Graham Reid | | <1 min read
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: We Call Upon the Author
My guess is that by this time in his career (and your life) you are either for Cave or couldn't care less. If you are with him but have your critical radar alert you might not concur with the extreme approval some reviewers have given Dig Lazarus Dig.
After the very amusing Grinderman project -- which really was rack-it-up music -- this one finds Nick in that kind of Lou Reed/William Burroughs speak-sing territory uncoiling bent narratives shot through with typically odd and sometimes Biblical imagery.
Not too many surprises there, then.
The count of dark ballads (usually his forte) is reduced although Hold On To Yourself approaches that kind of territory. This is lyrical music with that passionate intensity we have come to expect, and works with repeat plays -- but in a few places there isn't that gripping urgency which has been a hallmark of his finest work.
That said there is a jolly jaunt here that the Bad Seeds bring which propels this forward in a dark, almost pop way. And Cave really places his aces in the last half.
This one might take time.
Ray Gilbert - Dec 19, 2008
What can you say - Nick Cave in an almost joyful moment. I
Savesimonkent - Dec 21, 2008
Theres something special about slow growers .On this one I remember all the"mundane" things I did on first play(like deleting spam,rinsing the cans,holding the cats tail when i opened the fridge..) until the album slipped in to my DNA.One keeps hearing new things ,nuances,pauses, great one liners eg"Im not your favourite lover","Mirrors became his torturers";riffs,percussion,emotions.And the continuity,pace, makes for one well polished and rubbed assemblage.Its like Nick leapt out of bed 1 morning shouting "Wow, Ive just gotta get this stuff down"Theres alot of fresh, brassy, upbeat, bright morbidness.You can dance in the dark and theres a feeling of hope and redemption with a calm centre like being in a field of corn in the eye of a storm.This is the only N C cd I'll probably ever have.Its like the Norfolk Pine on the north side of my house;it gives sun and shade,drops needles,has a big aura and allows me to climb high up on windy days "Hold On To Yourself" and gaze out to sea then celebrate life on the climb down.And a great New Years Resolution on offer.Dig Yourself.
SaveBruce - Dec 21, 2008
wry, crafted, more engaging than earlier work, probably cos it's not so intense. I love the poetry & hints of sinister
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