"Alone" | ||||
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Single by the Cure | ||||
from the album Songs of a Lost World | ||||
Released | 26 September 2024 | |||
Genre | Gothic rock | |||
Length | 6:48 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Robert Smith | |||
Producer(s) |
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The Cure singles chronology | ||||
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"Alone" is a song by English rock band the Cure. Released on 26 September 2024, it was the first new studio recording from the band in over a decade and a half. "Alone" serves as the lead single from the band's record Songs of a Lost World (2024), their first studio album since 4:13 Dream (2008) sixteen years earlier.
Songs of a Lost World has been alluded to in some form since 2019, with continuous assurances of a nebulous release date that ended up being pushed back almost indefinitely, stuck in limbo for about five years. [1] The album's title was announced in early 2022, and its associated tour – during which "Alone" was performed live for first time – began later that same year. [2] [3]
Robert Smith explained "It’s the track that unlocked the record; as soon as we had that piece of music recorded I knew it was the opening song, and I felt the whole album come into focus,”... “I had been struggling to find the right opening line for the right opening song for a while, working with the simple idea of ‘being alone’, always in the back of my mind this nagging feeling that I already knew what the opening line should be.” [4] He took inspiration from the 1902 posthumous poem "Dregs" by Ernest Dowson. [5]
Alexis Petridis wrote in The Guardian that "[t]he overall message of 'Alone' to [singer Robert Smith's] audience seems to be: abandon hope all ye who think the Cure's best song is 'The Love Cats' or 'Friday I'm in Love'. But for those who ultimately prefer the Cure when they're wreathed in misery and despair – as you suspect Smith does – 'Alone' is quite the appetiser." [6]
Éamon de Paor of The Irish Times observed "The lead single had already created a buzz among Cure fans, with a feeling that the band might be back to their best following 4:13 Dream , their going-through-the-motions let-down from 2008."... "Here Smith is at his most epically introspective – that’s when he finally turns up, cresting a crestfallen riff at three minutes and 30 seconds. It’s slow, sad and brilliant, while the lyrics offer a signpost to the angst to follow as Smith declares, “This is the end of every song we sing. The fire burned out to ash, the stars grown dim with tears.” [7]
Sam Walker-Smart of Clash regarded the song "as some of the best material since the early nineties. While ‘ Bloodflowers ’ is nothing to sleep on, there’s already a drive, a longing apparent on this ‘Songs Of A Lost World’ cut that elevates things to another level. This is a stunning return that makes us more excited for the whole package." giving the song a 9/10. [8]
Chart (2024) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia Digital Tracks (ARIA) [9] | 31 |
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) [10] | 22 |
UK Singles Downloads (OCC) [11] | 26 |
UK Singles Sales (OCC) [12] | 27 |
US Rock Digital Song Sales ( Billboard ) [13] | 15 |
US Alternative Digital Song Sales ( Billboard ) [14] | 10 |
The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member, though bassist Simon Gallup has been present for all but about three years of the band's history. Their debut album, Three Imaginary Boys (1979), along with several early singles, placed the band at the forefront of the emerging post-punk and new wave movements that were gaining prominence in the United Kingdom. Beginning with their second album, Seventeen Seconds (1980), the band adopted a new, increasingly dark and tormented style, which, together with Smith's stage look, had a strong influence on the emerging genre of gothic rock as well as the goth subculture that eventually formed around the genre.
Wild Mood Swings is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 6 May 1996 by Fiction Records. The album charted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart, staying on chart for six weeks, and charted at number 12 in the US Billboard 200.
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"A Forest" is a song by the English rock band the Cure. Co-produced by Mike Hedges and the band's Robert Smith, it was released as a single from the band's second album Seventeen Seconds on 28 March 1980. It was their debut entry on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 31. The accompanying music video was first shown on BBC's Top of the Pops programme on 24 April 1980.
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