B-Side Guys

Sometimes the best creative decisions happen by accident, and Cut Cult’s “Dinosaur” stands as testament to the magic of unplanned convergence. Brian Borcherdt’s discovery of a forgotten rehearsal tape—complete gibberish that somehow matched the track’s BPM and emotional temperature—reveals how intuition can trump intention in the studio.

The song’s genesis story matters because it explains the track’s loose-limbed confidence. That “monstrous baritone guitar hook” Borcherdt describes doesn’t just anchor the composition; it stomps through it like the titular beast, all swagger and unpredictability. The Neptunes comparison feels apt—both acts understand how minimalist arrangements can create maximum impact when the groove locks in properly.

What distinguishes this Nova Scotia collective from other supergroup ventures is their commitment to controlled chaos. Drawing from Holy Fuck’s experimental legacy while incorporating Loel Campbell’s rhythmic backbone (honed through Wintersleep and Broken Social Scene), they’ve created something that feels simultaneously calculated and spontaneous. The 808 pulse provides foundation, but everything built on top maintains that “rehearsal tape” looseness that initially attracted Borcherdt.

The Black Point cottage sessions clearly informed the track’s DNA. There’s something about the rural isolation combined with late-night creativity that bleeds through the final product—a sense of musicians discovering sounds rather than manufacturing them. Mairi Chaimbeul’s psychedelic harp textures add ethereal counterpoint to the song’s heavier elements, creating tension between the prehistoric and the futuristic.

“Dinosaur” succeeds because it embraces imperfection as feature rather than bug. In an era of digital precision, Cut Cult opts for human timing and happy accidents. The track’s “Godzilla vibe” emerges not from production polish but from the band’s willingness to let monster-sized ideas breathe naturally, even when those ideas arrive as incomprehensible vocals on old cassettes.