The Cure - Taking Off

What this video is

Released October 2004 as the third and final single from The Cure's self-titled twelfth studio album on Geffen Records — the band's first release on that label. The album was co-produced with Ross Robinson, marking a deliberately heavier sonic direction for the band. 'Taking Off' represented a sunnier, more accessible counterpoint on the record, drawing comparisons to the band's 1992 Wish-era sound. The video…

Why it matters

Represents The Cure's mid-career commercial second act within alternative rock — a major post-punk/goth legacy act adapting to 2000s major-label pop-rock aesthetics without fully abandoning signature iconography. The video's animated compositing technique places it within an early-2000s trend of…

The director

The Saline Project is a Brooklyn, New York-based directing collective comprising Adam Toht (founder), Ben Toht, and Jesse Roff. Emmy Award winners (2003, Mortal Enemies title sequence), nominated for Director of the Year by the Music Video Production…