A Nice Pair: The Cure

It’s Sunday which means it’s time for A Nice Pair: book and music pairings that go together like teased hair and black lipstick. Today we’re pairing the book GOTH: A History by Lol Tolhurst with Songs of a Lost World by The Cure,

Written by Lol Tolhurst, co-founder of The Cure, GOTH is an engaging historical memoir of the genre through its music and culture. In addition to Tolhurst’s personal memories, it dives into bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus and Joy Division. GOTH explores the genre’s origins, its expansion and culture, the fashion and finally its legacy and influence across current media.

Released last year, Songs of a Lost World is The Cure’s fourteenth studio album and was one of the fastest selling albums of 2024. It was composed entirely by Robert Smith and features songs such as Alone, A Fragile Thing and I Can Never Say Goodbye. NME stated the album is “arguably the most personal album of Smith’s career. Mortality may loom, but there’s colour in the black and flowers on the grave”.