Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds keep to the “water’s edge” in its 15th album __Push the Sky Awa_y_, continuing with the band’s signature sound.
A delicious helping of blues, a sprinkle of soft jazz and a backdrop of weary gospel set the stage for Nick Cave’s excellent, eccentric stories.
This is the kind of record where no one really knows what the songs are talking about but somehow the bigger picture is always obvious.
Lyrics like “Hannah Montana does the African savannah” and “Yeah you know, we real cool” give no indication of the accompanying somber violins and dragging vocals that artfully cloud every track.
The leading track, “We No Who U R” disarms listeners with a drugging effect that has them reaching for the nearest pillow to fall asleep to this lullaby. The subdued synths and motherly backing vocals are hypnotizing and genuine — stealthily captivating.
Cave has a way of making listeners comfortably accept the inevitable woes in life and to “breathe it in” with unashamedly “no need to forgive” or to forget.
Cave is not known for writing traditional romantic poetry so “Wide Lovely Eyes” comes as a nice surprise.
Unlike most other tracks on this record, Cave actually does more singing than speaking and the flowing lyrics paint a transcendental scene that is easy to follow.
The organ-like keyboard and the backing choir thoughtfully complement Cave’s deep whispering voice to lift listeners’ hearts.
Although the LP is not instrumentally packed and all of the songs are slower-paced, the music is still as spellbinding and as effective as ever.
It’s been 30 years, but Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds is still delivering music that challenges the senses. Dive verdict: ?????
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