"If you don't like this record, you don't like the Cure," says frontman Robert Smith. He's not kidding -- the goth band's new CD, The Cure, due June 29th, is the group's best work since 1989's Disintegreation.

The Cure entered London's Olympic Studios in February with thirty-seven songs and banged out an album with producer Ross Robinson in eight weeks. That's a phenomenal achievement for us," says Smith. "We haven't made a record that quickly since 1984."

Robinson, who's known for his intense recording sessions with metal bands such as Korn and Slipknot, had the group record its tracks live in the studio, resulting in a raw-sounding album full of guitar squalls and feedback. It's not all noise, though: There are several upbeat numbers, such as the first single, "The End of the World." And the standout track, tentatively titled "Labyrinths," is an Eastern-influenced epic along the lines of Jane's Addiction's classic "Three Days."

After touring Europe in June, the Cure will launch the Curiosa festival tour in the U.S. in July. Interpol, the Rapture and Mogwai will also play the main stage, with Auf Der Maur, Cursive, the Cooper Temple Clause, Cursive, Thursday and Muse among the bands who will do dates on the second stage.

The Cure tour dates (venues TBA):

7/24: West Palm Beach
7/25: Tampa
7/28: Nashville
7/29: Atlanta
7/31: New York
8/1: Camden, NJ
8/3: Cincinnati
8/4: Cleveland
8/7: Boston
8/11: Detroit
8/12: Chicago
8/14: Dallas
8/15: Houston
8/17: Denver
8/18: Salt Lake City
8/27: Los Angeles

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