Editing Cursive (band) (section)

=== ''The Ugly Organ'' and hiatus (2003–05) ===
Cursive released ''[[The Ugly Organ]],'' their fourth album, in 2003 on Saddle Creek Records to critical and commercial success.  Music magazine ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' gave the album a 4-star rating,<ref name="rolling-stone-ugly-organ">{{cite magazine
  | last = Sanneh
  | first = Kelefa
  | title = The Ugly Organ : Review
  | magazine = Rolling Stone
  | issue = 919
  | date = 2003-04-03
  | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/266310/the_ugly_organ
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071017150004/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/266310/the_ugly_organ
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = October 17, 2007
  | access-date =2008-01-17}}</ref> while alternative music magazine ''[[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]]'' rated the album a perfect 5 out of 5.<ref name="alt-press-ugly-organ">{{cite journal| title =The Ugly Organ : Review| journal =Alternative Press| date =2003-04-01| url =http://saddle-creek.com/bands/reviews_cursive.php?id_number=610| access-date =2008-01-17| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071108091009/http://saddle-creek.com/bands/reviews_cursive.php?id_number=610| archive-date =2007-11-08}}</ref> At the time of ''The Ugly Organ''<nowiki/>'s tenth anniversary reissue in 2014, the album had sold over 170,000 records.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Songs Perverse and Songs of Lament: Reflections on Cursive's Accidental Masterpiece, 'The Ugly Organ' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/cursive-the-ugly-organ-retrospective/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525065649/https://www.vice.com/en/article/rnwjbd/cursive-the-ugly-organ-retrospective |archive-date=May 25, 2023 |access-date=2015-12-11 |website=NOISEY|date=24 November 2014 }}</ref>

''The Ugly Organ'' is a loose concept album about the ideas of what art and music are, how the song, singer, and audience all relate and influence each other, and the emotional effects of the songwriting process on the writer.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title = Cursive: The Ugly Organ (Reissue)|url = http://www.popmatters.com/review/190378-cursive-the-ugly-organ-reissue/|website = PopMatters|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> Kasher stated in an interview with ''Alternative Press'' in 2014 that the songs he wrote were not written to be tight conceptually, and credits guitarist and sometimes-vocalist Ted Stevens with finding the theme to the album, saying, "Really, Ted [Stevens, guitar] had a large role in laying the songs out and considering what they all meant and how they related to each other and creating a higher concept from the artwork, of the theatrical layout."<ref>{{Cite web|title = "I remember a feeling of dread after making it"—Cursive's Tim Kasher on 'The Ugly Organ' – Features – Alternative Press|url = http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/i_remember_a_feeling_of_dread_after_making_itcursives_tim_kasher_on_the_ugl|website = Alternative Press|date = 21 November 2014|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref>  The addition of Cohn's cello to the music was noted by Adam Finley of ''Pop Matters'' as helping to give songs a "sense of epic scale" and "threatening edge", and that the songs overall sounded as though "all roads led through a haunted house of grotesque situations and twisted characters, each a reflection through a broken carnival mirror of Kasher converting pounds of flesh into something saleable."<ref name=":1" />

After extensive touring to support ''The Ugly Organ'' in 2003 and early 2004, Kasher surprised fans and critics by announcing an indefinite hiatus for Cursive in the fall of 2004 once they finished their tour with [[The Cure]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title = Lazy-i Feature: Cursive – November 2005|url = http://www.timmcmahan.com/cursive3.htm|website = www.timmcmahan.com|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = News: Cursive Breaks Up?|url = http://www.scenepointblank.com/news/splits/2004/09/12/cursive-breaks-up/|website = Scene Point Blank|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> Lead singer and songwriter Tim Kasher took time to focus on his other band, [[The Good Life (band)|The Good Life]], which he had formed in 2000 and whose third release, 2004's ''[[Album of the Year (The Good Life album)|Album of the Year]]'', was enjoying critical success.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title = Cursive – Happy Hollow|url = https://www.punknews.org/review/5570/cursive-happy-hollow|website = www.punknews.org| date=22 August 2006 |access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> Ted Stevens worked on his other band, [[Mayday (Nebraska band)|Mayday]], along with bassist Matt Maginn, releasing their third album, ''[[Bushido Karaoke]]'', in 2005.<ref name=":2" /> Drummer Clint Schnase along with bassist Matt Maginn toured with [[Bright Eyes (band)|Bright Eyes]], including 2004's [[Vote for Change]]<ref name=":2" /> Cellist Gretta Cohn decided to depart the band permanently, relocating to New York City.<ref name="gretta-leaves">{{cite web
  |title = Cellist Gretta Cohn leaves Cursive|publisher = punknews.org|date = 2005-08-24|url = http://punknews.org/article/13564|access-date = 2008-01-17}}</ref>

Saddle Creek Records put out a Cursive [[compilation album]], ''[[The Difference Between Houses and Homes]]'', on August 9, 2005. These songs were collected from ''The Disruption'', ''Sucker and Dry'' and ''The Icebreaker'' EPs, as well as some [[A-side and B-side|b-sides]] and unreleased material recorded between 1995 and 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cursive: The Difference Between Houses and Homes|url = http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1702-the-difference-between-houses-and-homes/|website = Pitchfork|access-date = 2015-12-11|language = en-US}}</ref>