The Cure (by The Cure, Rock)

Formed more than 20 years ago, The Cure has become iconic goth idols to more than one generation of music fans. On THE CURE, their 13th studio album, you'll find song after song filled with the kind of self-absorbed angst that teenagers adore and their parents try to ignore. You'll also find a surprising number of love songs, just a bit of poetically violent imagery, one popular swear word ("f--k"), and truck loads of moody posturing. Though the lyrics are not brilliant ("I can't find myself/I can't find myself/I can't find myself/I can't find myself/In the head of this stranger in love," begins the first song) and the musicianship feels somewhat predictable, the whole offers more than the sum of its parts.

This is the first time that The Cure has ever recorded with a producer, and Ross Robinson brought some new ideas and techniques to the project that give this album an intense and passionate sound. For teens interested in dark, guitar-fueled, emotional songwriting, and for parents nostalgic for the 1980s, you could do a whole lot worse.