Critical Reception
Metacritic calculated the weighted average score given to The Cure at 75, meaning that the critical response has been generally positive.
The album was well received by The Guardian, New Musical Express, Kerrang!, Playlouder, Rolling Stone, Stylus Magazine, Tiny Mix Tapes, Pitchfork Media, E! Online, Entertainment Weekly and the Los Angeles Times.
The album garnered mediocre responses from AllMusic and Blender.
The Guardian described it as a "masterful performance all round", highlighting the songs "The End of the World", "Going Nowhere", "Anniversary", "The Promise", and rating the album 4 stars out of 5.
New Musical Express described it as "startling from the first listen." (19 June 2004, page 55)
Rolling Stone rated it four stars (out of five), saying "it's the grooviest thing, it's a perfect dream." The review pointed out the best tracks as being "Before Three", "Lost" and "(I Don't Know What's Going) On".
E! Online rated the album a B, stating "It's hard to imagine a set of songs that better reflects every phase the group has navigated through its turbulent career."
Entertainment Weekly stated: "As with Prince on Musicology, Smith allows the Cure's current lineup to become his own tribute band." However, the article ultimately gives the album a favorable review, claiming "The newly vibrant music looks back lovingly as well on a time when Cure songs managed to combine a throbbing, oingo-boingo springiness with the depressive angst of suburban-basement isolation" and giving the album a B. (9 July 2004, page 86)
AllMusic rated the album three stars, saying "The album is a satisfying listen and there's a certain charm in hearing a Cure that's so comfortable in its own skin, but it's the type of record that sits on the shelves of diehard fans, only occasionally making its way on the stereo." Allmusic described the best tracks as "Lost", "Never" and "The End of the World".
Blender, in a negative review, stated: "They come off more than ever like a caricature." (August 2004, page 104)
Read more about this topic: The Cure (The Cure album)
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