There’s a moment in Faith, Hope And Carnage, a book-length interview with the critic Seán O’Hagan, where Nick Cave says of his writing, “Sometimes songs feel like little triumphs over your misfortunes. Little acts of revenge!” Anyone who has even a glancing acquaintance with the details of Cave’s life will grasp the grimly ironic understatement with which he refers to his “misfortunes”.

Nick Cave has been one of the finest practitioners of contemporary English language songwriting for over 40 years now, and these days is probably just as well known for his personal tragedies, and his beautiful, thoughtful responses to various griefs (and the advice he doles out to others via his personal blog, the Red Hand Files), as he is for his meditations on life, love, and loss which are the basis of so many of his songs.

Here, he and O’Hagan look back over a lifetime of trying to make sense of the incomprehensible through song. Anyone hoping to gain a deeper understanding of Cave’s music and the places he has journeyed to find that music will enjoy this thoughtful book. For those not familiar with Cave’s work, Faith, Hope And Carnage is still an enlightening glimpse into the nature of artistic creation.