The Cure Resurface at Primavera Sound with 29-Song Set and a New Lineup

The Cure’s first show in nearly two years was less a comeback than a recalibration. At Barcelona’s Primavera Sound on Friday, Robert Smith led a six-piece lineup through 29 songs that spanned decades, drawing from the band’s catalog with a heavy hand and little nostalgia-baiting gloss.

The set avoided mere hit-parade logic. Alongside staples like “Pictures of You” and “A Forest,” the band resurrected “2 Late” (the Lovesong B-side) for the first time since 2019, pulled “Mint Car” out of the Wild Mood Swings era for the first time since 2016, and dusted off “alt.end” from 2004’s The Cure for its first airing in seven years. The encore alone held nine tracks, including a rarely played “Wrong Number,” last performed in 2019.

The performance also marked a quieter shift in the group’s architecture. Eden Gallup, son of longtime bassist Simon Gallup, stepped in for the late Perry Bamonte, who died in December 2025 after a short illness. The set didn’t dwell on the loss, but the weight of the transition was unmistakable in a band whose chemistry relies on deep familiarity.

The Cure are now booked across the UK and European festival circuit through summer. No news accompanied the show regarding a new studio album—an absence that felt almost pointed after such a generous, career-spanning set.