Cut Here

by

The Cure

Edit

Released during a period of general Cure inactivity, the band's new "Greatest hits" box set and its accompanying DVD release offer another lead-off single which is also available separately as a CD-single. One still has to admire the fact that the group's European record label is attempting to cash in on the band with the aforementioned double-disc set, since the Cure's last European smash hit, "Friday I'm in love", was released ten years ago, and their last album, "Bloodflowers", didn't features any singles. Besides, there are already two hit compilations in existence ("Staring at the sea", featuring cuts from the band's early day, and "Galore", which contains singles from the Cure's latter-day albums), so some people who already own much of the band's backcatalog will want to check out this CD-single instead of the greatest hits package. Considering that The Cure have always been something like a split personality - with sunny pop singles in the charts and long, nightmarish album tracks - it's no surprise that "Cut here" leans towards the insanely catchy and radio-friendly side of the band's sound. Musically, the song is quite similar to New Order's comeback album "Get ready", featuring lead-guitarish bass lines, quasi-electronica rhythms, and dynamic production. Robert's voice is a bit more upfront and powerful here than on many other Cure singles, while the shimmering keyboard melody adds further color and playfulness. Unfortunately, the b-side tracks are handled with less confidence and simply do not stand up to many of the Cure's past efforts: "Signal to noise" begins with processed guitar noise deep buried in the mix and soon changes the picture with fragile acoustic guitars, a steady rock beat, and some "Wish"-style vocals by Robert. About 45 seconds in, a really fine guitar melody appears before the song becomes more and more noisy and never reaches the heights of the tune's first minute again. The 6-minute 'missing remix' of "Cut here" is less catchy than the single remix, swapping the pleasant rock groove for a somewhat awkward and formulaic drum 'n' bass pattern. However, if its aim is to be multi-dimensional, then this remix succeeds with a pretty impressive variety of sounds and some sonic trickery, raging from atmospheric ambient-guitar passages to rhythmically busy refrains. Finally, we have the well-executed and entertaining multimedia section. Here you can listen to four audio bits ("Lovecats", "Close to me", "Why can't I...", "Friday...") from the "Greatest hits" disc, take a look at the album's track list, and view the lyrics of "Cut here". The enclosed video clip of "Cut here" is a rather simple affair, with the camera eye moving from one band member to other and lacking the visual humor often present in the band's video output. As an introduction to the Cure's "Greatest hits" set this release might be worth getting, but considering that fact that you can buy a copy of the double-disc set or the DVD for just a few bucks more you'll certainly understand why this CD-single comes recommended for Cure completists only.