Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds : 'Wild God"

It seems Nick Cave's career has been a gradual move towards aging gracefully. The Birthday Party is another life. With each album from the past two decades, he is edging towards a more Leonard Cohen-inspired sound. The opening track of his new album carries a hopeful shimmer, for someone whose life has been marked in recent years by the death of his son, which this album released nine years later seems to find him moving past. His vocals are a little more spoken on the title track. This band anchors him from strolling off into poetry. I can hear equal touches of Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond in the speculative delivery of his vocals this time around. 

 We are in a weird place when punk collides with the hippy pop sounds of the '60s, but that is what happens here. The more surreal dream ballad that is "Frogs' is weird, but works, despite the subject matter."Joy" feels like it picks up where he left off on "Push the Sky Away'.  It's central to the theme of this album which Cavehas gone on record as saying is about joy, which marks another notable change, as he has been moving away from the murder ballads he became known for, and shows a more vulnerable side that is introspective. "Final Rescue Attempt' shows how this can be one of their strengths when played into the right way. It's one of the album's best songs. 

"Conversion' is more minimal as it bathes in ambiance as Cave pleads his poetry over it. The drums come in to provide the needed dynamic shift. While Cave said this album is about joy there is a great deal of religious and spiritual musings on it. "Cinnamon Horses" is more of a ballad.  It's well-produced and sounds great, but floats on an emotive cloud. At 66 his voice sounds great, he is not an artist I would worry about not pulling it off live.  "Long Dark Night" is like if Neil Diamond wrote a song for a horror movie. It has a slight country undercurrent. It is one of the album's better songs, despite being another ballad. 

The first song that sounds like Colin Greenwood of Radiohead might have a hand in is "O Wow O Wow" which sounds like it should have been the lead single from this album. I would not think I would like a "happy" Nick Cave song, but this one works. The last song is a sparse folk ballad, that at least finds Cave's voice working well, I could do without some of the choirs on this album, but he got the sound he was going for, it feels too gospel for my liking. I will give this album a 9, it is going to need time to grow on me, not one for optimism in music, but that is a personal choice, if you are one of Cave's less depressed fans then you might dig this one, everyone else is going to need to get used to it. 

pst421

'

pst421

Gothtober- Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds : "Ghosteen"

it comes to aging Cave is doing it better than Iggy Pop. He has been heading in this direction since 2013 's "Push the Sky Away" This is supposedly the third installment of a trilogy, though I am not sure how this album has anything to do with the two previous ones, particularly "Skeleton Key" since that album was written in the wake of his son's tragic death.He is locked into the the same kind of atmospheric folk ballads that he indulges in. To the extent that the opening track sounds almost just like "Jesus Alone" from the last album. I do appreciate that he makes an attempt to sing up in his head register. As long as he is crooning I am fine with it. I am not sure about when he goes onto the more spoken word songs which are kinda boring at times. 'Bright Horses" and "Waiting For You" are both very strong due to their emotive nature. His voice sounds better when he sings and age creeps into the narratives on the spoken word parts. If he circles back around and sings well at least that gives the song more dynamics.

The Bad Seeds are a great band, that are being tragically under used here.It is not surprising he is just  one tour with a piano as aside from the layers of ambiance he doesn't need them for much more. In this way I find "Galleon Ship " more interesting than "Sun Forest".This album will appeal to long time fans despite the fact it is more morose than it is dark.In fact in places it shimmers more like a Sigur Rios album. When you consider the title track is about the ghost of his son then there is still a Halloween theme here. Percussion finally comes in on"Leviathan". The bulk of the arrangements are fairly minimal minimal. Things that are multi tracked are often choral vocals and strings , both of which make their tapestry felt here. The title track vs "Ghosteen Speaks" finds  the ghosteen theme more hopeful when it is dancing in his head rather than speaking.  It is also more sprawling a cinematic with the string arrangements. 

I am sure the kind of reflective poetry he engages on with "Fireflies" is therapeutic for him, as a listener I do not find it to be as engaging. "Hollywood" is darker . I guess thematically as it should be.He splits the difference on the spoken word element and phrases it in a way that hooks me in more. I will give this one an 8.5, it is marginally disappointing it is not like he has not already given us an album like that, but perhaps that is where is discourages me. I would consider this a success if it was any other artist , but I hold Cave to to a higher standard since with great talent comes great responsibility . I think I am clear on what I was clear about what I like in regards to this album so no need to rehash that . It is solid, but the depression has him locked into this one haze. .

 
6