Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus

2004-11-09

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are back with another disk....no wait, that's two disks!!! They are a set. The first is Abattoir, which is definitely the more rock 'n roll album of the two, and it really packs a punch! Unbridled gothic post-punk passion!!! At times I hear cynicism and joy radiating from the same songs, as he mocks the Western take on God and religion and yet yearns to discover God's will.

The second disk is a softer more carefully theatrical disc. It's also slightly more experimental in nature. The quest in Cave's songwriting seems to be "to explore his obsessions with religion, death, love, America and violence with a bizarre, sometimes self-consciously eclectic hybrid of blues, gospel, rock and arty post-punk"(allmusic.com). If you are familiar with Cave's work, you know that part already. The music making itself accentuates the passion and gritty focus of those obsessions.

Quick Links:

More reviews tagged #Rock

  • reviewed 12/1969

    THE PRETENDERS
    Break Up The Concrete

  • reviewed 03/2009

    Great Lakes Swimmers
    Lost Channels

  • reviewed 06/2016

    The Young Presidents
    Firehorse

  • reviewed 07/2007

    A BAND OF BEES
    Octopus

  • reviewed 05/2014

    CENTRO-MATIC
    Take Pride in Your Long Odds

  • reviewed 11/2009

    PROFESSOR LOUIE AND THE CROWMATIX
    Whispering Pines

Compiled by the WYCE Journalism Club

The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.