Yeah, as if I wasn’t going to take the opportunity to talk about The Cure’s new single on NYLPM. One thing notable about this song is the strong beat. One thing that Jason Cooper has brought to the group is a much less abstract sense of rhythm; Boris Williams is a god among drummers due to his complete willingness to create an entire beat based on doing rolls on the various toms in his kit, but his sense of dance rhythm can be seen as limited. Cooper can do the abstract thing, too (see the 12/8 groove of “Jupiter Crash” for the best example), but his dance-rock rhythms incorporate a lot more drive and fun in them.
His rock-solid beat propels “Cut Here”, supporting Simon Gallup at his most New Ordery and Robert singing in the lower, more comfortable-sounding part of his vocal range. The overall effect is a startlingly-assured pop song, a fresh-sounding wistful eulogy for a relationship taken for granted too long. The juxtaposition of the spry and the melancholy is a Cure trademark that’s been left slightly by the wayside in recent years and may be one reason why their recent upbeat-sounding songs have been so painful. (I’m still trying to pretend that “Mint Car” and “Return” don’t exist.)
All in all, it’s a fantastic single destined to never be played on American radio. Oh well, at least I have my copy.
I dont get how this can praise jason’s drumming over boris williams and be taken seriously. The fact that he’s using the song like the Jupiter crash to illustrate the superiority of jason’s drumming goes to show how clueless he is as Boris was the one that left that drum pattern in the demo before his departure and Jason just copied it.
I agree shiro ! Boris is the best cure drummer also. Jason is talented for sure but Boris is really the cures sound to a true cure fan. He is mega talented and mixed amazing hopping beats and Tom rolls that were thunderous. If you watch the cure in orange it is a drummers clinic on how to play both in how his drums were set up and the way he played them. Boris made it happen in his drumming style and This was the dance feel and mood that gave the cure its signature. Head on the door and kiss me were mega successes due to Boris for sure. The minute he replaced Andy Anderson (who was also a signature for the cure and wow he could play the drums! See earlier shake dog shake videos of him rolling the toms on the start of the song ! Serious Timing and finesse. Boris ties all the other members together by following certain areas and pulling away when needed. Not the same style to but similar to how John Bonham would follow pages guitar instead of the bass sometimes. Boris would base off of his toms for the beats and follow keys and guitar and bass parts of you listen closely. Also when he was with the Thompson Twins you can see the difference he made. They would not have been famous without him. As a drummer and drum enthusiast he inspired me to start playing drums amongst others like roger Taylor from Duran Duran and budgie from siouxsie. All different drummers who gave artistry back to the band and were a member not just a follower. If you can find it on eBay modern drummer March 1990 has an amazing interview with Boris and shares his drumming set up (he used Simmons and Yamaha stage customs) and genius beat combinations. Boris left at the right time for him but he is always to be the reason (and this is just my opinion ) the cure made it so far.