Though we’re just a few weeks off from the release of the Cure’s much-anticipated Songs of a Lost World — the gothic rockers’ first album in 16 years — we’re being blessed with a bit of dark-gilded romanticism ahead of time via the release of its second single, “A Fragile Thing.”
The song has been in the band’s arsenal for a bit, having been premiered during a November 4, 2022 performance in Assago, Italy. It soon became a live staple of the Cure’s “Shows of a Lost World” tour. Unlike the morphine-drip intoxication of first single “Alone,” “A Fragile Thing” pokes through the haze with a somewhat sunnier disposition and a shuffling, danceable beat.
That said, bandleader Robert Smith explained in a statement that the song is “driven by the difficulties we face choosing between mutually exclusive needs, and how we deal with the futile regrets that can follow these choices however sure we are that the right choices have been made.”
He adds: “It can be really hard to be the person you need to be.”
As previously reported, Songs of a Lost World is out November 1 via Lost Music Limited / Universal. The band will play a show in London just ahead of that which will be broadcast on Halloween by the BBC. Smith has noted, however, that it’s “not an album launch show,” and to stay tuned for more info.
This article was originally published on BrooklynVegan.com and has been edited by Revolver.