Dream You There

 

During lockdown, Nick and Warren didn't sit still for long. Instead of lamenting their twice-cancelled world tour, the duo (no other Bad Seeds present, no guitars either) decided more or less on a whim to record a fresh batch of songs. Ellis went in for some heavy orchestrating, at times almost claustrophibically so. Cave decided to wear his most dramatic mask: he's really in your face here. But after a couple of spins, I'm still not sure if Carnage really is my vaccine of choice.

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Albuquerque

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

Come Home Now

"All the things we love, we lose..." Now here's a heavy trip definitely worth taking. Personal misery often brings out the best in artists, and that's certainly the case with Nick Cave and his new album Skeleton Tree, an eulogy of sorts for his lost son. Over inventive dark soundscapes courtesy of trusted sidekick Warren Ellis, Saint Nick solemnly recites his stream of conciousness-like lyrics, as though he is too beaten to lift his voice and really sing. Phew.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Anthrocene