible, ‘A Letter To Elise’ is an unsuspecting ballad that sweeps you away with reckless abandon. Executed with the band’s more melancholic edge, the song reflects the inevitability of loss, carried both by Smith’s poignant vocal delivery and delicate guitar work.

In many ways, Wish is entirely predictable. However, in other ways, the obvious interplay between light and dark and the ways the band incorporates a more light and spacious feel make it their most unpredictable effort yet. Compared to the previous albums, Wish feels more refined, with every piece placed meticulously to evoke a specific emotion or atmosphere.

This might be The Cure at other most mature, but Wish also adopts a certain childlike quality, though not in the way Disintegration drew from childhood fear and nightmares. This time, it embraces a sense of wonder and innocence, capturing the fleeting joy of simpler moments. Though it never really frees itself from the shadows lurking in the corners of the mind, Wish finds beauty in the in-between spaces, where even the heaviest of emotions can feel alive.

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