Go, Go, Go, Go, Go, Go, Push Him Away

Escapism today.

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That soaring, sweetly ringing guitar flows out into a bright blue sky, some drums sound nearby. The bass tucks in discretely behind and then we loop-the-loop like a heedless child running around arms outstretched on a perfect field of green. Two minutes later just when you’re wondering if this is going to be an instrumental, the guitar peals out again, louder this time and from somewhere the vocals vault into the frame. It’s beautiful blue perfection.

Go, go, go, go, go, go
Push him away
No, no, no, no, no, no
Don't let him stay

‘Push’ is one of my very favourite tracks from a band who until fairly recently I didn’t realise I loved as much as I did, a band who somehow seeped into my very being when I was looking the other way.

I always rather loved the Cure’s silly pop singles, ‘Lovecats’ being a particular fave and I’ve owned and loved their singles comp Standing On A Beach for hundreds of decades now but I would never call myself a fan. The enormous Grand Guignol downer edifices of Pornography etc. and the legion of lookalike fans were never my thing*.

Both my kids LOVE the Cure and it is through them that I have teetered across into fandom. I still only own a thrupple of studio albums and a couple of comps**. Disintegration seems too big a thing to write about just now, so let’s have The Head On The Door, one of the very best things to come out of 1985^.

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The Head On The Door is a tightly focused, joyous tray of confections that clocks in at the commendably brief running time of 37 minutes.

So what are the first words on this, comparatively, happy album O wise and beneficent 1537? I hear you say. Well, as opener ‘Inbetween Days’ is doing its heady pop rush thing, all super strumming bright guitar and keyboard underlining, young Mr Smith greets us with the gloriously upbeat:

Yesterday I got so old
I felt like I could die
Yesterday I got so old
It made me want to cry

As someone who has danced to this track about 900 zillion times, I had never noticed the actual lyrics at all, just flailed around to the tune energetically while singing the chorus. It’s a wonderful single, excellent LP opener and like a lot of Cure tracks it makes me laugh, they are definitely a wryer, drier band than they get any credit for.

The Eastern tinged ‘Kyoto Song’ is a restrained bout of post-excess longing and regret, all the good stuff. I keep it in mind should I ever need to soundtrack myself waking on a hotel room floor at an undisclosed location with a stranger draped over me after being a tad leery the night before^*.

The hyper-charged flamenco stylings of ‘The Blood’ is even better, this really is one of my very favourite cuts on The Head On The Door. I love the way Smith’s vocals sit so much deeper and darker than the spasming rhythm track.

‘The Baby Screams’ is a riot of good old-fashioned post-punk momentum and angst. The basic construction of the track reminds me very much of parts of First And Last And Always, possibly via shared producer David M. Allen; just substitute Craig Adams snaking bass for Simon Gallup’s equally serpentine moves.

Seldom has any tune conjured the ambience of the Mad Hatter’s tea party, possibly from the Doormouse’s point of view, as well as ‘Close To Me’. It is a wonder of barely controlled claustrophobia, tension and pop smarts. There is something vaguely redolent of a mouse masturbating furiously behind the wainscotting about this song – in a good way! The video made an enormous impression on me when I saw it as a young teen.

‘A Night Like This’ is wonderfully dramatic and doomed, a perfect goth touch for The Head On the Door. The sax break, which always takes me by surprise is a great touch too. The churning bass that propels ‘Screw’ is a noisy, kinetic treat.

LP closer ‘Sinking’ is another great cut, this time the Cure sound like they’re channelling Roxy Music’s sophistication in a mostly stately late night swansong. I love how high and fragile Smith sounds on this one and how excellent Lol Tolhurst’s keys sound too.

In fact the band as a whole are on brilliant form on The Head On the Door, Gallup really stands out here his bass adorns the songs here, rarely driving them and Boris Williams is an excellent drummer too. Porl Thompson was always a really cool guitarist, as was his lead singer. Robert Smith draws your ears with that unique voice that seemingly he can use to any affect. The group really were excellent at this point.

If I had to offer a criticism it would be that there is a slight taint of ’80s drum sounds here and there, but it really isn’t a spoiler.

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So I will take my leave of you and run around a perfect field under a bright blue sky with my arms outstretched all in a world of my own which smells of strawberries and cake, all to the sound of The Head On the Door. It’s a fuck sight better than dealing with what has been set in train in the world tonight.

1252 Down.

PS: Have some of this, it’s brilliant seeing an audience without mobile phones again:

*possibly because they were 9/10 students favourite band when I went to university and I can be a stubborn idiotic asshole about such things; they were right I was wrong.

**I’m still sodding waiting for the vinyl version of their new LP I pre-ordered ages ago; not totes happy.

^behind only Fly On The Wall and the Back To The Future film. Word up.

^*as yet this has remained an entirely hypothetical contingency.