The Cure - Bloodflowers

Quite an emotional ride

This album is moody,pensive,shadowy in nature as Robert Smith sings about loneliness and the ability or inability to cope with it. His lyrics coupled with keyboard landscapes of sounds and echoes awash with overcast dirges brings one along on a ride with darkness and drops you off after a 60+ plus minute ride to a state of contemplation where the sun starts breaking through the clouds and the rays of hope start to brighten your weary train of thought. A masterpiece,highly recommended listening on a cold,cloudy rainy day. November 8, 2008

Wonderful Album...Even Better Live

This album is the 21st Century equivalent of DISINTEGRATION. Watch it live on Trilogy...unbelievable. It's even better when drunk. September 30, 2008

beautiful music

This is a great CD. The melodies the Cure amasses here are amazing. The lyrics are profound, and unlike some of their earlier CD's--although good--they make sense! But 4 stars because they can get a little wallowing and blurry at times and stuck in the depression rut, but only a little. Definitely worth the purchase! June 12, 2007

Melancholic masterpiece

I'll admit that when I first heard "Bloodflowers," I wasn't blown away. I suppose that at the time of its release, I was more into the pop side of The Cure, having been a fan since 1985's "Head on the Door." However, after witnessing the album performed live on the "Trilogy" DVD, I've had a "change of head." I now believe that "Bloodflowers" is an amazingly understated piece of work. It's a guitar-drenched and somewhat psychedelic affair, and, like "Pornography," a little impenetrable upon first listen. And, like "Pornography," it gradually grows on you, indeed nearly attaches itself to you, immersing the listener in a world of brooding introspection. However, unlike "Pornography," "Bloodflowers" is never scary, only darkly ethereal.

"Bloodflowers" represents the classic and art rock facet of The Cure, and at times calls forth the influences of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. The title track, the album's most haunting song, and certainly the band's darkest since "The Hanging Garden," even boasts a delicious Hendrix-style guitar solo.

Aside from the title track, highlights of this album include the lushly solemn "The Loudest Sound" (which provides an unsual flourish when Robert Smith croons the song's title and a chiming guitar riff competes with his lyric), the contemplative "The Last Day of Summer," the exquisitely existential "Where the Birds Always Sing," and "There is No If...," which showcases Smith's quirky romantic humor. For some, the album's weakest moment is the epic "Watching Me Fall," but for me, it's one of the best tracks, and it's enhanced by eerily erotic lyrics.

"Bloodflowers" has been maligned for its lyrical flatness, but honestly, I think these are some of Smith's best lyrics yet. Yes, they are less typically ambiguous and surreal (save for the chilling dialogue that embellishes the title song, and the words adorning the aforementioned "Watching Me Fall"). Their peculiar power lies in their taut simplicity, explicit introspection, and restrained pathos.

Some people have criticized "Bloodflowers" for not living up to the melancholic grandeur of "Disintegration," while others have lamented the lack of sinister edge so prevalent on "Pornography." But I think "Bloodflowers" was not intended to be a replication of either of those albums, but rather an amalgam of the best aspects of both, and I think it works masterfully well. The subtle potency of "Bloodflowers" will elude the masses, but patient listeners will reap many rewards from this CD.
February 14, 2007

Another Creative Peak for the Cure

Unfairly maligned by many who see this as the Cure playing to those stereotypes of anguish and morosity that were either earned or not ( that is another argument entirely ), "Bloodflowers" is in my estimation one of the highlights of this band's catalogue. It is certainly miles ahead of the two albums that bookend it. "Wild Mood Swings" is a tossed off, sloppy mess, an apparent stab at another "Kiss Me..."-styled eclectic pop celebration. And the self-titled disc that followed "Bloodflowers" is a disaster of monumental proportion, a misguided attempt by Smith and company to get "heavy, man" with the aid of a young, brash, producer who had his sights set on turning the Cure into something they're not. "Bloodflowers" is a good example of all the pieces of a puzzle falling neatly into place, creating a whole that is far greater than the sum of its parts. The production is fantastic, subtle and nicely layered, and each member truly shines. There are several pretty ferocious electric guitar leads, and acoutic guitar features prominantly. Keyboards are not as obvious as on say "Disintegration" - that is to say they don't stand out as grand orchestrations. Again, very subtle, very considered. Jason Cooper's drumming is outstanding. Fans of Boris Wiliams will call me out but I think he's the best drummer the Cure have ever had, very dynamic, capable of both enormous power and quiet beauty. And Robert Smith here turns in some of his most compelling vocal performances ever. The only thing I really don't like about this album is the cover - the font type of the band logo and the album name don't work together , and the photo of Smith is one of the worst I have ever seen, truly a turn-off. But that alone doesn't diminish the power and urgency of this great work. "Bloodflowers" is essential Cure listening, and Very Highly Recommended. January 6, 2007

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