Sound Bets: The Cure, 'The Only One'

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IN MAY, The Cure began releasing a single on the 13th of each month in the buildup to its as-yet-untitled 13th studio album, scheduled to come out in September.

But rather than living up to his image as King of the Goths, for the first single, "The Only One," bandleader Robert Smith played into his other strength: the ultra-romantic.

The drum intro vaguely recalls the one that began 1985's "In Between Days," but unlike that song's tale of a broken heart, the straightforward guitar-pop of "The Only One" is a bursting-with-love song that fits squarely in Smith's too-often-overlooked canon of sensuous paeans d'amour.

Cooing salacious and sensuous words might not fit Smith's stereotypical image as a brooder, but songs such as "Just Like Heaven," "Mint Car," "Lovesong," "Caterpillar Girl," "Why Can't I Be You?" and "The Love Cats," to name but a few, prove his heart (and libido) are as big as his soul is dark.

But with "The Only One," Smith takes his growling, squealing, hissing, falsetto-soaring vocals to a whole new level when singing lyrics such as "... Oh, I love / What you do to my lips / When you suck me inside / And you blow me a kiss / I love what you do to my lips / It's so sweet in there."

Hey, now!

There are also lyrical references to "hips" and "bones" and other words that might be construed as surprising considering the source. But Smith's songs have long dealt with animalistic urges as much as nightmarish scenarios, and "The Only One" is a joyous reminder of The Cure's great "other side."