Wild Mood Swings by The Cure, album cover
Album · 30 years old this year

Wild Mood Swings

Released6 May 1996
LabelFiction
Popularity78.2
Also cited7 May 1996

Wild Mood Swings is the tenth studio album by the Cure, released on 6 May 1996 on Fiction Records. It followed Wish and came before Bloodflowers, and it finds the band deliberately roaming across styles, much as they had on Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. Robert Smith said the title reflected how much ground the band covered lyrically and musically this time around.

That range is the reason to hear it. "The 13th" brings in mariachi, "Gone!" leans towards jazz, and "Mint Car" and "Return" are bright, jangling pop. Lighter songs sit right beside darker, more introspective ones, which gives the running order a jolting, patchwork feel. NME compared it to a compilation. It reached number nine in the UK and number 12 in the US, though it sold less than any Cure album in twelve years.

Wild Mood Swings: tracklist, credits and charts

14 tracks · 1:01:46

Tracklist

  1. 1WantBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith5:07
  2. 2Club AmericaBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, Smith5:01
  3. 3This Is a LieBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:31
  4. 4The 13thBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:07
  5. 5Strange AttractionBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:19
  6. 6Mint CarBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith3:33
  7. 7Jupiter CrashBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:16
  8. 8Round & Round & Round…Bamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith2:39
  9. 9Gone!Bamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:32
  10. 10NumbBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith4:50
  11. 11ReturnBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith3:28
  12. 12TrapBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith3:38
  13. 13TreasureBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith3:45
  14. 14BareBamonte, Cooper, Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith8:02
Produced by
Steve Lyon, Robert Smith, Steve Lyon
Recorded at
St Catherine's Court (Bath, England), Haremere Hall (Etchingham, England), St Catherine's Court, Haremere Hall
Recorded
Late 1994–1996
Mixed by
Alan Moulder, Paul Q. Kolderie, Sean Slade, Tim Palmer, Mike “Spike” Drake, Steve Lyon, Adrian Sherwood, Paul Corkett, Robert Smith, Mark Saunders, Tom Lord‐Alge
Engineered by
Steve Lyon
Label
Fiction
Length
1:01:46

Line-up

  • Jason Cooper · drums (drum set)
  • Susan Dench · viola
  • Leo Payne · violin
  • Audrey Riley · cello
  • Chris Tombling · violin
  • Robert Smith · vocals, guitar, lead vocals
  • Louis Pavlou · drums (drum set) · guest
  • Ronald Austin · drums (drum set) · guest
  • Jesús Alemañy · trumpet · guest
  • Steve Dawson · guest
  • Sid Gauld · trumpet · guest
  • Perry Bamonte · keyboard, guitar · guest
  • Simon Gallup · bass guitar · guest
  • Roger O’Donnell · keyboard · guest
  • Mark Price · drums (drum set) · guest
  • John Barclay · trumpet · guest
  • Richard Edwards · trombone · guest
  • Will Gregory · saxophone · guest
  • Steve Sidwell · trumpet · guest

Singles

  • “The 13th” · 22 April 1996
  • “Mint Car” · 17 June 1996
  • “Strange Attraction” · 8 October 1996
  • “Gone!” · 2 December 1996

Peak chart positions

ChartPeak
UK Albums Chart · 19969
US Billboard 200 · 199612
Swedish Albums · 19962
Australian Albums (ARIA) · 19965
Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 19965
Italian Albums (FIMI) · 19966
Portuguese Albums (AFP) · 19966
European Albums (Music & Media) · 19967
Swiss Albums · 19969
New Zealand Albums · 199610
All 22 charts
Canadian Albums (RPM) · 199611
Austrian Albums · 199612
Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 199613
Norwegian Albums · 199613
Danish Albums (Hitlisten) · 199617
German Albums · 199617
Hungarian Albums · 199617
Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 199618
Finnish Albums · 199624
French Albums · 199627
Dutch Albums · 199637
Scottish Albums · 199646

Certifications

RegionCertification
United States · 1996Gold

From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.

78.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.3k
ListenBrainz listeners
81k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
11k
Deezer fans (all editions)

Released the same week

Also released on 6 May

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Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1996-05-07 (wikidata)
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz6 May 1996
Wikipedia infobox6 May 1996
Wikidata7 May 1996
US release7 May 1996earliest US date
UK / Europe release6 May 1996earliest UK or European date
11 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
—CAElektra075596174466other
1996AUFiction706301501023other
1996GBPolydor731453179325other
1996USElektraother
6 May 1996XEFiction731453179325original
7 May 1996USElektra075596174411other
7 May 1996USElektra075596174428other
2006XEFiction731453179325other
17 July 2021XEFiction602435081175remaster
17 July 2021XEUMC602435081175other
——Polydor00731453179325other
Cover art sources

coverartarchive · native: native 2400x2400

SourceSizeVerdict
coverartarchive ✓2400×2400native: native 2400x2400
deezer1200×1200upscaled
fanarttv1000×1000upscaled