"This is a new one still," Cure frontman Robert Smith said in introducing 'The Only One,' the first single from the band's much-hyped 13th album, due in September. The Cure's current tour, originally scheduled for last year and then delayed to allow the band to continue work on the record, finds them still out well before the release of the opus.

Nevertheless, the group offered up an appetizer-sized portion of what's ahead during an epic nearly three-hour set before an adoring, sold-out audience at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night. The vast majority of the show came from a treasure chest of hits such as 'Just Like Heaven,' 'Pictures of You,' and 'Friday I'm in Love,' as well as less obvious inclusions like a stunning 'From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea,' 'Hot Hot Hot' and a guitar-shredding 'Never Enough.'

Smith's title as King of the Goths is ironclad, as he took the stsage with his trademark pale face, black attire and unruly hair. But Smith's status as a master pop craftsman is equally undeniable. If 'Perfect Boy and 'The Only One' are true indications of this new album, which Smith has said will focus more on the upbeat, then fans can look forward to a glorious addition to that pop catalogue.