<body><![CDATA[An impressive, albeit scary, 25 years on from their debut album, the Cure demonstrate that they still have the power to thrill, if not surprise. Novelty of sorts is provided in the shape of Korn and Limp Bizkit producer Ross Robinson at the controls, but in all other respects this is more of the (very wonderful) same. Diehard fans will doubtless find in the 10min 15sec The Promise cause for celebration and the holding aloft of cigarette lighters. Luckily, this is Robert Smith’s only such excursion. Elsewhere, on tracks as skewed, scuffed and melodically dark and light as Before Three, The End of the World and Never, he proves he can turn out a compact, multilayered pop song as distinctively and hauntingly as ever. To read Dan Cairns’s profile of the Cure, click on special feature in the left-hand panel.Click <a href="asfunction:Tardis.webPageOpen,http://www.thecure.com"><b>here</b></a> to visit the official Cure website. Buy for £12.99 or less, including postage and packaging, before July 26. Subject to availability.]]></body>