NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS

Wild God (PIAS)

The first thought that comes to mind when hearing Song Of The Lake, the opening track to the new album from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, is “wow”. A thought which returns, repeatedly, throughout Wild God. Going back to Song Of The Lake, it’s big, broad and drenched in emotion, with Cave’s storytelling elevating over a choir and strings. Equally brilliant and beautiful is Wild God’s title track, which culminates in whirling strings and angelic backing vocals, seemingly pushing Cave almost to an emotional breaking point. 

This is an album of grief and depression. Lines such as “Kill me in the Sunday rain” (Frogs) or “After that nothing really never hurt again … not even ordinary pain” (Final Rescue Attempt) cut deep, as Nick Cave puts everything through the emotional wringer again and again over every single track on Wild God. It is a portrait of a man struggling with his publicised pain, and putting it all into words the only way he knows how. 

words JOSHUA WILLIAMS