Cursive will play its classic album ‘Domestica’ in its entirety at the Lucky You

Touring behind the 20th anniversary of an album wasn’t an easy decision for Cursive singer-songwriter Tim Kasher to sign off on. “My issue with it is that I see our band as being progressive,” Kasher said. “We’re about looking forward, not backward. We have a new album in the works but we decided to look back on this tour.”

Cursive, which will perform Tuesday at the Lucky You Lounge, is playing its breakthrough release, 2000’s “Domestica” front to back. The initial plan was to tour behind the album in 2020 but the pandemic killed the band’s jaunt. “We’re fine with doing the anniversary tour after all,” Kasher said.

It’s commonplace for recording artists to embark on anniversary tours. U2 did so with its “Joshua Tree.” Bruce Springsteen celebrated “The River” with a jaunt. Everclear did the same with “Sparkle and Fade.”

“It’s just what people do now,” Everclear vocalist Art Alexakis explained while calling from Los Angeles. “There’s no stigma to it. We do anniversary album tours not just because more tickets are sold but because fans want it.”

Since the Cursive faithful are down for the “Domestica” tour two decades later, Kasher can live with that. “If that person who used to listen to ‘Domestica’ in their Toyota while driving to high school on the CD in 2003 rediscovered that CD and wants to see us, how can I complain,” Kasher said while calling from his Omaha home. “The cool thing about it is that the deep cuts from that album finally have a light shined on them. The other great thing is that it’s only nine songs and it’s not much more than a half-hour.”

That allows the adventurous alt-rock band to draw from other albums in their nine-album canon and to also preview new material. Cursive recorded a number of new songs in March that are being performed during their tour. Fewer recording artists are previewing material since fans often post the live tracks on YouTube. However, Kasher believes the benefit of airing out the cuts outweighs any negatives.

“Playing songs in front of an audience before they’re recorded is a good thing to do,” Kasher said. “It helps you identify what is working and what’s not working. We’ll be playing some of the new songs in Spokane and those songs are hard to describe but I’ll say they’re eclectic.”

However, most Cursive albums are filled with a varied selection of tunes. Cursive, which also includes guitarist Ted Stevens, bassist Matt Maginn, drummer Clint Schnase, multi-instrumentalist Patrick Newbery and cellist Megan Siebe, often thumbs its nose at convention. “Domestica,” which was inspired by the beauty and the ugliness of love, features a number of songs that don’t have a chorus. Classic song structures were often ignored. “I Am Gemini” is a quirky concept album about twin brothers separated at birth. The album is buoyed by angular guitar riffs and clever wordplay.

The 2018 release “Vitriola” features complex, irreverent and angst-ridden songs. Cursive keeps its audience guessing. “I just do what comes natural,” Kasher said “I’ve been doing this for the last 28 years and this is how I do it. We mix things up. No album is the same, which is sometimes to the chagrin of our listeners. The trick is to keep ourselves interested and the audience interested at the same time.”

Kasher came of age during the ‘80s and was primarily an Anglo-phile who enjoyed uncompromising bands. “I loved the Cure, the Smiths and bands like that who came from the United Kingdom and did things their way,” Kasher said. “I was a huge Violent Femmes fan as well. That shaped me. Those bands made me want to form a band.”

It’s been seven years since Cursive played Spokane. “It was right around this time of year since I remember I was looking to find NBA playoff games on TV, when we were in Spokane a few years ago” Kasher said. “It’s about time we’re back in Spokane. We’re long overdue.”