The Cure debuted two new songs last night (October 6) as they kicked off their 2022 world tour with a gig in Riga, Latvia.
The iconic indie band performed at the Arena Riga in the city, sharing 25 songs across the evening with the audience.
Among them were two fresh, previously unheard cuts that could feature on their upcoming new album, Songs Of A Lost World. The gig began with one of them, “Alone,” which opened with an expansive soundscape of guitars, keys and drums, with frontman Robert Smith later singing on it: “This is the end of every song that we sing.”
Later, at the end of the main set, The Cure shared another new song in “Endsong.” That track also took on a melancholy form, Smith singing about a life with “no hopes, no dreams, no love – I don’t belong.”
The show also saw keyboardist and guitarist Perry Bamonte rejoin the band’s touring line-up 17 years after he last performed with them.
The tour will continue tomorrow night (October 8) in Helsinki, Finland, with the dates running until mid-December, when they will wrap up with three nights at London’s OVO Arena Wembley. The full schedule and tickets can be found on The Cure’s official website.
In November, the band will share a deluxe edition of their multi-platinum 1992 album, Wish, to mark its 30th anniversary. It was the band’s ninth studio album and, at the time, became the band’s best-selling album, reaching No.1 in the UK and Mo.2 in the US, where it was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Alternative Music Album category.
Last month (September 24), the band released “Miss Van Gogh (Instrumental Demo)” from the upcoming reissue, which is one of a raft of previously unreleased tracks that will feature on the new edition.
The Cure’s Arena Riga setlist:
“Alone”
“Pictures Of You”
“Closedown”
“A Night Like This”
“Lovesong”
“Trust”
“Burn”
“Fascination Street”
“Push”
“In Between Days”
“Play For Today”
“A Forest”
“Want”
“Shake Dog Shake”
“39”
“From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea”
“Endsong”
“Plainsong”
“Disintegration”
“Lullaby”
“Close To Me”
“The Walk”
“Friday I’m In Love”
“Just Like Heaven”
“Boys Don’t Cry”