The Cure

3/5 stars

‘4:13 Dream’

Geffen Records

More than 30 years after the band’s inception, The Cure has released its 13th studio album. The oft-delayed “4:13 Dream” is the product of close to three years of recording, but you wouldn’t know that listening to it. The album is a hit-or-miss record that sounds like it was thrown together at the last minute.

“4:13 Dream” succeeds at generating some decent The Cure atmosphere, but the combination of swirling, reverb-heavy guitars and frontman Robert Smith’s caterwauls grows a bit tiresome.

Standout tracks “The Hungry Ghost” and “This. Here and Now. With You” are good reminders of The Cure’s obvious talent, but there’s much better work to be found in the band’s previous 12 albums.

— Dusty Somers/The Daily

‘Christmas with the Mexicali Brass’

Crown Records

Cheese factor: 2.5/5 stars

This week’s obscure Christmas album is the 1965 release, “Christmas with the Mexicali Brass.” To be completely honest, I bought this album only because of the cover. Who is this lovely young lady? Why are we mixing sexual messages with the sacred ritual of Christmas carol celebration?

The musical content of the LP yields no sufficient answer to my questions. Nowhere does the album even mention the model’s name. But, I can say that The Mexicali Brass bring a new level of excitement to our traditionally bland and vapid understanding of Christmas music. Believe it or not, this album is pretty spectacular. It definitely beats Kenny Rogers’ “Christmas” under the table (but, then again, so does a bottle of whiskey).

Certain songs like “Jingle Bells” and “Come All Ye Faithful” are instantly recognizable, highlighted with only a slight twinge of Mexican swing. However, “Deck the Halls,” and “Joy to the World,” are notably harder to pick up on. The chords are stretched, the beat is sped up and the brass dances around the melody almost to the point of obscurity, then promptly catches back up with it. All of the songs have a very ‘60s swing appeal with Mexican brass overtones; it makes the music — forgive me — sound sexy.

Yeah, sexy Christmas music. This sexual appeal into traditional Christmas carols no doubt upset our grandparents, but this type of perversion is everything I want to celebrate by reviewing obscure Christmas albums. I can’t help but be reminded of Stephen Colbert’s Mexican counterpart, Esteban Colberto, who has made a few appearances on “The Colbert Report.” He would, I assume, absolutely love this. It’s funky, swingy and sexy, and it makes me want to grow a mustache.

I don’t know how to salsa by any means, but I think it’s safe to say that there’s a pretty good chance I’ll be attempting just that toward the end of my egg-nog laced Christmas party this year. The songs are readily available online, so if you’re in the mood to listen to some Christmas music this season that isn’t sung by the Rat Pack or Trans-Siberan Orchestra (I just dry heaved a little), then I urge you to find a copy of “Christmas with the Mexicali Brass.”

— Tyler Branson/The Daily