Robert Smith has spoken about *Wild Mood Swings*, The Cure's 1996 album, revealing it as the only release he found "hugely disappointing" despite reigniting his enthusiasm for songwriting. The record followed the band's 1992 number-one album *Wish* and its hit single "Friday, I'm In Love," and its wide-ranging, genre-spanning sound marked a departure that neither fans nor critics embraced at the time, catching both Smith and the band's label off guard.

Smith told Rolling Stone in 2004 that making the album had restored his sense of creative fun, producing what he called some "pretty demented songs," yet it was slated by critics and rejected by fans on release. He said the band's label, Fiction, was blindsided by a sudden drop in sales after years of consistent growth and, not understanding the shift, gave the album little promotional support. Smith argues the record's quality, and even its ambition, has since been overlooked, though its commercial failure didn't stop him pursuing music on his own terms afterwards.