The Cure

While all the stereotypes about the Cure's goth dirges, smeared makeup and portly lead singer are true, Robert Smith's mastery of pop songcraft often gets overlooked. For every Pornography, there is a "Love Cats" or "Just Like Heaven." With this 2008 release (the first in four years), Smith expertly balances the Cure's downbeat signature alt rock with a more guitar-centric, joyously odd "let's try anything" pop approach last heard on The Top and Kiss Me.... Nobody will complain that cuts such as "Sirensong," "The Only One" and "The Perfect Boy" sound like vintage Cure.