JAPANESE WHISPERS recollects the songs from the three singles that the Cure released from the fall of 1982 to the end of 1983.These songs capture a whole new phase in the history of the band, that moved from a certain music style to another through these various recordings.

It was only 2 months after the sudden ending of the "fourteen explicit moments" tour and the rather unpleasant departure of Simon Gallup that Robert Smith entered the studio with the company of Steve Steverin (bass player and key figure of post-punk legends Siouxsie and the Banshees) in order to record a new song undeer the title of "Lament".In the meantime, Laurence Tolhurst started experimenting with synths and various sequencers,including drum machines.

In the fall of 1982,Parry,owner of Fiction records, suggested Smith to record and release a "pop single" in order to get over the anguish of the PORNOGRAPHY recording and touring circumstances and confuse the cult following that started growing restless.Smith agreed under the term that this release would be under a new band name, but Parry insisted.And so in october of 1982 the "Let's go to bed/Just one kiss" single was released on ''7 and ''12, the latter including extended mixes of both songs.

A rather typical product of its era, "Let's go to bed" is full of early 80s synths and equal mood. "turning,turning blue all over the windows and the floors" shows exactly Smith's rather easy effort to put some words next to others and create a pop song that would seem out of place in the Cure's previous records."Just one kiss" is rather serious though ("this is the song that should have been the A-side" said Smith years later), with haunting synths by Laurence Tolhurst(who permanently quit drumming in favor of keyboards), various guitar fills by Smith and drums by Steve Goulding.

The single did rather well.In the meantime, smith started following various projects,unwilling to proceed to a full-length recording with the Cure,that existed as a duo at the time(Robert Smith-Laurence Tolhurst).The most important project was The Glove, formed in common with Severin,that ended with a full-length album and a bunch of singles in mid-1983.

In the meantime,and more specifically in April of 1983, the "Walk" EP is released, featuring the title track,that became the band's greatest success at the time,"Lament","Dream" and "The upstairs room".Each one of those songs lies in the more or less commercial side of electro-pop.

"The Walk" is a winner, full of synth lines that just can't escape your mind, smith's babbling lyrics now surprisingly suitable for the upbeat nature and positive character of the song--and what surprises most is that it is the same band behind the EP's "dark" song, "Lament", an effort that lives up to its name.Smith's echoing voice reminds strongly of Pornography,as does the whole song structure: the lead guitar lines and drums immediately point to "figure head" or any other song from the Cure's last album. "The dream" and "the upstairs room" are mid-tempo electro songs that strongly remind of Yazoo, early Depeche mode,Soft cell or any other New wave/new romantic band of the time. Catchy,"happy" synth melodies from Lol,who sounds as if he has been playing keyboards all his life, drum machines and synth bass melodies and above all Smith singing and sounding care-free,happy,uncertain about the next move and all that at the same time(!).

In the summer of 83 Smith took some time recording the glove's only album,and handling the Cure's first live concert since June of 1982 as a proper band (Smith on guitar and vocals, Tolhurst on synths, Andy anderson from Brilliant on drums and Phil Thornalley,the engineer of PORNOGRAPHY,on bass).The release of "Blue monday" from New order and the frenzy around synthpop-electro gave new strength to the Cure's efforts and the band started receiving fame and attraction from mainstream press and audiences.

In the fall of '83, following the banshees in jerusalem and in a Uk tour as the lead guitar player,after John McGeoch's departure,Smith found little time to deal with the Cure.He features in the Banshees' live album and video NOCTURNE with a rather new look(and a new haircut).And only in november of '83 was the cure's next single released.

With a steady line-up(Smith,tolhurst,Thornalley,Anderson) and an even more direct sound and approach of mainstream pop, the "Lovecats" single hits #7 and suddenly all teenage british girls and boys discover the Cure."Nonsense" said smith about the song years later,but it was quite an effort at the time,and it was obvious that Smith wanted this fame.The drums and bass adopt a nearly jazz approach,and the strings on the background add to this approach.There is little or no guitar in the song,and Smith sings like any other mainstream pop star,full of passion and vanity.The "speak my language" b-side can hardly be considered a serious song,where Robert shouts incoherent words behind an equally "jazzy" background of bass,drums,strings and keyboards.We should note that the ''12 single had "Mr.Pink eyes" as well,which is more of a jamming than a song.And the title says it all...

The next months would find Smith fully contributing to the upcoming Banshees' album,the dark HYENA,and then re-entering the studio to record the next Cure album,which was to become the notorious THE TOP. The singles included here are certainly worth listening, and despite their commercial sound, are quite entertaining, revealing another side of the band. As for "Lament" and "Just one kiss", they are among the band's hidden treasures.