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.