Full Of Fire

So this is the epitaph for his late son Arthur, and not predecessor Skeleton Tree as everybody assumed at the time. Atmospheric and solemn but not too bleak soundscapes by Warren Ellis set the tone, with St. Nick crooning like he's Leonard Cohen's long lost offspring. Very impressive, at times almost suffocatingly so, though there is a glimmer of light to be found here and there, too. The keywords are horses, ghosts, and Jesus, and you can make of that what you will. "And the little white shape dancing at the end of the hall is just a wish that time can't dissolve at all..."

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Bright Horses

Some Frippery

The thought of Nick Cave merrily humming along to Pink Floyd, Yes and ELP as a youngster sure made me chuckle. Can't remember him singing their praise when wreaking havoc with postpunk enfants terribles The Birthday Party... He confessed as much in a recent issue of his Red Hand Files though, while also heaping praise upon Robert Fripp's King Crimson, the prog band St. Nick names as a big influence on his own Grinderman project.

King Crimson - Starless
Grinderman - Super Heathen Child (feat. Robert Fripp)

Dive In Again

"Across these sad waters and across my heart..." As promised, here's that second wet wet wet six pack for y'all. Moist artwork by Tinca. Just enjoy, my amigos da musica.

A Certain Ratio - Knife Slits Water
This Heat - A New Kind Of Water
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Sad Waters
Rain Tree Crow - Blackwater
Guv'ner - Bridge Under Water
Sun Kil Moon - Grey Ice Water

Tips His Hat

Reinhard Kleist, who drew an amazing graphic novel about Johnny Cash a few years back, now points his surrealist pencil at Nick Cave, and the results are nothing short of breathtaking. Kleist dives deep into Cave's murky universe, starting down under with the Boys Next Door, and moving from rainy London to icy Berlin with the Birthday Party and the Bad Seeds. The ending sees St. Nick in his trusted Jag, hightailing it from the fabled crossroads all the way to Geneva with none other than Robert Johnson riding shotgun. You need this, it's a hallucinatory Rinky Dink Special, with a little umbrella too.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Jangling Jack