Andromeda Strain
Congo
R.I.P. Michael Crichton
The Cure 4:13 Dream
nThe Legendary Pink Dots Plutonium Blonde
nn
Despite Robert Smith’s physical deterioration into a flabby poster child for “goth-gone-wrong,” there’s no denying that The Cure has aged gracefully. Since 2000’s beautifully-subtle Bloodflowers, the band as released solid material that only pales comparatively to “classic” Cure.
If it wasn’t working against history, 4:13 Dream would be a good album by any standard. Ditching the perfectionism of their engaging eponymous album, The Cure used a loose, live approach to record 4:13 Dream; and the band hasn’t been this comfortable since Disintegration. Despite a three-minute dream-sludge intro (Ah! Windchimes!), “Underneath the Stars” is a romancer that lifts Smith out of his usual-Baroque longing and “The Only One” is The Cure’s first happy song since “A Letter to Elise” to not sound corny.
Much of The Cure’s later success is due to Smith’s voice, which has only gotten better with time. Even when the album settles for mid-90s alterna-rock (“The Hungry Ghost”), Smith does not shy away from going big in a way that can only be described as lush. And “The Scream” is pretty passable except for hearing him enact the title.
The Legendary Pink Dots are like The Cure in that both bands have been making the same doom-tinged music (more or less) for over twenty years, but where The Cure’s music often provides a light at the end of a tunnel, LPD have no problem with sinking you deeper into industrial hell. With their album-count higher than their number of years together, it’s hardly surprising to see LPD venture into accessible territory with Plutonium Blonde, but that’s a very loose term.
“Torchsong” is an atonal march adorned with sharp metallic plings and vocalist Edward Ka-Spel whispering menacingly in his typical minstrel fashion; it’s equally frightening, compelling and way ahead of its time (Liars fans, take note). Even after the terrifying spoken-word “An Arm and Leg” (“… makes a mess of that designer shirt you’ve paid an arm and a leg for. But what about the other arm and leg?”), a cheery, banjo ode to a mailman (“Mailman”) sounds sinister. It’s not easy to make ominous/alien music engaging, but, LPD’s Plutonium Blonde is not merely enjoyable, it’s transcendent.
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