Push The Sky Away

If a bunch of serial killers were gathered in a room and Nick Cave walked into that room, the murderers would mutter to one another "who is that creepy guy?" Nick Cave has to be one of the oddest and most uncomfortable looking fellows around. But he is also one of the more interesting musicians around. He's been fronting The Bad Seeds for many-a-many a year. Their latest record, and the first featuring none of the other original members, is called Push The Sky Away.

Nick Cave records have run the gamut from loud to mellow but always have a vibe of danger surrounding them. There is something sinister going on in the vinyl's grooves. The new record is far on the mellower side, but not mellow like sitting with your girl holding hands; mellow in wondering whether your girl might be about to kiss you or cut your throat. It has a distinct Leonard Cohen vibe; songs that are lyrically driven, with the music energizing the words with dread and darkness.

The album opens on a note suggesting one of those new bourbon commercials, or maybe a late night Cinemax flick. "We No Who U R" burns gently with drums and bass and a synthesizer dripping notes like water. Throughout the record guitars are used to softer effect; strings and gentle horns fill in the spaces. There are some great songs, like the album opener and best of the bunch "Jubilee Street." The first side is great, but the second side is a bit more difficult to digest, less memorable in terms of tunes and melody, more experimental and lumbering. A companion piece to "Jubilee Street" called "Finishing Jubilee Street" misfires. The centerpiece of the second side is "Higgs Bosun Blues," which name checks everybody from Robert Johnson to Hannah Montana, and comes across as more silly than anything else.

Here's the great video for "Jubilee Street." The inherent creepiness that is Nick Cave is on full display. Be warned it does have some nudity. Thankfully not Nick.

That said, it's a solid record. One perfect for bad moods or moods verging on bad. If you like Nick Cave you will probably like this one.

Strange story, in addition to coming with an additional 33 with two extra songs (neither of which really are great), there was a razor blade in the package. This was obviously some sort of quality control issue  from the manufacturing plant, but I did think that this was a Nick Cave record after all, so it coming with a razor blade isn't really that much of a surprise.