So Come On, Jump With Me
The Cure - The Perfect Boy (Mix 13)/Without You
"The Perfect Boy" is the fourth and final singles to be released once a month before the new album by the Cure which has been rescheduled to drop in October. Of all the new songs that the band has been playing on their recent tour, this is the one that I've enjoyed the most ("Underneath the Stars" is close second). It sounded really great on the multiple live recordings I've listened to and I've been very eager to hear a studio version.
For the most part, "The Perfect Boy (Mix 13)" lives up to my expectations, but I have one problem with this single mix: the vocal effects. There is way too much reverb throughout the song and a slightly distorted chorusing effect during sections of the pre-chorus and refrain. It doesn't add anything to the song and can be a little distracting. I'm going to assume that this is part of the single remix and that the album cut will be less doctored.
However, that's my only beef with this single. The rest of the song is pure Cure gold. This is the best single to be released by the Cure since "Mint Car" (a truly glorious pop song in of itself). I would go as far as to say that this is the best song Robert Smith has written in over a decade for various reasons.*
"The Perfect Boy" is a wonderful example of sonic build, climax, breakdown, and resolution. The song begins with just Robert's voice and muted guitar part. Simon Gallup and Jason Cooper come in on bass and drums after four quick lines. At the same time, Robert's guitar part is echoed with a distorted line. Guitarist Porl Thompson holds back until the pre-chorus and then continues to provide splashes of chords during the second verse.
Things really get rolling with the second chorus. A few things happen here that brings the song to a head: Robert doubles the number of lines, there is some guitar layering, Jason continually smashes the hell out of the cymbals, and most importantly, Simon changes his bass line to include a slide during each line. For me this is the highlight of the entire song and it really peaks musically here. This is followed by pulling everything back except for Robert's vocals and original guitar line. "The Perfect Boy" resolves with the instruments picking back up to the level played at on the second verse.
Lyrically, this is one of Robert Smith's best songs in quite some time. Ironically, it plays with a device that I've grown tired of him using: positive and negative verses. However, it really works within the context of the song's narrative. The first verse is from the point of view of the girl that thinks she's found the perfect boy. She wants to take things slow and enjoy the relationship as it unfolds. The second verse is from the boy's perspective. This guy doesn't care to wait around. Not only does he want to get physical, but he doesn't want to stick around for the afterglow ("And I don't want to get obvious, But I have to be gone by three.")
The boy's lines are direct responses to the girl's words and he comes off like a bit of a jerk. He tells her that her world of two people "doesn't happen for real". At the same time, though, he plays head games by saying "If it was meant to be us, it was meant to be now. Don't see the sense in wasting time." Then he agrees that they're "on the edge of a beautiful thing" and delivers on last coaxing line, "So come on, jump with me." This guy is not the perfect boy. This guy is a real bastard. At least, the "happy ever after" girl realizes this by the end of the song. Unfortunately, it isn't really clear if she fell for this guy's lines first, but we're left with a sense of hope that she'll someday find "the perfect boy".
I must mention that Robert Smith delivers a really great vocal performance on "The Perfect Boy" despite the heavy effects. He changes up his vocal rhythm throughout the song and doesn't rely on any of his patented coos and squeals. This combined with everything I've mention comes together to make a really fantastic song. Bravo!
The B-Side is a non-album track called "Without You". It is dominated by an acoustic guitar part that recalls some of the better parts of the Wild Mood Swings sessions. This is a step up from "Down Under", but definitely feels like B-Side material next to the other singles. A solid track but nothing outstanding.
9 out of 10
*"Out of This World" was the previous owner of that title and is a wonderful album opening track. "Maybe Someday" is excellent, but loses points for that organ solo. I really like "Cut Here" as a non-album single, but it always felt like it was missing something. "Before 3" has that clumsy bit of swearing. While beautiful, "Taking Off" is a poor man's "Just Like Heaven". I better stop before I find myself defending this statement against every Cure song released since 1998.
6 comments:
Interesting review. I agree with you regarding the excellent quality of the single, though the best-song-in-a-decade thing is a little overstated, IMO. Almost every song of "Bloodflowers" is by far superior to this one.
I agree instead that this is the best "pop" *single* of The Cure in much time. IMO, we have to go back to "A Letter to Elise" to find a better quality single.
I also appreciate your thoughts about the lyrics. The positive/negative thing makes me sick sometimes, given that Robert has used it in too much songs. Here it works fine, thanks in particular to the "ironic" boy part.
I personally was never very excited by Bloodflowers. But, we can agree that this is the best pop single in over a decade. I loved "Mint Car" and "The Perfect Boy" is the closest thing the Cure have created that captures such awesome pop joy. Thanks for the comment.
I've just finished reading all the other reviews you posted on the "Dream 13" singles. I strongly agree with much you said for "The Only One" and "Freakshow". The opposite on "Sleep when I'm dead": i just don't like the song very much, while i think "Down Under" an interesting song. Maybe it's because i think "Wild Mood Swings" (to which "Down Under" is linked, as you noted) is so underestimated?
What do you think all those singles say about the next album? It seems to me that the diversity and the recall of various "styles" or moods of past albums ("Wish" for "The Only One", "The Head on the door" for "Sleep when i'm dead", etc.) could suggest that "Dream 13" would be a sorta of "Kiss me Kiss me Kiss me" 20 years later. A way to summarize The Cure's work. In two months we will know...
I definitely get a HOTD/KMKMKM vibe from the songs. That might be due to the return of Porl Thompson. While there is a diversity in song styles and structure, they still hang together well enough sonically, and probably more so than the aforementioned Wish.
Wish is an album I love, but due to extreme variations in songs, doesn't make a solid album. I think some resequencing and the insertion of a few of the more superior B-Sides would have made for a more cohesive album. A collection of great songs doesn't necessarilly translate into a good album.
Regarding "Wish": i also think it is an outstanding record, with so many classic Cure song. But it lacks the cohesion of "Disintegration" or "Bloodflowers".
The same failure affects "Wild Mood Swings", that as i said before i think is underestimated. But i can understand those Cure fans that find it somewhat underwhelming. For me, "Jupiter crash" and "Want" are gems, but the rest is not garbage at all!
Well, i wait your review of "Dream 13"... :-)
I think Wild Mood Swings problem is that it is too long. I'm a big fan of the classic ten song album format and I would have shaved off about four songs to six songs and thrown on "A Pink Dream" and "It Used To Be Me". The first half of the album is extremely strong, except for "Strange Attraction", which I abhor.
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