The Cure’s Japanese Whispers Is Getting a Vinyl Reissue

Japanese Whispers occupies a special place in my memory; as I recall, it was the very first Cure release I ever bought, as a used cassette from Omaha’s long-gone Antiquarium. That was mainly due to its exotic-sounding title; I didn’t recognize any of its songs with the possible exception of “The Lovecats.”

Collecting various singles that were released between November 1982 and November 1983, Japanese Whispers captures the band in a transitional period following the bleakness and nihilism of 1982’s Pornography. Indeed, some songs, like “Let’s Go to Bed,” “Speak My Language,” and “The Love Cats” sound almost silly by comparison, and Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst (bassist Simon Gallup left the band after the Pornography tour) explore a funkier, more dance-oriented sound on “The Upstairs Room” and “The Walk.”

But Japanese Whispers also contains some of the band’s most haunting material. “Just One Kiss” finds Smith wailing “Remember the time that you reigned all night/The Queen of Siam in my arms” over urgent rhythms, while the eerie “Lament” references vanilla smiles, drowned fools, and ice cream river bodies. (The song was supposedly inspired by Smith’s experience of seeing a suicide victim’s body pulled from a river.)

Japanese Whispers has often felt like a curiosity piece in the band’s catalog, a release that gets overlooked due to being in Pornography’s shadow. That, and Head on the Door would be released two years later to great success and acclaim. In any case, The Cure recently announced that Japanese Whispers has been remastered by Robert Smith and will be reissued on clear vinyl with a special “Transclear” sleeve. The reissue will be released on June 14, 2024; preorder your copy on Amazon.