Has there been a truly great Cure album since 1989’s Disintegration? I ask only because, fine though some of the tracks on this, their 13th studio album, are, the record is most noteworthy for presenting a band whose sound is stuck in a rut, a remarkable and depressing state of affairs for an outfit who have been going for 32 years. So, here is Robert Smith again, ploughing pretty much the same furrow — dirgey pop’n’goth, walls of guitars and trebly bass — he has been working for years. The high points are wonderful: the recent single The Only One, the frenetic Freakshow and the lilting Sirensong thrum with Smith’s strange mix of tenderness and malevolence. But tracks such as Sleep When I’m Dead are wearyingly over the top, and scary, too. Ever wondered what the Cure would sound like covering Duran Duran? Here’s your answer.

Polydor 1764225

Editor's choice

• U2 at Nou Camp Stadium, Barcelona
• The 50 Best Movie Villains
• The 15 golden rules of theatre etiquette