Last May, The Cure’s Robert Smith shared a cover of The Twilight Sad’s “There’s a Girl in the Corner.” Then, in October, Smith released a remix of Ride’s “Vapour Trail”—the second hint that The Cure were creating their own “vapor trail” toward something. Soon after, the band announced a full North American tour, and that might have been the end of it. Turns out that’s not the case, though; today we’ve learned that there’s new music on the way (!).

Last night The Cure debuted two songs in their New Orleans tour opener—as initially reported by Overblown. The audio bootlegs, both unofficially named, are being called “Step Into the Light” and “It Can Never Be the Same.” Fan-site The Cure Mexico has made both available via their SoundCloud account. As you’ll hear in the clips, the former has a catchy vocal melody and stays relatively upbeat (The Cure are not an altogether ‘upbeat’ outfit). “It Can Never Be the Same” is darker, redolent of the band’s Disintegration days. Both are excellent first efforts toward another something.

No word yet on any official release, but these new tracks are a solid indication that an album is forthcoming. It would be the band’s first new record since 2008, when they released their thirteenth studio LP, 4:13 Dream.

In addition to the SoundCloud recordings, there are some fan-shot videos available as well. Check them out, and let us know what you think of the new tracks in the comments.

IMAGE: Paul Padshewscky