797 Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus (2004)

 797 Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus (2004)

Studio Album (Double) - Gothic Alternative Rock



About the Act:

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian Alternative Rock/Gothic band from Australia. They were formed from the ashes of The Birthday Party in 1983. They are still active, having had some member changes and seventeen studio albums. They are somewhat a vehicle for the song writing and singing of Nick Cave. Their music is an themes is generally dark, in the vein of Leonard Cohen. Nick Cave has a deep baritone voice which suits this.


About the Album:

This is a double album, with the two disks having different names (and somewhat different moods) and so could be thought of as two separate albums sold together as a bundle. It did really well with the critics.


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

I have been aware of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds for quite a while, and have one of his albums, not this one though. It is a collection of songs, most of which tell stories in some way. It has to be said that the song writing is excellent, amazingly crafted and lyrical, with strong imagery and economy of words, quite poetic at times. There is quite a bit about death, and some about sex, and it feels like a book of gothic short stories. The music is similarly dark, but at the same time warm. It is roughly Rock but I guess Alternative Rock might be a more precise term, there are elements of Blues and gospel and quite a few of the tracks on Orpheus are pretty stripped back, giving a sparse menace to them. In particular I love the backing vocals which give a gospel feel to everything. 

Although it's dark, it's not bleak. There is life in here, and even optimism at times. There are love songs amongst the stories, and while there is at times religious imagery, this is not entirely negative, sometimes ambiguous. 

And although it's a double, and a rich vein of stuff, I feel like I have encapsulated what I think and feel in quite a succinct review. It's dark but nice.


7.5/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4OrbNhWLOrWi6lb40T0IHM

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiN-7mukU_RFcY2qpW8jIssEp_7bUrxVM

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abattoir_Blues_/_The_Lyre_of_Orpheus



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