Bloodflowers

Robert Smith and company entered a new millennium after a somewhat murky late 90s, with various side projects and a new singles compilation in the wake of the very uneven Wild Mood Swings album making everything feel a bit odd from the Cure’s camp. But Bloodflowers, described by Smith as concluding a trilogy that included Pornography and Disintegration, showed the band’s ability at moody focus intact, with songs like “Where the Birds Always Sing,” “The Last Day of Summer” and the title track suffused with dark, uneasy power.