They Told Me I Would Live Forever

The Cure - Sleep When I'm Dead (Mix 13)/Down Under

"Sleep When I'm Dead" is the third of four singles to be released once a month before the new album by the Cure drops in September. It's the strongest of batch so far. "The Only One" was a sweet, pop song and "Freakshow" was a weird, fun number. "Sleep When I'm Dead" is more of a spooky rocker. I figured that each song would portray a different side to the "Cure sound", and I wasn't disappointed. Despite mixing up styles, all three songs (plus their respective B-Sides) hang together really well.

Simon Gallup's jagged, stuttering bass line is the major player in this arrangement. It gives "Sleep When I'm Dead" a dark, new wave fell with a lot of forward movement. Not that the other musicians are slouches. Jason Cooper remains solid on the drums, Robert Smith's vocal delivery is the best it has been in over a decade (the same can be said about all the recent singles), and Porl Thompson squeezes out more funky, wah-wah guitar goodness. This time he plays more of a rhythm part rather than riff it up like he did on "Freakshow", but it's still pretty fantastic playing.

One thing worth noting is the keyboards. This four piece version of the Cure does not have a dedicated keyboard player and are very guitar driven in a live setting. However, they are wise enough to realize when a good piano or synth line helps build up the layers and atmosphere on a song. As "Sleep..." climbs towards the end, the keyboards rise slightly in the mix; not enough to overpower, but enough for emotional intensity.



The B-Side, "Down Under" is the weakest song of the lot, so far. It's not a bad song at all, but it reminds me of the B-Sides that came out during the Wild Mood Swings period. Most of those songs all sounded alike and "Down Under" falls into the same category of being inoffensive dream pop, but nothing spectacular. When vocal effects are heavily used on a song, as they are on this one, it makes me think that something was missing.

7 out of 10