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Aug 30, 2024 Web Exclusive By Matt the Raven

Nick Cave’s recent personal tragedies of loss, grief, and sorrow have been well documented and reflected in the music of the past few Bad Seeds albums—2016’s Skeleton Tree and 2019’s Ghosteen—as well as Carnage, the 2021 album cut with longtime corroborator Warren Ellis. Now it appears as though Cave has completed a lifework transformation from disdainful punker to blasphemous blues-rocker to masterful teller of sordid tales to grief-stricken impressionist and now to arbiter of faith and hope. But what does this mean for the music?

Cave has always explored and twisted multiple musical genres into an original and unique creation with an eclectic shapeshifting sound that has endured through three decades, ultimately establishing himself as a genre of his own. Now with The Bad Seeds back in the fold for their 18th studio album, Wild God promises to be a joyful record full of life and vigor, and it mostly hits the mark.

It’s readily apparent that this is more of a Bad Seeds record than the last couple of albums due to the depth of instrumentation and the dynamic shifts in melodies and tempos. Rather than focusing on a singular musical theme, Wild God plays out with a spirited imagination allowing the artists some freedom of expression but with a cohesive effort to evoke optimism. The best example is the title track with a rousing choir/chorus that comes crashing through the speakers with an almost euphoric crescendo and enticing hook. Second single “Frogs” has more of an orchestral aura and with the galloping beat and heavenly backing vocals of opener “Song of the Lake” make up the albums first three tracks. Standout track “Conversion” is somewhat of a slow burner that intensifies to a powerful peak with another choir/chorus and Cave’s passionate crooning before fading away into oblivion.

The other tracks scattered on the record are a bit of downshift though. With sparse instrumentation, stark arrangements, and slower cadences, the ghosts of Ghosteen still linger and are felt on “Joy” and “Cinnamon Horses.” While the softer tones of “Long Dark Night” wouldn’t sound out of place on The Boatman’s Call. The real kicker though are the two closing tracks “O Wow O Wow (How Wonderful She Is)” and “As the Waters Cover the Sea.” The former is an emotional tribute dedicated to the memory of Anita Lane that features a taped phone conversion with Lane that not only sounds awkward but frankly doesn’t work with the music. The latter is a short two-minute piano-based hymn sung with choir.

As with all Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds albums, Wild God explores the depths of human emotions through music and lyrics, with each track expressively and articulately sung by Cave. And while it’s nice to see the band poking their heads up and producing intelligent and effusive music, let’s pump the brakes a bit on the exuberance factor as the established expectations aren’t met all the way through. (www.nickcave.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10