Earlier this year it was reported that The Cure would likely release a new album in 2014, “tentatively” titled 4:14 Scream, recorded at the same time as 2008′s 4:13 Dream. However, in a recent interview, frontman Robert Smith expressed reservations about the project, calling it “a bit of a sore point”.
“We’re in a weird kind of predicament,” Smith told XFM after a concert at Royal Albert Hall. “I’ve finished singing and mixing an album that was made by a band that no longer exists. So I’m trying to be convinced that I should release what is the second half of an album that effectively came out in 2008,” he continued. “It’s a bit of a sore point, to be honest.”
Smith’s main predicament is that the tracks from 4:14 Scream were written and recorded in 2008, under a different Cure line-up. He says he now wants to focus on recording another album with the band’s current lineup.
“It’s not really new,” he explained. “I just never sang it. I couldn’t be bothered. I didn’t think the words were good enough.” Smith said he had now re-written the lyrics, recorded vocals and that the album will likely be released during the summer’s “dead air” period for albums, via the Cure’s old label home Fiction.
“It’s an album that is really different to anything else we’ve done,” continued Smith. “People who want to hear it will hear it and those that don’t, don’t. They’ll just keep dancing to Close To Me and Love Cats.”
“Having said all that…I’ve no idea,” he added. “I’m very bad at planning long term. I’m at an age where I’m enjoying what I’m doing. I don’t feel such a strong urge to beat people over the head with new stuff.”
The Cure have just finished two epic performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall, where they played massive 45-song setlists filled with live debuts and rarities. He says The Cure probably won’t perform the 4:14 songs live. Listen to the full interview below.
Listen: XFM Robert Smith Interview
