Focused, wirey, yet almost charmingly naive at points, Three Imaginary Boys isn’t the Cure as the world would fully come to know them, but it is absolutely the Cure nonetheless, the first full-length showcasing Robert Smith’s warm, wounded singing and angst-tinged lyrics, not to mention his equally emotional and fraught guitar work. Bassist Michael Dempsey and drummer Lol Tolhurst provide the sharp counterbalance and on songs like “Fire in Cairo,” the rushed “Grinding Halt” and especially the masterpiece of tension “10:15 Saturday Night,” it all connects.

– Ned Raggett