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 01/2008

    MATT COSTA
    Unfamiliar Faces

  • reviewed 04/2007

    BRANDI CARLISLE
    The Story

  • reviewed 06/2014

    R.E.M.
    Unplugged 1991&2001 The Complete Recordings

  • reviewed 10/2008

    JEM
    Down to Earth

  • reviewed 02/2014

    PONY BOY
    The Devil In Me EP

  • reviewed 02/2017

    Kevin B. Klein
    Good Day To Be Alive

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.