IT seems Goth will never die, no matter how cadaverous its followers may look.

Not only has the genre's black-clad imagery had a huge influence on the nu-metal age, but any number of new bands now hark back to the dark side of the 1980s, from The Killers to Interpol.

Even one-time jokey pop punks Blink 182 roped in The Cure's walking bad hair day Robert Smith to sing on their goth-tinged last album.

No better time then for Smith and his not-so-very-merry men to emerge from semi-retirement, joining the likes of Morrissey and The Pixies on the comeback trail as newly-revered icons to a new audience.

Teamed up with US rock mogul producer Ross Robinson, they have not fitted so well into the music scene since their Eighties heyday.

Smith's voice is cranked confidently high in the mix and he sounds positively re-energised, if not noticeably cheerier, howling "I can't find myself!" on opener Lost.

Labyrinth churns darkly, Us Or Them rages with newfound energy and The Promise is a mighty 11-minute epic of Simon Gallup's booming basslines and walls of squalling guitar.

But, although the revitalised Cure of 2004 can bash out epic, echoing, fan-pleasing rock misery in their sleep, sadly their quirky, charming, pop side which gave us the likes of The Love Cats, Close To Me and Friday I'm In Love seems absent here. Single The End Of The World and the excellent Taking Off stray the closest to upbeat, with shades of the band's Disintegration golden age. But it's still a successful comeback that should keep Robert Smith in black dye and hairspray for years.

Updated: 08:32 Thursday, July 01, 2004