Album "Wild God"

Nick Cave finds his way back to the beats

It's no longer possible to do it entirely without pain of the soul, but Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds are finding their way back to more speed.

(Bild: PIAS, Megan Cullen)

"It bangs out of the speakers and I get carried away" - these are the words Nick Cave uses to describe the new album he recorded with his Bad Seeds. Fans had to wait almost five years before they were able to hold a record with new songs from this combination in their hands again. Now the time has come with "Wild God". 

The frontman of the Australian band has had a difficult time. In 2016, one year after the death of his 15-year-old son Arthur, the album "Skeleton Tree" was released, followed by "Ghosteen" in 2019. In 2022, Cave announced the death of his son Jethro. The ambient sound of mourning that had settled over the most recent albums like a thick fog seems to be over on "Wild God" - the beat is back. The 66-year-old singer said of the joint production with his musical partner Warren Ellis that it was a complicated album, but also infectious with joy. "When I listen to this, it seems to me like we're happy," said the song poet.

Religious references
"Wild God" comprises ten songs. A biblical number that, alongside the ten plagues and ten commandments, also stands for perfection. Fitting for the reunion. Cave began work on the album, which sounds like a new start, fittingly on New Year's Day 2023. The record starts quietly but powerfully, with morning-fresh sounds and a precious moment: in "Song Of The Lake", a woman bathes in the lake while a man watches her. He knows that he has found heaven, while hell is still tugging at him. In addition to the religious references, the element of water also flows into Cave's lyrics time and again.

This is no coincidence. In an entry on his website "The Red Hand Files", where the Australian usually answers his fans' questions in detail, he gives an insight into what water means to him. "I've heard from time to time that there are people who wake up happy in the morning. Unfortunately, I can't count myself among them," writes the singer/songwriter when asked what makes him happy. "But I have found something I can do to significantly improve this sad state of affairs - wild swimming, or more precisely, cold water swimming." After the death of his son Arthur, he says he realized that it was impossible to grieve in ice water. "With this revelation, my love affair with cold water swimming began," he continues.

Hopeful energy
And in the second song "Wild God", which has already been released as a single, the protagonist sung about also swims. "This wild god is in a state of distress," Nick Cave told Musikexpress magazine. "He has lost something that he desperately wants back. He's looking for someone who still believes in him." The sound in combination with the deep voice sounds powerful, telling a tragic story that suddenly rises up at one point and almost radiates a hopeful energy.

In "Frogs", the second single release, a couple - "probably my wife and I" - walk through the rain on a Sunday morning, as Cave breaks it down in a "Red Hand File". Church bells ring in the background. Frogs, he says, are him and all of humanity. "They leap briefly towards love, wonder, meaning and transcendence, only to end up back in the gutter," writes the musician. Water also plays a role again: "Amazed of love and amazed of pain, amazed to be back in the water again," sings the baritone.

Moments of contemplation
With 'O Wow O Wow (How Wonderful She Is)', Cave and the Bad Seeds, founded in 1983, pay a special tribute to Anita Lane, former bandmate and ex-partner of the singer, who died in 2021. The album oscillates between mysterious fairytale worlds such as in 'Cinnamon Horses', pain-filled confessions of love, dark realizations and passionate connections, but also finds moments of contemplation and calm, especially in the last song 'As The Waters Cover The Sea'.

The rock cult figure Cave has repeatedly demonstrated great versatility in his decades of work. His discography includes rock ballads, spoken poems and sometimes experimental sounds. The soulful duet "Where The Wild Roses Grow" with Kylie Minogue from 1995 shows yet another side. The Australian has also contributed to the soundtracks of many films and series, including most recently "Back To Black" about Amy Winehouse, the Netflix series "Dahmer" about the serial killer of the same name and "Blonde" with a reference to Marilyn Monroe.

Change is fundamental
Despite drums, electric guitar and titles like "Frogs", there is no question as to whether Cave has come to terms with the death of his sons. Grief and brokenness can often be read from the lines, as well as references to earlier works. Cave told the British newspaper "The Guardian" in the spring that he did not believe it was possible to put such an experience behind him and move on. The change is fundamental. But that he could be happy about his life was what his children had wanted. And the new album also makes that clear.