Ghosteen

I really hated this.

this project has made it quiet clear that i'm not a nick cave fan.

boring

Extremely emotional and introspective.

I researched NC career and he’s a prolific album creator but not for my ears. The operaesque flow isn’t kind to my ears

Not a bad effort per say but it's long, slow, and Nick Cave-y. Not sure exactly what to do with a mourning album, I guess he's trying to do a Leonard Cohen thing and he hired a symphony orchestra so the instrumentation and production is great. But I'm never going to listen to this.

ANOTHER NICK CAVE ALBUM WTF. What's with music critics loving this guy?

Nick Cave out here submitting his own albums.

Nick Cage is Temu Leonard Cohen

Now this is an artist! I can understand that this music is maybe not for everyone, but I cannot understand how people can't recognise his artistry.

If you are expecting a "typical" Nick Cave album, this is not it. He wrote the songs on the album after his 15 year old son died in a tragic accident, so as you would imagine it's pretty melancholy and morose. Cave often writes about religion and this album definitely has a lot of religious themes in it. The music is beautiful, but very slow and really nothing in the way of drums or any sort of beat. I always feel like Nick Cave is someone you either love or just don't get. His vocals are most talk/singing than what you may be used to. Beautiful album with a ton of meaning behind it.

Album #109 Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds: Ghosteen My only exposure to Nick Cave prior to this was when a song of his randomly queued on Spotify. I can’t recall exactly which song it was, but what I do remember is that he was very angry and screaming in my ear. So naturally, though I have heard many sing his praises since, I just wrote him off as an experimental artist who makes music that isn’t very enjoyable, yet critically acclaimed (similar to Swans). Ghosteen is pretty much the exact opposite of what I was expecting. Even when I saw the very lush and serene-looking album cover, I was still expecting it to be some sort of ruse, lure you in and attack. I have since become more open to experimental music, but I still wasn’t too excited at the prospect. But what I was met with was music that isn’t very enjoyable, but for a completely different reason. Instead of trying to evoke emotion in you through fear or anxiety, as I expected, Nick Cave on Ghosteen seeks to completely flood you with melancholy and depression. A double album of heart-wrenching poetry about death and longing, accompanied by minimalistic instrumental. Cave’s delivery is practically spoken word, so it feels less like music and more like a man bearing his soul on his deathbed. I feel like recommending someone to listen to this album is like telling them to watch Schindler’s List on a movie night with friends, yes, it is very good and well-made, but it really is something that you should seek to put on yourself and know what you’re getting into. If I am being honest, however, though this album did not leave me completely unaffected, I can not say that I was sobbing by the end of it. I think weirdly the music that makes me most sad is really nostalgic and happy-sounding, since it reminds me of the times that are gone. When I am listening to an album like Ghosteen, I feel at home since emptiness has become my natural state. When making sad art, I think there needs to be a focus on reprieve, building the listener up before tearing them down. When you have a double album that is pretty consistently emotionally draining, the listener comes to expect and feel comfortable within that bleak soundscape. Because yes, this album is about loss, and it is sort of understood that many of us already understand that concept, but to truly understand what it is to lose someone or something, you have to have them to begin with. This album only works if the listener comes in accepting that it is not in fact a double album, but a triple album, with side one being your entire life leading up to the end, and from there Nick Cave walks you to the pearly gates. Ultimately, though I do not listen to much music that is overly depressing, I still do appreciate an album like this, even if I hope I do not feel compelled to listen to it anytime soon. I definitely have become more interested in giving Nick Cave a reassessment and might need to check out some of his angrier music soon. Best Songs: Waiting For You, Ghosteen, Bright Horses Worst Song: Leviathan Score out of 10: 7.5

Jesus Christ.

This is a beautiful album, really well written and his lyrics are great. Another case of I don’t think he can do any wrong. I struggle to think of the scenario where I would put this on ever, maybe like full out sad sitting alone in the backyard after a long, tough day and it’s a little chilly out and I like that.

lo peor q escuche en mi vida harcore

Good, not fantastic

I do miss the raw intensity of early Nick Cave, so everything post-Lazarus until Wild God has been a little disappointing. I can't deny the ethereal brilliance of this album, though. Nick Cave went through it. I saw him perform during the Dig, Lazarus, Dig!! tour back in 2008 and then again during Wild God in 2025, and he is a different man. The cold, dark aloofness of a tortured artist has given way to a warm and passionate yearning to connect to humanity. His writing, his music, his presence are all changed. He faced death, processed it through three melancholy albums, and now seems to be a healthier and more peaceful person. Still, it's four stars for me because I fell in love with a sinister heroin fiend. The fiend had big and beautiful teeth, and the man he became has gossamer wings. He can take me soaring now, but I miss devouring raw meat with him, our faces bloody and primitive on the cold earth.

Good. But just a little long.

sorry, but this was simply boring

E.T go home auditory aesthetic, love the whimsical cover. Favourite track: Spinning Song

dude im tryna having a extremely happy time dont fucking let me cry im not in the fucking mood also and im saying that as a nick cave fan. just simply devestating. simply beautiful. they should really drop this from the list because not anybody could casually handle grief. 5/5

Moody deep record

Love Nick Cave's early stuff, but this one is a but too slow for my tastes. Objectively good album, but probably won't be in a rush to listen to again.

Deeply and profoundly sad, but as far as a listening experience goes, I can only handle in short listens at a time. Not just cause of the emotional content, but because it becomes a tad wearying to listen to straight through. Also suffers from "I don't think I'll ever put this on for enjoyment" syndrome, much like with any Lingua Ignota album. Objectively a good record, just not always what I am in the mood for.

This shit could've just been a poem instead. Bro's just talking over ambient music.

Music for English teachers with awful taste.

1 - I’m sure it tells a heartbreaking story but it was a slog to listen too

Man, that was a slog. Not really a fan of them to begin with and this is a double album of pain and depression. Beautiful music but depressing subject matter and terrible spoken word style lyrical presentation. Not for me.

Good for film soundtracks but not for a regular listen…at least more tolerable than his murder album

Way better than the other nick cave album on here, but this is never something I'm just going to throw on.

This is better than the murder one but I think I just don't like this vocal style. Never been a big National fan either. 2 for production but just not for me.

I swear this is all the same song. It's like a tone poem by an angsty 16 yr old with a synth.

This was so much more of an uncohesive ramble and I didn't care for it compared to the other Nick Cave albums I've listened to.

Wow, this is some album. It's not often that I feel compelled to read the lyrics and really take in each song, but this was certainly an exception. He's really channelling something through his music, and it's so open, and honest, and raw. Despite it being incredibly sad, the whole thing is genuinely beautiful. There's such vivid imagery in the lyrics, and so much mood and feeling comes from what's implied rather than outright stated, in a way you find in so much of the best writing. In Spinning Song there's this whole dramatic, poetic story of a king and queen, and death, and renewal, and it suddenly cuts to "And you're sitting at the kitchen table, listening to the radio". And right there, you're brought back to modern day, and the cold reality of living with grief. And his really tender vocals repeating "And I love you" and "Peace will come" over the top. The whole thing is a mood, and you're taken straight to the *feeling* of the thing. And thus sets the template for the rest of the album, which holds up to the strength of this incredible first track. On top of that, the music creates this really haunting and ethereal atmosphere throughout. There's sweeping strings and moments of searing synths that have such an impact. The whole thing is incredibly moving. I'm not sure it's one I'll come back and revisit that often, but that takes nothing away from this. Stunning.

Sorry idk I really liked this?

hard to shake your ass to nick cave's dead son but whatever

Not 4 me but not made 4 me

It’s a nice album. I like the atmosphere and the songs are good and haunting. However, in contrast to the other Nick Cave albums on the list, I find it too one-dimensional in terms of dynamics. It’s not enough variation. I guess it’ll grow on me if I décide to revisit it in the future, but for now I prefer Abattoir Blues

This was boring and too long

I would have preferred just the instrumental.

Enjoyed. I very much like the mood of Cave's work.

Just a bad idea. 1 star or F-.

I prefer Nick Cave's "Murder Ballads" over "Ghosteen". It still has a lot of great verses, despite the dull backing music. I'd rather have dull music over anything by The Birthday Party. "Ghosteen" is my 3rd 1-hour+ album this week. There's nothing else I can say about this album. 3 stars for "Ghosteen".

I'm a bit conflicted on this one. I'd say I enjoyed this a lot and the best songs here are amazing but I can't imagine that this is something I'll return to frequently. Most of that is down to the fact that this is a very slow album with extremely personal and heavy lyrical content, inspired by the untimely death of Nick Cave's son. Because of that, this isn't exactly something that I'm gonna be itching to throw on even if the music here is very good.

its all one note

Objectively the most pretentious mf to come from AUS. Not untalented, but this is all soft, and needs some of that birthday party edge that made earlier stuff like into my arms pop.

From the death of Elvis to the death of his son to the death and return of everyone - Cave cracks the code of rock writing to create an ever-moving paean to a world that once was able to believe in Magic. (Remember when you listen that this is two separate records and experiences - tracks 1 to 8 are part one while the longer tracks and "Fireflies" make up part two. Sometimes I wonder if part II was really necessary at all.)

Damn. I like Cave, but this was difficult to hear.

¿Por qué está este álbum en la lista? Solo porque es Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, nada más que por eso. El álbum es malo y punto.

Eu amo eles mas não peguei a vibe desse álbum

149/1001 First listen. This being my third Nick Cave album on the list it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. It all stays in one slow lane for the full length. I don’t really want to be in a place where I’d want to listen to this again. I’m sorry your son died Nick Cave. 4/10

I do like Nick Cave, he has a special place in my heart.

This was interesting, but I probably wouldn't listen to it again.

With all respect to the origins of this album, I didn’t like this.

This is the first album I've listened to of Nick Cave. There's not really any singing, just monotone poetry reading. Mostly, the lyrics feel pretty basic and obvious. Occasionally a good line or two will strike, but I don't really feel like paying attention to every lyric over an hour-plus long album. Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, etc. all at least tried melodically. However, the instrumentation and strings on this is incredible.

Maybe it's simply Nick Cave fatigue (really, we HAVE to hear FIVE different Nick Cave albums--two of them DOUBLE albums--before we die? But we can skip every Warren Zevon album?!), or maybe it's simply how relentlessly downbeat every single song here is. This was very close to an actual painful experience.

this is cheeks😑

I don’t think I needed to hear this before I die

Some of the instrumentals were cool but he was so dramatic bruh oh my god

Awh hell naw

Who would ever put this on

I'll search for comprehensive information about Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' album "Ghosteen" to provide you with an in-depth review. Based on my research, here is an in-depth review of **Ghosteen** (2019), the seventeenth studio album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. --- ## Overview *Ghosteen* represents the final installment in a trilogy that began with *Push the Sky Away* (2013) and continued through *Skeleton Tree* (2016). While *Skeleton Tree* was released shortly after the tragic death of Cave's 15-year-old son Arthur in 2015, most of its lyrics were written before the event. *Ghosteen* is the first album Cave consciously crafted in the full aftermath of this loss, making it his most direct confrontation with grief, though it transcends mere autobiography to become a universal meditation on mortality, faith, and healing . The title itself combines "ghost" with the Irish diminutive suffix "-ín" (anglicized as "een"), meaning "little" or "small"—suggesting a benevolent spirit rather than the "ghost + teen" portmanteau many initially assumed . --- ## Lyrical Analysis Cave's approach to lyrics on *Ghosteen* marks a significant evolution from his narrative-driven past. These aren't conventional songs with verses and choruses; they're **ruminations, fairy tales, and spiritual visions** that barely adhere to traditional structure . ### Key Themes: **Grief and Loss**: The album doesn't shy away from devastation. "Waiting for You" depicts a narrator driving through the night to a beach, waiting for someone who will never return—a scene of literal dread that culminates in Cave's voice cracking with exhaustion . "Ghosteen Speaks" adopts the perspective of the deceased, observing their own funeral: "I think they're singing to be free... to be beside me" . **Spiritual Transcendence**: Despite the darkness, the dominant motion is **ascension**. "Sun Forest" imagines a child climbing to heaven, beaming back hope: "I am here beside you, look for me in the sun" . The closing track "Hollywood" incorporates the Buddhist parable of Kisa Gotami—a mother who learns that death touches everyone, finding solidarity in universal suffering rather than isolation in personal loss . **Motifs and Cohesion**: Cave employs what Thomas Mann called a "musical nexus"—repeating phrases and images across songs to create unity. The coda of "Hollywood" ("waiting now for peace to come") echoes the opening "Spinning Song" ("peace will come"). The image of "Jesus lying in his mother's arms" recurs throughout, alongside nature imagery (horses, ships, fireflies, the sun) that serves as spiritual metaphor . **Narrative Voice**: Cave's writing here is notably more **clear and decisive** than the stream-of-consciousness experiments of *Skeleton Tree*. He maintains his signature religious imagery but shifts from Old Testament wrath to New Testament compassion—the "spurting faucet of creativity" he found in redemption rather than judgment . --- ## Musical Composition & Production **Produced by**: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis **Recorded**: Primarily in Malibu and West Hollywood, California, with additional sessions in Germany and England ### Sonic Character: *Ghosteen* is fundamentally an **ambient chamber pop** album that abandons traditional rock structures. The soundscape is defined by: - **Synthesizers and loops**: Extensive use of electronic textures, continuing the direction established on *Skeleton Tree* but pushed further into ethereality - **Minimal percussion**: Drums are largely absent, creating a floating, timeless quality - **Orchestral elements**: Strings arranged by Warren Ellis provide emotional weight, particularly the "resplendent bell melody" of "Night Raid" and the angelic backing vocals that permeate the record - **Cave's vocals**: His baritone is more vulnerable than ever, employing falsetto and spoken-word delivery. The voice-crack in "Waiting for You" is deliberately left as a raw wound ### Structural Innovation: The album is divided into two parts. **Part One** consists of eight relatively concise songs (3-6 minutes) that establish the album's emotional vocabulary. **Part Two** contains two epic compositions—the title track (12 minutes) and "Hollywood" (14 minutes)—connected by the brief ambient interlude "Fireflies." This second half operates almost as a **cinematic experience**, with "Ghosteen" building to an exultant crescendo ("Ghosteen dances in my hand!") before subsiding into fragility, and "Hollywood" unfolding as a slow, meditative journey toward acceptance . --- ## Themes & Philosophy *Ghosteen* operates on multiple philosophical levels: 1. **Personal**: Cave processing the specific, unbearable loss of a child 2. **Universal**: Using that specificity to touch on all human grief—"Everybody's losing somebody," as he sings in "Leviathan" 3. **Metaphysical**: Investigating what lies beyond death through Christian, Buddhist, and purely poetic lenses The album's central tension is between **unmooring and direction**. Cave describes it as feeling "unmoored and homeless, but pointed firmly toward paradise" . This paradox defines the listening experience: the music drifts and floats, yet feels purposeful in its drift. Notably, Cave has said the album is not solely about Arthur's death but also about **trying to bring his wife Susie Bick back to the world of the living**—making it as much about the survival of the living as the memory of the dead . --- ## Influence & Legacy Upon release, *Ghosteen* received **widespread critical acclaim**, earning perfect scores from multiple publications. It stands as the **highest-rated album of 2019** on Metacritic (tied with Kendrick Lamar's *To Pimp a Butterfly*) and the highest-rated of the entire 2010s decade . The album has influenced: - **The conversation around grief in art**: Demonstrating that extreme personal tragedy can yield work that resonates universally without being exploitative - **Late-career reinvention**: Showing that artists in their 60s can produce their most radical, emotionally raw work - **The ambient/chamber pop genre**: Bridging the gap between experimental electronic music and traditional singer-songwriter craft Cave's subsequent work, including 2024's *Wild God*, has shown him moving toward something like joy again, making *Ghosteen* a crucial document of the **middle passage**—neither the raw wound of *Skeleton Tree* nor the tentative healing of his later work . --- ## Pros | Aspect | Strength | |--------|----------| | **Emotional Depth** | Perhaps the most profound exploration of parental grief in popular music history—unflinching yet compassionate | | **Lyrical Mastery** | Cave's writing achieves clarity without sacrificing poetry; every line feels essential | | **Sonic Cohesion** | The ambient production creates a consistent world that rewards immersive, headphone listening | | **Structural Ambition** | The shift from concise songs to epic compositions in Part Two creates genuine narrative momentum | | **Vocal Performance** | Cave's voice has never been more expressive—the cracks, whispers, and falsettos serve the material perfectly | | **Universal Resonance** | Despite its specific origins, the album speaks to anyone who has experienced loss | | **Spiritual Generosity** | Incorporates multiple religious traditions without dogmatism, offering comfort without easy answers | --- ## Cons | Aspect | Limitation | |--------|------------| | **Accessibility** | The ambient, percussion-less sound and long runtimes (72 minutes total) demand patience; this is not background music | | **Second Half Pacing** | The lengthy tracks on Part Two can feel indulgent or repetitive to some listeners—"a bit sleep," as one reviewer put it | | **Emotional Weight** | The album is so specifically devastating that many find it difficult to return to regularly | | **"Leviathan"** | The one shorter track that feels slightly underdeveloped, with lyrics that can seem "esoteric" rather than emotionally direct | | **Lack of Variety** | The sustained mood of melancholy, while intentional, can feel monochromatic over the full runtime | | **Not a "Band" Album** | Minimal input from the Bad Seeds beyond Warren Ellis—those seeking the full band's dynamic range may be disappointed | --- ## Conclusion *Ghosteen* is not an album one "enjoys" in the conventional sense. It is a **sacred text of grief**—a work that redefines what popular music can do with extreme emotional content. Cave transforms personal tragedy into art that is simultaneously harrowing and healing, specific and universal, Christian and Buddhist, earthly and transcendent. The flaws—its demands on the listener's time and emotional stamina—are inseparable from its achievements. To make *Ghosteen* more accessible would be to betray its purpose. As Cave himself noted, "At times *Ghosteen* may feel unmoored and homeless, but it is pointed firmly toward paradise" . For those willing to surrender to its relentless waves, it offers something rare in contemporary music: **the sense that one is witnessing an artist's actual soul, laid bare, searching for peace**—and finding, if not peace itself, then the possibility of it. **Essential Tracks**: "Spinning Song," "Waiting for You," "Night Raid," "Galleon Ship," "Ghosteen," "Hollywood"

Deep songs sounds like going thru a religious change Replay. No

I can’t listen to another album from this dude

I understand the reasoning behind the album and the grief he was probably feeling but damn it was borderline unlistenable. Every song essentially sounded the same with the 2005 emo kid diary poetry and the swelling shrieks from background singers. Might be someone else’s cup of tea but def not mine

Finally a soundtrack for all my seances.

I've never really listened to this band, despite their reputation. So this is interesting, Deeply introspective and mournful songs. Cave's son had died a few years before the release and his grief comes across through the album. Certainly worth a listen.

i understand the sentiment but i dont enjoy listening to this

Hozier adjacent, but mopier. Not a bad listen, but I either wasn't in the headspace for this or it's too mopey for me.

This is a deeply introspective album that works more as a coping mechanism for handling grief rather than a truly coherent musical piece. The sound is generally surrounded an ongoing ambience and rather minimalist instrumentals. There is nothing flashy about them and they are mostly following a loop-pattern without really progressing. It makes the listener feel stuck in a state from which there is no going back. This all builds up to the final song which sounds cathartic to a way. What shines here though is the songwriting. It is melancholic and moving. It's not an easy listen. The second part of disc one is especially challenging to get through due to the way that tracks blend together. The standout track for me is definitely "Hollywood" by a mile. It definitely ties the album together and sticks a magnificent landing.

nick cave is just slam poetry read over a generic audiobook piano Nick Cave sucks but this is probably his best work that I've been forced to listen to.

I swear to god, knowing my luck with this website the last nick cave album is going to be the one with Into My Arms on it and I think by the time I get to it I will hate it. This would be so good if you took out the lead vocals, that's the only reason this isn't a 1.

I think this could end up being album #1001. I think this huge nerd is singing about being sad? Good, hope he's as miserable as I am after having to listen to this. Lower bpm than an Olympic gold medalist marathoner's resting heart rate.

A really interesting listen 3/5

I don’t get it. Mainly a dude talking over sound. Songwriting feels pretty lackluster to me.

So I wrote an entire review and then I read the album was inspired by grieving the loss of his 15 year old son in a tragic accident. So I just don't feel right sharing my initial review. This man was grieving and turned those feelings into this album. I don't feel right criticizing someone's grief for something that tragic and will leave just a small amount of my initial review. The album art is beautiful. The melodies were hauntingly beautiful. If I could just listen to this album in a dark room and have my mind completely clear with over an hour of free time maybe I would really enjoy this album.

The reason that this album exists is incredibly tragic and makes my heart hurt for Nick. Losing a child so young is probably the worst thing that could ever happen to a person. This album is great for being an outlet for him to deal with his grief. It’s also not an album that I come back to often because it’s very heavy. I’m giving a 3.5 because his art helped him to keep moving forward.

This seems like it was probably very cathartic for him. He's had to deal with some serious tragedy in the last decade. The music was haunting and sad and soulful. Props for the beauty he's able to create through grief. Not something I'd just pop on while making dinner though.

559/1001 😴😴🌑🌑🌑

Found it too boring to continue it after a while.

I'm gonna preface this, with the fact that this is a very personal album by Cave about the tragic death of his son, so I'm gonna be a bit more generous in this review. The album is slow, murky and very sad, and while the lyrics sound like very B-tier slam poetry, they are the personal cries of Cave. Sadly, I did not enjoy the album, the sound isn't bad, the lyrics aren't something I'm gonna comment on (in short, they're bad), but I think I was just not in the right headspace/mood to truly enjoy something like this. I'm still gonna rate it above how I'd usually rate it, for the sole fact that this might be better enjoyed if you're in a less happy period of your life.

So full of emotion and feeling in every word. Something that many artists will never achieve through their career. While its not something I would listen to every day since I need to be in the right state of mind to do so. It certainly is a great album in its style and genre. Creating a certain emotional response and conveying feelings this deeply is a powerful thing.

Album of agony and despair

The Good: This is all about youth! The Bad: Being sung by an old fart… The Ugly: Age… it’s ugly… when you can’t accept it… To the horror of horrors I was presented this album today… to the even greater horror of horrors I found out that this is only the third in what sums to FIVE FUCKING ALBUMS that mr Nick Cave with his badseeds have on this list… Badseeds my ass, they impregnate even the unwilling… I don’t know what this is album is supposed to be about. I can’t be arsed (to use a British expression for once) to find out why this album is included in this list… I am fearful of the potential shit album that I will be presented with tomorrow in the morning. Thankfully I was presented with a song by The Subdudes and this made me go down a slight Treme inspired rabbit hole that was so much more enjoyable than this album… Hurray for a sensitive volume knob which decided to lower the volume all by itself during this album… silence is better. 1* out of pure spite

He’s got a nice voice, but so full of sorrow

A haunting album that’s only more heartbreaking when you find about the dead son part. Like a lot of Nick Cave stuff it feels like Broadway without the energetic melodic parts.

Spooky poetry over a spooky choir makes me think this guy is trying to fuck an angel and I am medium here for it.

Another amazing Nick Cave album. I’m ready to deep dive this artist. This album is an emotional one for sure so be prepared. Every song is good. It has a haunting quality and the lyrics are very well written and engaging.

for some obnoxious ‘real music enjoyer’ from like 2006 this would be a life changing experience

First Nick Cave album that really clicked with me

This was hauntingly beautiful. I went into this knowing only that it was heavily inspired by the death of his son but was greeted with an album that was almost uplifting in a way. It’s given me a lot to think about on what will doubtless be many later listens.

Wasn't in the mood for it initially, but sucked me right in, haunting and grief ridden

This was a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album I wasn't familiar with, really good and moving

I typically detest Nick Cave. But this is more like spoken word poetry over really beautiful music so I'm not as against it. It reminds me of a sad ballad in a musical. The backing vocals are actually gorgeous. Wait why am I really enjoying this? I typically hate both Nick Cave and extremely sad albums but here I am, two earbuds in just to hear it better. I don't want it to end??? This is probably my most shocking enjoyment of an album so far. I saw the title and artist and groaned and yet here I am, about to give the album a 5.

I didn't really need this one, guy is just a big nick cave fan Will I listen to again: 0%

What is this, spoken word

Before putting this album on, I was familiar with some of Nick Cave's work, mainly from Murder Ballads (which I'm very excited to get to as part of this list) as well as Red Right Hand and Shivers (by his other band, The Birthday Party). I really like all of these songs, but I know Ghosteen is a very different album to any of those earlier works. I started listening to this album on the train, with fairly poor quality earbuds, and turned it off after three tracks because I realised I wouldn't be able to properly appreciate it unless I had proper headphones on. I'm now starting my proper listen. • Spinning Song is very aptly named, the song makes you feel like you're spiraling, as if in a daze. It's surreal to hear Nick Cave sing in a falsetto, it's such a stark difference to his usual style. • The instrumentals of these first few tracks all feel so heavy with emotion. The repetition of Bright Horses is as if you're remembering a better time, but keep getting brought back to the present, and Waiting For You's chorus feels like it should be cathartic, but just isn't. • The lack of drums and percussion throughout the album really works. Every song feels like it's floating, untethered to anything. The sparse percussion that does come through, such as in Leviathan, actually helps to elevate this floating feeling. • I was not expecting Ghosteen to sound the way it does. After almost five minutes of sparse instrumentation like the previous eight tracks, it suddenly explodes into an almost triumphant sounding chorus, and traditional drums finally make their appearance. Six tracks later, Ghosteen reaches the catharsis Waiting For You was aiming for. This is not an album I'll be rushing back to. However, it is a piece of art. This album feels more like an emotional experience when you listen to it, than it does a collection of songs. It's so vividly different to any other album I've listened to that I find it hard to even judge as an album. I will listen to this album again in the future, likely after experiencing some grief and I find myself needing some way to let those emotions out. I can't speak to how this album feels in that headspace, but in my current one I can still see how special this album is. I'm not giving it a full five stars because of my current experience with it, but I can easily imagine the reasons others may do so. Favourite song: Ghosteen

This artist disturbs me because he is very similar looking to an evil man I was involved with once. But the album was good, like a dreamy living poetry session

This is the third Nick Cave album I’ve gotten in my first 100. The first one (Abattoir Blues) reminded me of my limited prior feelings about him: “I just don’t get this.” The next one (Henry’s Dream) made me think “Okay I’m starting to get this.” So when I saw this come up, I thought it might go either way. Instead I experienced something life-changing. It’s the only album I’ve heard so far in the project that I feel certain will be a part of my life going forward, not just something I can say I’ve heard. Why: I’ve experienced the kind of grief that created this record. Not just the pain and sorrow, but the transformation of how one sees the entire world after you really confront the truth that we all will die, some or us at very different times from what we expect. I can’t yet fully explain it, but that truth is in every note and idea and lyric of this album, and I feel like I’m going to be listening to it for a long time to figure it all out.

Not a Nick Cave guy.

i enjoyed this, had an ethereal feeling, good stuff, good to see these guys still make quality music after so long

A dark and heavy album, unsurprising considering the theme of it. Not an easy listen in a lot of ways, but it does have a sombre beauty to it.

I legitimately hated this. The house that jack built without the sense of self awareness

I really want to love this album, the production is amazing... The emotion obviously real, and powerful. But I feel like I'm intruding or being overshared with when I listen to it.

A stunning piece of work. Dreamlike. The opening few tracks in particular are terrifically moving.

I don’t get this. At. All.

There’s something incredible eerie yet beautiful about this album. It’s not my style but there’s something about it that made me want to keep listening to it.

This is an album? I can think of 50 other artists that should have made this list. This is bulllshit putting me to sleep

Meh cmon man, this shouldn’t be on here, you could do like 3-4 of their 80s albums on here before this

Some good songs. Certainly somber at best. Generally not a big fan of Ol Nick Cave, but this was pretty enjoyable actually.

too ghost

I personally find some songs a little "bering“. The intros are pretty long and many songs sound really similar.

As one of the few more recent albums added to the list (as the book creator tends to only remove other albums only recently added in the previous edition, rather than ditch clunkers like The Sensational Alex Harvey Band "Next" as that would require reformating the first 3/4 of the book and more cost), i'm really pleased to see this incredible album added. People mistakenly think that "Skeleton Key" was about his sons death, when in fact that was a coincidence and it was written before hand. This one definitely does however, and to me is immensely brave and oddly beautiful and uplifting. Warren Ellis has been in full effect for this trilogy (going back to "Push the Sky Away") and his minimal loops and effects (including harmonies) steal the show here, although Nick showed how important the piano is to his modern work through his "Idiot Prayer" solo piano covid live album (recorded at Alexander Palance with social distancing in full effect). This album became a fan favourite to all including my then 8 year old daughter, who could really lose themselves in this mysterious world of Cave. Only 4 stars as it is just a bit too long, especially towards the end with two 10+ minute songs, Hollywood in particular drags eventually.

Good but not one of his great albums it may take more listens to be absorbed.

This was kind of a weird one. At first I thought that I was going to like it as the music was kind of haunting. But as it ent on, it became difficult to tell one song from the next…too much of the same thing. Two stars.

Hauntingly beautiful

He really has an incredible and unique voice. Some of the songs though… seriously depressing. Album goes on a bit.

Dripping in love, grief and heartache.

Wierd album but decent I liked it

This album sounds like I made it.

bleh. probeert heel erg episch en tragisch te zijn maar komt gewoon ERG pretentieus over. just drags on and on and on

ik <3 van dramatisch langzame nick cave

Interesting parts, very depressing. Drags on especially the second disc Standout song: Bright horses

Overly dramatic poetry. I'll bet this is the favorite band of people that think poetry slams are awesome. So the other Nick Cave albums I've got on this list were interesting and even though I wasn't a fan they were enjoyable. This. This album is brutal. It's not even a good depressing album. It's just boring and makes me hate Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Also Nick, see a shrink, maybe some brain candy, it will be alright man.

I gave a pretty extensive review on Nick Cave when Abattoir Blues came across, giving it a full five stars. So will I do with this one. What continues mesmerising me is the broad variety of themes that each album and song offers. Like what the hell is he pulling all the inspiration from. Like I wrote in the first review I visited Nick Cave Experience that enlightened me on the deep craftsmanship of art that he possesses. In one of the installations there was a remake of his apartment in Berlin. Filled with books all over the place. Not neatly on shelf, but lying all over the place, looking like they've actually been read. On top of that his constant active writing. On random piece of papers, puking bags on planes, letters, note books. Everywhere where he had access to pen and paper. This must be one of his most powerful albums, and it’s precisely that craftsmanship that makes Ghosteen feel less like an album and more like a place you enter. All of those scattered books, half-finished thoughts, obsessive note-taking and constant writing feel distilled here into something strangely weightless. The music barely insists on being heard; it floats, hovers, waits. And yet it carries an emotional gravity that’s almost unbearable at times. This is grief not as drama, but as atmosphere. As something that lingers in rooms long after the words have stopped.

I'm really not feeling this one. I've never been a fan of Nick Cave's voice and his songwriting isn't enough to keep me interested and engaged with these songs. I wonder why this album was chosen. It doesn't seem like Nick Cave's best or his most important work.

Weird, idk why it’s on this list

Dude has a great future in audiobooks Definitely think there’s a time and place for this album; it’s extremely ambient and there’s little percussion. It gives off movie soundtrack vibes (which makes sense, since the dudes been featured in plenty of movies). I really do like the lyrics, very poetic and emotional at times. I think if i was doing anything other than trying to focus on my work I’d probably be a bit bored, but it actually worked perfect for background music. Would definitely prefer a bit more instrumentation next time, but I think it accomplishes what it’s meant to do decently enough

I was going to open my review with a silly one-liner, but I don't think it would be right. This listening experience was haunting. The ambient synths and droning combined with the personal voice struck me in a way I did not expect. It's the first time where I stopped having the music play in the background and actually sat up and focused on the composition and lyrics. I can't identify very strongly with lyrics about god, but I can identify with the thought that the world is cold when it felt like it was once full of wonder. "Horses are just horses and their manes aren't full of fire" is a lyric that really stood out to me in particular. I don't know if I would put it on again casually, but I'm glad I listened to it before I died

Why? Just... why?

This album is a combination of everything I dislike on songs, specifically the talking. However, the lyrics are deep and a bit thought provoking and when the choir like parts start playing it tickles my brain just right. Being told the story of this album and how it’s different the any other album by him because of a tragedy makes this album stand out more to me. But this album is definitely not one I’m listening to again.

Halfway through this album I was ready to give it one star, and leave it at that. That is until I started actually reading on the of this album, and man... it's downright depressing. I try not to let the context of the album influence my ranking, but in this case without the story the album just doesn't hit the mark. In this album Caves seems to be channeling his inner Leonard Cohen, and not really in an effective or appealing way to me. I thought the stronger songs of the first part were "Night raid", parts of "Sun forest", and "Leviathan", but this is more than offset by how the album feels so much longer than its already too long 68 minute runtime, and how the second part endlessly floats away. Even after reading that songs like "Hollywood" are much shorter than the original recordings, I kept wishing that most of the album had been left off of the studio album. There's a definite disappointment here, and it certainly doesn't make me want to seek out the earlier albums in this trilogy, though I actually did like "Skeleton Tree" when I listened to it a few years back. I feel guilty giving only two stars to this album, especially given how much of it revolves around the untimely death of his son years earlier, and how this dramatically affected the way he approached his music, but this album just didn't do it for me. Did I need to listen to this before I die? No, but I do think this album is a profound statement o loss and grief and others would.

Just wow

A bit too down for me.

It’s giving slam poetry at a drum circle

that was depressing

Didn’t know the context til’ I read destroy-fun…. Which was after I listened to it. Would listen again with this in mind. I kind of listened to this on the train while not really paying attn to the Lyrcs. Music kinda just made me want to sleep. Anyway.

Well knowing the backstory and also that the first 8 songs are written for children and the last 3 for adults I was expecting something sad. And it is very gloomy. Feels like it should be a soundtrack for a dystopian film or Labyrinth.

Excellent album.

No

🤮 This album farted in the elevator

Wow one of my most favourite albums of all time. Certainly the best album this century. Wasn’t sure if this album would appear on the list as it’s relatively new so had it in mind that it would be my choice recommendation when I finished this process. The content of the album is dark and deals with death and coping with it. Cannot really relate to losing a son but everyone will have lost a loved one at some point. In these circumstances personally I have always turned to music for solace. Calming my grief with music does help especially if it is a piece of music dear to the loved one which you have shared or if the words have poignant meaning. Every track on the album is able to do this but none more so than Bright Horses. Such a beautiful tune capable of bringing you to tears every time but also gives you the hope that one day you will see your loved one again. That’s the interpretation I put on it anyway and a reason why I cherish this album so much. Some question why Nick Cave puts us through so much to share his grief. My view is that he has every right as an artist to use his gift and platform to produce this album as a way of expressing his love for his son and enabling himself to come to terms with the devastation which profoundly affected him. Not once but tragically twice. RIP Arthur and Jethro. 5/5 25/1/26

kinda slow.

Mellow and morose, almost post-rock like in its soundscapes

Before Listening : Oh it’s the Scream guy (One of their songs was used in the Scream movies). Other than that, I’ve never heard of them so I’m a little curious. Let’s see what happens. After Listening : I’m sad now. This was so heartbreaking but the sounds were so comforting at the same time. I can’t really choose a favorite here. Yeah I don’t really have much to say other than I hope whoever is going through this type of grief can find peace.

Never really got into Nick Cave but glad to have a chance to listen to me. Interest is piqued by the split in reviews and ready to see how this lands. This is a good representation of the subjectivity and personal nature of music. Not in this place, emotionally, at present so relate to it differently, doesn’t land so deeply. But if I was maybe it’s deeply impactful. And such a personal experience for Nick. Disconnect. Deeply heartfelt, poignant and meaningful, but just not in that space in myself as I listen. Was hoping for a change in CD2 given the different perspective it’s meant to represent, but just more ambience with poetry on top. All melds into one after a while. Not for me, I’m afraid. Maybe I’ll come back when I’m grieving.

Gorgeous, haunting

sorrow. artistic genius

You will be surprised, but this is not one song. This album made me think. I don't like this, I'd rather use AI

I am 11 albums in today and I have to listen to another Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album. Please... don't piss me off. Stop trying to piss me off

solid

god....maybe his best album? i still probably need to chew on the "parent" second disc a bit more (tho its clearly masterful) but the opening eight "children" songs just refused to let go of me for their whole duration and made me tremble a little out on my walk. its every bit as much cleansing and cathartic as skeleton tree is desolate and harrowing...not to say its any less heartmeltingly sad but it finds enough distance and time to turn the sadness into something beautiful. and more than that, something Approachable...the layers of fantastical stories and images here make it far easier to reach out and touch grief, observe it from the outside, and use the former to clarify your feelings and the latter to clarify your thoughts. its not "escapism" so much as an authentically rediscovered justification of art creation and art experience as important parts of human life, human creativity as not being any less authentic or truthful as that which is "raw" and "natural"...a powerful justification of itself as more considered and constructed than the open wound of skeleton tree. the sound and songs themselves are minimal and new age flavored but never feel like they collapse on cliches of either arrangement or composition...theres interesting sounds and progressions to be found in even the very few elements present...once again, the Effortfulness feels like an awe-inspiring thematic statement with regards to the value of creation. almost certainly the least Dramatic nick cave album (even compared to his other mellow works) but maybe the one that feels the vastest...stretching out for miles and miles in any given direction. "we're all so sick and tired of seeing things as they are"

That was depressing.

I've got a hundred and thirty more albums left to listen to before I complete this journey to 1001. This is the fifth album by Nick Cave that has been part of the ride and it's definitely not the worst of the bunch. There is an ethereal, other worldly vibe to it that feels like an attempt at some sort of spiritual reckoning, or literal 'come to Jesus moment', for Nick and the Seeds. Or maybe they just decided to seek atonement for 'Murder Ballads'. Regardless, I hope they got what they wanted from recording it. The only thing I got out of it is the lingering question of how did this guy get five pages in the book when, so far at least, the Ramones have none?

I don't really know how to rate this. Musically its not interesting but I understand why its an important album.

This is interesting. It's cerebral. A bit too much so for me today. I can't wrap my head around how good it probably is today. I definitely didn't dislike it, but it's way outside my comfort zone today. It's ethereal and beautiful. Mournful forlorn melancholy. It's going to take a few listens and in the right headspace for be to give it a truly fair shake.

Meh

Nick Cave's most achingly beautiful album and his most difficult. Not something I will revisit all that often (I think I heard it 5 times since its release) but an album that gives me solace to have in my library.

평소에 듣기에는 너무 잔잔한 스타일임. 그렇지만 사색할 때는 이만한 노래가 없다. 많은 생각을 하게 되는 음반.

Hors de question que je me farcisse cette merde en entier

not my style

Too spacey n slow. Nice songwriting n that, just not my vibe

I was pleased to have received this album have been developing an ear for Nick Cave’s music over the past few years. My tending is towards earlier stuff. Listening notes on opening tracks… I like the gentle nature of the ambient sounds of what I’ve hear so far. Some of it sounds a bit mimble-y, (I know what I mean by that - kind of misplaced or unrefined movement/progression of the ambient melodies). But certainly feel that this is a musical ‘experience’ that I’m being guided through by, held by Cave’s poetic voice as a kind of ‘narrator’ or master of ceremonies. Having got to the end this is really tricky to ‘rate’ as it doesn’t really compare to anything else I’ve been given to date, being more of a sonic/musical piece of work that an album of songs. On first listen I’m absorbing the music rather than really comprehending all of the lyrics. I’m struck by the vibrations created by what I’m hearing, even listening through headphones I feel the music resonating in my chest and solar plexus. Maybe it’s my imagination. I’m recently bereaved myself but today not feeling grief so much in this, but a kind of - immersion. I can see why this has been held up as a really significant album and listening to it has made me question my rating system. I think that after a few more listens this could be a significant album for me too. I have to stay true to my own system though and so right now, on the basis that there are things I really like but some stuff I haven’t tuned into yet, give this a 3.5- 4. Oh I really like this album art. It sounds pretty much like that to me. Number tracks: 11 (across 2 disks) Favourite track: probably #9 Ghosteen Disk 2 in its entirety - Ghosteen, Fireflies and Hollywood.

This is good stuff, though it's obviously not a barrel of laughs. I'm not sure I would listen to it regularly, but definitely appreciate the quality.

This really is a lyrics first album. And the lyrics are great. I wasn’t sold on this album until the very end. The final 4 minutes or so of ‘Hollywood’ is where the album finally clicked for me. Wonderful album.

Not an easy listen, not a fun listen, and not something I want to listen to more than once. But goddamn it, that is powerful. An incredibly moving portrait of grief.

Not the strongest of the NC albums we have been served but some lovely stuff.

I always have this problem with Nick Cave. I really like him as a person, and his music and lyrics can be hauntingly beautiful, but I also find it impossible to listen to except in very small doses. It's too subdued and slow and I feel like I might fall into a coma. It's also quite a lot of the same sound over and over again.

Kind of painful to listen to, but beautiful

Over blown. Overcooked. Undertalented. I’d nearly rather listen to Neil Yoong or Costello . 1 star.

I gave it a go. Put it on with no interruptions so that I didn't do my deadshit cynical thing, even though I really struggle with this guy, the persona, the biblical references and Jesus allusions. The songs literally have the same fade in intro, every single one. The same arrangements, which is a criticism of Ellis as much as Cave. The same portentous intonation, here comes Hebrew Bible Nick to bestow his wisdom. The same playing as whatever the last Cave album was on this list. To be frank I was utterly bemused, but I get that he's got a thing that seems to cut through which I don't and will never get. I gave it a go.

I tried to listen to this when it first came out, but I just couldn't do it at the time; we were in the depths of COVID and my mother was dying. This was my first time trying again It is fascinating to me that Nick Cave -- the enfant terrible of Australian post-punk -- has evolved into a beloved elder statesman and poet laureate of grief. I wouldn't wish the misfortunes that led him there on anyone. But it clearly resonates culturally. Once upon a time, Nick Cave could barely get arrested (and I have seen him playing a number of small to medium venues over the years), but in 2024 he played six nights solo in Sydney at the State Theatre and ICC, and next week (23 January 2026) he is playing the Sydney Domain, an outdoor venue with a capacity up to 100,000. I truly believe his deeply compassionate reflection on grief and love through his music, interviews and the Red Hand Files blog speak to universal human experiences with an honesty, grace and vulnerability that very few artists have touched. Who would have thought that the singer from the Birthday Party would mature like this? And this album is probably the most beautiful and open expression of grief that has ever been recorded. I think its release coincided with a time when the world was shaken up and grieving. I know I was also shaken and grieving at the time, and listening to this album puts me uncomfortably back in that space. Musically, the ambient nature of the record is not to my taste, and it verges on spoken word, but I feel like it could not have been presented any other way. I find almost too real and true to listen to. Maybe one day I will be able to spend more time with this. I think this is one of the great works of art. I don't really want to listen to it, but that is mostly because it is too effective, too true, too real. It is hard to say right now how history will regard this album -- it might well become a classic, or it may be that it was important at an unusual moment in time during COVID -- but this might well be a five star record.

A pretty great album from an artist that I'm generally indifferent towards. While I go back and forth with my opinion on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, I'll concede that the group has one of the most consistent discographies in this singer-songwriter art-rock adjacent genre. And this is no exception; it's slow, hollow, empty, dreary, and sort of day-ruining. The whole thing feels like sailing away on a ship to a faraway land, as you're surrounded by the mystic aura of the various atmospheric synths driving a grand majority of the songs here. It's slow, and it understands that, feeling like a subtly shifting reality, or one's perception of it, as spirituality and religion seep in to take hold of one's drifting mind. The songs build very slowly, with my favorite being the vocal harmonies and swelling synths coming in on the back-end of 'Galleon Ship'. The ambient synth work here is generally pretty great, though the album is just as potent when it's doing the typical piano-ballad thing. And Nick Cave is as emotive as he's ever been here; his lyrics, while simple and vague at times, paint these pictures of a lost, crushed love. I didn't read too much into it, but I'm well aware that Nick had lost one of his children around this time and had dedicated his previous album, 'Skeleton Tree,' to that. This album seems to carry over some of those themes, I'd say, with an emphasis on growth and reflection. And Cave's dark, deep vocals and croons fit the ambient backdrops here surprisingly well. Really enjoyed this album. I think I said it already about a couple of other Nick Cave albums on this list, but his musical growth is one I can really get behind. His later years are far more subdued, cerebral, and mature than some of his edgier '90s albums. I appreciate that, despite enjoying both eras for two very different reasons.

1/5

This was long and tedious. Was there a point to it?

Det er sgu sjældent, at en kunstners 17. album hører til på listen, men det her er en af de få. Jeg kunne måske godt have nøjedes med 1 album i stedet for 2

Ret sikker på at The Bad Seeds ikke rent faktisk er med på den her. Virkelig hård og på mange måder svær plade, der er noget sindssygt smukt musik her men som album har det aldrig helt ramt plet for mig.

Depressing day no. 2: Really good songs with a lot of feelings. The style is a bit slow for me - I know I should've be listening to the lyrics instead of just the music.

after the unfortunate death of his teenage son arthur, nick channels his feelings strongly in this double album. what does grief sound like? probably something very similar to this album... with deep pads, ethereal vintage synths, and lyrical content that's tragically common for nick... he sounds numb. i would be too if i was dealing with all of that.

Interesting

4.5

I pay respect, he lost his son before this record. It's full of pain and so reflective. I don't like this kind of narrative music but I get what he was writing.

Oh lovely, music to suicide by. Needs a warning label - caution: depressing AF.

Leviathan feels especially self-indulgent on a generally pretty self-indulgent album. We've really been put off Nick Cave, possibly because he has somehow got FIVE albums listed on 1,001 albums, which really just does not feel deserved. Perhaps that clouds our ability to judge this album fairly, but it was not for us.

kinda really bad i could not listen to it. stories? odd singing?

Doesn’t sound like a Nick Cave

I would give a negative number if I could

This is such an achingly sad, heart-piercingly beautiful album, I feel weirdly guilty for not giving it five stars. I just found it a bit much to listen to in a single sitting, in more ways than one.

Not my cup of tea!!

So sorry you went through that Nick :( Subject matter aside, I feel I have to review this from the perspective of whether I enjoyed listening to it, and I just didn't. It was so boring, and so not for me.

if youre gonna be shit at singing at least pretend to be good, good god. and i dont like this idea that just cos hes mopey and the subject itself is sad that it works together. like its just boring. it can be sad and not boring.

couldn't finish tbh

Kinda dug this, sounded like a much less boppin’ Father John Misty but I’m okay with the chiller vibes for sure.

Not much is happening here. Sounds beautiful though

Jag vill inte sluta lyssna. Viss musik väcker känslor mer än andra. Skulle våga påstå att detta är den första skivan på listan som riktigt på djupet sätter ett avtryck. Jag förstår att det är en helt och hållet subjektiv upplevelse. Noterar även att 5:or och 1:or byter av varandra i andras review. Men för mig är det en otroligt stark och stämningsfull skiva. Det är inte avancerad musik, men det är inte poängen. Att jag lyssnat på albumet från början till slut flera gånger, utan att skippa låtar är också något som talar för kvaliteten. Kan inte sätta annat än en femma. Holy shit.

Blev helt golvad av denna otroligt vackra och gripande skiva. Temat är förstås en del i det, men atmosfären och stämningen som de lyckas skapa är också helt unik och så berörande i sig själv. Bland de coolaste (och finaste) lyssningsupplevelserna jag haft.

Interesting

I liked this less than other nick Cave albums I’ve heard. While heartfelt and emotional, there were some cheesy textures I didn’t like and it seemed to brood a little too long with too much overlap between tracks.

this album has the vibes of a soundtrack for a show or movie. I love a good soundtrack so was really into it. the only thing I didn’t like was Cave’s voice… which bring this down a notch. the only track where his voice did something for me was hollywood. it’s a good body of work and I would listen to some songs again. -favourite tracks: SUN FOREST and HOLLYWOOD

That was quite beautiful. Listen to it twice during the day. And I'll be adding it to my permanent Shuffle.

Fell into it more with headphones than while driving. Lyrics didn’t resonate with me the way they seemed to for critics but I liked the bookends here

Not the best Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album, not by a long shot. I know there's tragedy and sorrow behind this album but it sounds like the music Ross Gellar played on Friends. 3/5 only because it's one of my fave bands and one of the all time great bands.

Overly academic and artsy

3.5 stars. Quite a turn from his earlier work, a direction which I enjoyed. Fully ambient/ambient pop with a very chill vibe but lyrics that are centered on grief. Feels like weightlessly drifting along with moments of bleakness and hope.

hard to rate an album like this… i respect it, but i find it hard to say that it moved me aside from the last three tracks

This project is haunted by Nick Cave and his creepy shit. It’s good-ish, but we didn’t need eleventy billion samplings.

I just don’t like Nick Cave

Christian ... no thanks.

I’ve always said it’s much harder writing a beautiful, sad melodic song than any rock music song. Here’s the thing about this album though; beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Even knowing the backstory, these songs aren’t sad or beautiful to me. They are simple, repetitive, and shallow musically (not lyrically). Nick’s style of singing, and along with his voice, is so off putting to me. He sounds like the Beast from Beauty And The Beast and that this is a stage production. There is a thing that happens with me sometimes with really fantastic, sad music. I could be having the best day of my life, in an upbeat mood, and a sad song will come on and the first few haunting notes of the song will instantly make me feel morose and like I could literally cry. No lyrics have been uttered yet, it’s just the musical composition of those specific notes and melody that changes my mood. That is completely devoid in this album. It’s simple, basic boring background music (or just sounds) with the Beast singing his stage songs atop. This album is frustratingly terrible.

I still don't really like nick cave but I think he is growing on me

A bit slow, but overall good. Good enough as background music on a chill work day.

Call me a basic bitch, but I prefer my music to be less atmospheric. There is nothing wrong with this but it felt like I was watching a slow tv drama musical.

okay o children man let’s go -kinda long -first song ain’t giving me hope -okay what is this it’s giving christian music -BRO YAWNFEST -okay wait galleon ship the instrumental is giving stranger things im lowkey emo this is good im sad -okay this song is beautiful why is it reminding me of stranger things ending im gonna kms -wait ghosteen speaks is kinda good too -wait why is ghosteen lowkey byler and WOLFSTAR CODED LIKE COME ON -lots of lows with a few highs

Honestly the album is beautiful, I am just rarely in a mood for this type of melancholy.

This is Phoebe Bridgers for middle aged ppl

Really truly I do not understand the Nick Cave glazers. Lyrically it is wonderful, yes, but maybe I’m just old fashioned in that I believe music should sound…yknow…good.

I started levitating at one point. this is grief. Highlights: Spinning Song, Bright Horses, Sun Forest, Ghosteen

It feels a bit glib scoring someone's almost unimaginable grief out of five but I guess that's the task. It's easy to connect with the human suffering and emotions that drive this record while not necessarily loving the music that carries them. The problem I have with much of Nick Cave's latter-day output is that he and Warren Ellis have struck on a mode of composition that I don't think is anywhere as impressive as they think it is. Everything has a relatively pedestrian synth drone and/or loop, Nick intones his lyrics on top in a predictable way and often some tasteful backing vocals are added. For me it just isn't enough to carry the weight of what they're trying to express on this album and on the songs from previous albums written before Arthur Cave's death. It feels a bit mean writing this but yeah that's the task. I liked the change in intensity from the synths halfway through Hollywood.

Instant goosebumps when Warren Ellis starts on the synth.

A haunting, beautiful album. Not life changing but great.

This is my second Nick Cave album in the last ten days, and it’s somehow worse than the first one. Ambient, drippy bullshit with some of the worst vocal “performances” I have ever heard. Melancholy dogshit music. This will enter the Hall of Shame as my eighth 1/5.

6 times Nick Cave is on this list. I don’t know 6 people that care for his music. His film scores are better than any of these albums. I get it, the person/people that made this list fangirl over Nick. I don’t.

To anyone who doesn't "get" Nick Cave.. I didnt (still dont kinda) really fw it either. It's pretty hardcore and definetly not for casuals. It takes some time to get into it. But this is really him at his most beautiful and reflective. Give it some time, a few years maybe and you could find yourself liking it. Just don't write it off because its hard to listen to. When I started this listening journey I was not looking forward to it and also questioned why he had so many albums, but I think there's value in seeing an artists evolution, especially when they are as influential and long lasting as Cave. Also it would be really boring for an artist not to evolve their sound like most bands eventually do, so I really understand having to listen to like 5 Nick Cave albums and a few from his bands.

Very up my alley. Wasn't expecting such ambience and drama from the music. The lyrics and haunting voice drew me in when usually I struggle to pay attention to those.

Beautiful songs on here, but unsure about the synth sounds.

It's a really good album - although quite sad that it was for the son he lost.

The lyrics and words are very much front an center as Mr. Cave leveled up his songwriting chops. I found my mind wandering during my listen and if you're not processing the words there is sparse synth/piano/vocal layers throughout. I respect the artwork here but I didn't love all of it. Hollywood is pretty cool.

This was a pretty beautiful album. Super bummer and sad but it was quite good as well. Sucks that he lost his kid, that's sad.

Not bad

Merry Christmas Eve to me, here is another shitty Nick Cave album sigh

Actually very nice.

This is Nick Cave in his current incarnation - thoughtful, considered, devasted by loss but still with hope. It's a long long way from The Birthday Party to this. Warren swaps his violin for a Yamaha Reface (?) and knocks out some lovely ambient backings for Nick's laments, and Martyn Casey drills the low end. It's a tough listen but so rewarding.

I was completely whelmed by that. He has a nice voice, but isn't singing about anything I find interesting, or in a way I find interesting.

Best I've heard from him yet but still don't really get it

couldn't make it through this sad, mopey pile of shite

What a peaceful album. What a beautiful album born from one of life’s tragedies. What a World.

Didn't listen. I'm sure it's raw and difficult and overwhelming.

Album is kinda like spoken word poetry, but in a weird nod your head and go “well alright” kind of way. Musically it’s a lot of background vocals and piano/percussion floating in the back. Not my favorite but not horrible. Just very unique and definitely has a specific audience. 5/10

Lip album našeg piano petersona

Haunting… great album.

It was nice! LOTR vibes. I made pasta to this album and it was greay background music for the task

The music on "Ghosteen" is melancholy and full of grief, but there's a lot of beauty too, and an air of mystery. Nick Cave wrote the songs in the wake of his teenaged son's death, and that's crucial context here. A lot of songs have imagery of children departing. These lyrics on "Sun Forest" felt like a core image on the album: "I lay in the forest amongst the butterflies and the fireflies And the burning horses and the flaming trees As a spiral of children climb up to the sun Waving goodbye to you and goodbye to me" The synths on these songs ebb and flow in waves. They feel like long, deep breaths inward followed by an equally long exhale. It's gorgeous, meditative music. I was really struck by the backing vocals on "Ghosteen Speaks" starting around 1:15. They sound otherworldly, like a spirit reaching out from another world, which I think is exactly the intent. They rise and fall like a lot of the instrumentation on the album. So much of this music feels alive and organic — it breathes and pulses. This is a heartbreaking and deeply moving album.

I want to be a little bit delicate with my review here because I know this was released after both his son and one of his band mates passed away, and I do personally think that context behind art often helps my experience in understanding and connecting with it and I like to take it into account when reviewing something. In my head I've gone back and forth with enjoying and not enjoying Nick Cave many times in this project and even here with the instrumentation differing from his usual cowboy-noir, this doesn't really do much for me. I do really like ambient synth music, and i like the cowboy-noir-rock-folk genre that he does outside of this album, but the result often fails to captivate me. It's OK to not like everything but I've really been trying to understand why. I think maybe part of it is that a lot of his music feels like singular listening experiences- when I'm done I don't feel like I need to go back and hear something again, because a lot of his sound is more spoken-word-y than it is melody driven? And that's one of my favorite aspects of music as an art form, I can (and love to) revisit it over and over. Unfortunately with his music I just don't want to. For me, hearing Nick Cave albums on this list is like meeting up with an old friend who is perpetually downtrodden and experiencing some traumatic event(s). You want to be there for them and lend an ear or a shoulder to cry on, but you know what you are getting yourself into each time because the past 5 times you've met up you've been given this really emotionally down and draining hangout that when you've both finished your meal or your drinks you walk away thinking that you need a palate cleanser. I know that there is a deeper philosophical thought here about myself and how I react to things that can bring me down... how I have a tendency to let these feelings come and linger for a day, but show them the door the next morning. I also know that it's not wise to shelter your life too much and always avoid heavier topics, but I've gotten really good at hanging out with these things in moderation, for my own mental well being. I'm giving this a 4/5 because of the bigger picture here. If I listen to this album without any context I would probably give it a 3, but it does what the best art does; it made me think, it got a reaction out of me, it made me introspect and for that I am appreciative and I am happy to raise the 3 to a 4.

I think context is very important in understanding Ghosteen. The album is clearly not meant to be enjoyed or to be listened more than once. It’s a heavy album and extremely solemn. That being said, I still give it this score because at the present moment I can’t find much to resonate to, and I guess I’m pretty fortunate to. Though I’m sure any similar experience would really make me open up to this album. There’s some beauty throughout, but as a whole, it was a difficult listen.

At first I thought this was awful...like a weird mix of Neil Young and old man Johnny Cash But after a few tracks, I kinda liked it. I definitely liked it, like Mr Holland's Coltran story.

Listen, the instrumentals and soundscapes were PHENOMENAL. I adored those, but the vocals took me out of it a bit. I guess I wished the voice was more dreamy? And the lyrics were hit or miss too, one time I could appreciate the simple descriptiveness but other times it completely ruined the fantastical feeling.

Mostly boring though calming and tranquille enough for me to give it a 2. Barely.

Genuinely, who is this for?

Vibes. Listened on train to airport and perfect for looking out the window feeling wistful

Not sure what that was other than terrible.

Haunting.

And so, we return to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. It's been a while, hasn't it? this is my fourth album of his, with one remaining. Honestly? I'm not tired of them. I'm not tired of hearing this man's albums. Now, there are a number of reasons for this, but there's really only two that matter. The albums that I've heard so far have all been pretty different from one another and they've all been really really good. It's that simple. Ghosteen is excellent. The fact that these guys are making albums that are this good nearly 40 years into their career is astonishing. This is definitely one of the more somber albums of theirs that I've heard. It's kind of like The Boatman's Call in that regard, but more depressing because of personal reasons. A lot of these songs appear to be about the death of Nick Cave's son. Damn. That's genuinely extremely sad, and I give my condolences to Mr. Cave despite it being over 10 years since that happened. Regardless, the album is great. Nick's voice aged pretty well. He sounds like the same guy, but older, which isn't as much of a given as you'd think it is. The writing is just as deep as ever, though I'm noticing a stronger focus on emotions over stories and characters, which makes the album stand out a bit. The album's a bit long, but it makes sense in the context of the album. I will say that I have seen more praise directed at this album's predecessor, Skeleton Tree, for a lot of the same reasons as Ghosteen, so if I had to put a 2010s Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album on this list, I'd probably go with that one, but Ghosteen is still an album that I'm very glad that I listened to. High 4/5.

This is a really haunting and atmospheric album. I read up on the backstory while listening, then was having a really hard time holding tears back while I was trying to lift weights. These songs just ooze with loss and mourning, while also remaining hopeful. That said, the songs do kind of run together and the album really lacks variety. Even still I feel it deserves a 4 with how much it affected me.

Don't listen to him enough, not really my style of music. I do respect what he does, also being in the game for as long as he is and having his cult following all these years.

SO listened to this almost fully on my way to work. Especially helps knowing the context and story behind this album which is full of tragedy. And it does feel like it listening to this - a grim, very dark, somber, melancholic and serious listen. Really hard to judge something like this in one day of listening.

A haunted house where every room is the same.

full of pain, full of beauty !

So this isn't musically terrible, I just kind of hate it.

Just not for me at the moment.

I like some Nick Cave, but this isn't great at all. It's not bad by any means, but not for me. Usual melancholy, poorly delivered poetry.

Hated it. Overly pretentious psuedointellectual nonsense noise

Listenable.

I don't get it

I think they are a bit of an acquired taste. I saw them live and was sold. They do like to change things up and he tells a good story. Some are very odd...

👎

it was ok

Couldn't wait for it to be over. Did not like it at all.

Alas. Did not manage to like it. Too dark and introspective. I know it's the point.

I put off listening to this for a long time despite really taking a liking to Cave in the last few years. I may have had it on the background playing before, but as a father I held off from deep listening because I know the circumstances around this record and the lost of Cave’s son. In hindsight, I missed out on a brilliant, beautiful record that isn’t a depressing project, but a celebration of life and all its beauty and heartbreak. “The stars are your eyes, I loved them right from the start. A world so beautiful and I keep it in my heart.” hits me so hard as a dad: the feeling of love for your kids that’s as big as a world and powerful as stars. It’s a deep, beautiful dive into grief, with perspective of life that will always be in the heart, even if that life left his sons body and is back to a form something like photons from a star. It’s a powerhouse record of emotion, backed by absolutely beautiful music and Cave’s emotional vocal delivery. I’m better off for having given it a fair listen, and plan to give it many more.

Admire the scope of this one. It’s a bit like a dream. ✨

Not my favorite Nick Cave (this album always makes me miserable), but it’s beautiful when performed live.

Just when I thought I had Nick Cave locked down, he goes and throws me for another curveball. First, based on "People Ain't No Good" alone, I assume he's all a sad piano man. Years after that, I came to partake in this list and discover both his talent towards cinematic grandeur ('Henry's Dream') and a general variety of styles ('Murder Ballads'). I also found out he was once in a band that sounded like they recorded out of a metal trash can ('Junkyard' by The Birthday Party), but, uh, I wasn't too up on that, so... But by the time I came around to 'The Boatman's Call' and "People Ain't No Good" again, I had a greater appreciation for his talents as a songwriter and a performer. I also figured this was about where his sound stopped. I mean, I'd heard that 2016's 'Skeleton Tree' was a damn depressing album, so I'unno why I figure he wasn't still a sad piano man. Well, here we are in the future of 2019, and one thing is for sure: he's still a sad man. But he ain't stuck behind a piano anymore. No, this album is based in ambient electronica. Huh. I never would've guessed it, but given what this album is about I suppose it makes sense. This album ... well, during the production of 'Skeleton Tree', Nick Cave's son Arthur died. He was only 15. And it'd be very easy to assume, as a lot of people did at the time, that with how bleak and depressing that album is, it's about Arthur's death and Nick's grief. It isn't. In fact, besides some amendments Nick made afterwards, pretty much the whole thing was written by the time Arthur passed. I can only imagine what impact a tragedy like that would have on someone's art, but by all I can tell, 'Skeleton Tree' is not about that. 'Ghosteen', meanwhile, from what I can tell, is. 'Ghosteen' is an album that touches on grief and existentialism, while never losing itself in hopelessness. If I were to use any sort of imagery to describe this album, it's "that moment of darkness that comes right as the sun starts to rise." You're still in that dark place; you're not quite out yet — but the future's coming on, and it hardly looks as bleak. That's the impression I get from songs like "Waiting For You" and "Ghosteen Speaks", particularly the latter, which has the deceased (a friend, a lover, family, whoever) reminding the listener that they're beside them; they just need to look for them. And this is why the music is the way it is. I mean, here's some trivia for you: there was a full drum track recorded for this album. It ended up getting scrapped because, well, in Nick Cave's words, it grounded the songs too much. These songs (some of which are built on loops) are meant to float as you sit there in that heartbreaking, melancholic feeling. And I'll tell you, it does work and can be pretty effective. Sometimes. OK, so here's where I play my hand. What I described up there, that's how this album sounds if you're able to fully give yourself into the soundscape and the themes. If the emotions resonate with you, it's a haunting, darkly beautiful album about grief. If you **don't** like this album, meanwhile, it is **slow**. Just this absolute slog where nothing happens in any of these songs and Nick Cave can't even be bothered to sing, instead just kind of mumbling in his gravely monotone. Whatever he's supposed to be making you feel on this album — and this isn't to discredit his feelings, but whatever you're supposed to feel, it's just not working. Regretfully, I find myself more leaning towards the latter opinion. Believe me, given what this album is about, I **wanted** to like it more, but ... I just had a hard time connecting with it. The less introspective reason (which is completely a "me" problem) is just that in the years since 'The Boatman's Call' Nick Cave decided to focus less on narrative in his lyrics. His explanation was that life doesn't happen in a straight line, so it was ridiculous to write about it that. This method, which is far more abstract and poetic, felt more authentic to him. And that's fair, but for my money ... look, I've made my difficulty with abstract, poetic lyrics no secret. I am just not good at deciphering meaning on the fly. And, look, this album isn't as bad as something like Bob Dylan's mid-late 60's work or how I tend to see most Joni Mitchell albums, but there are still some spots where I just have no idea what he's **supposed** to be saying. Heck, even accepting that it's more supposed to be about what you personally get from these words and not so much what **the one and true meaning is**, I've still got nothing. And in those moments, suddenly the whole project falls apart and I can feel how slow moving a lot of these songs are — especially when you hit the two songs over ten minutes on the second disc, goodness. But the more introspective reason, if you'll forgive me for indulging a bit here, is that ... I don't know if I've ever experienced grief. Personally, I mean; I can imagine what it feels like for others and empathize. But as far as my own feelings go ... well, as I've said elsewhere, I'm AuDHD. And a lot of people like me can have trouble with their emotions. And I'm not that bad about them, but when it comes to grief in particular, I don't know if I've ever felt it. A couple of years ago, my grandmother died, and of course I was sad about it; I loved that woman. But even during her funeral I can't remember ever feeling grief. I don't even know how often I miss her, and I know I should. And what all of this means is that while I can listen to this album and **mostly** understand what Nick Cave is expressing and empathize, it just doesn't resonate with me. I **want** it to, believe you me. I just can't get there. And it's another "me" problem, and not so much a criticism of the album, but it's not irrelevant to my experience, y'know? In the end, I just find myself disappointed. I was ready for Nick Cave to knock me out again as he had with his past couple of albums (besides 'Junkyard', anyway), and yet ... and especially on album with themes like **this** ... I mean, I'm not obligated to like an album just because it has sad themes and is based on and reflecting on personal tragedy, but in some small way it makes **me** feel like the jerk. Like, "Wow, you don't like the album about grief and his dead son because **you** couldn't resonate with it? Yeah, OK." I can only promise you, it's nothing like that. You might've not even been thinking that. But ... yeah. I wanna like it more, but as I sit here writing this review, thinking back on how endless those two songs on the second disc felt ... I can never be anything other than honest. But in the moments where it **does** work, it **works**. Look at "Waiting For You" and "Ghosteen Speaks". They're wonderfully heartbreaking, and I can't take that away from this album, nor would I want to. And I can only hope, going forward, that they're the parts I end up remembering, more than the others. And I really hope that some day I might be able to better resonate with this thing. I really do.

Not much to say I haven't said already about other Nick Cave albums. Solid 4 Stars.

I’m at a 10. I’m a fucking mess right now. Last year, a very good friend of mine that I’d known since high school lost her child at less than a year old. The one year anniversary of that death came around recently, and it’s the only thing I could think of while listening to this album. This album is Nick Cave’s chance to mourn his son Arthur, who died in 2015 at the age of 15. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that sense of grief & sorrow captured so fruitfully on tape. He'd be my exact age now, which makes this album feel all the more haunting, just imagining how my parents would've reacted if it had somehow happened to me. I mean, I’m genuinely just an emotional wreck now, and I wasn’t even the one who went through it. I can’t imagine listening to an album like this after having gone through it, let alone creating one. I don’t have the words to describe how this album has made me feel, so instead, I will give the pen back to Nick Cave, who wrote the following in July of this year, reflecting on the 10 years since his son’s death: “The pain remains, but I have found that it evolves over time. Grief blossoms with age, becoming less a personal affront, less a cosmic betrayal, and more a poetic quality of being as we learn to surrender to it. As we are confronted with the intolerable injustice of death, what seems unbearable ultimately turns out not to be unbearable at all. Sorrow grows richer, deeper, and more textured. It feels more interesting, creative, and lovely. To my great surprise, I discovered that I was part of a common human story. I began to recognise the immense value and potential of our humanness while simultaneously acknowledging, at my core, our terrifyingly perilous situation. I learned we all *actually* die. I realised that although each of us is special and unique, our pain and brokenness is not. Over time, Susie and I came to understand that the world is not indifferent or cruel, but precious and loving – indeed, *lovely* – tilting ever toward good. I discovered that the initial trauma of Arthur’s death was the coded cypher through which God spoke, and that God had less to do with faith or belief, and more to do with a *way of seeing*. I came to understand that God was a form of perception, a means of being alert to the poetic resonance of being. I found God to be woven into all things, even the greatest evils and our deepest despair. Sometimes I feel the world pulsating with a rich, lyrical energy, at other times it feels flat, void, and malevolent. I came to realise that God was present and active in both experiences. These days, I am neither distrustful nor suspicious of the world, even though my heart breaks for it, and I am not despairing, depressed or embittered. Indeed, I see heartbreak as the most proportional response to the state of the world – to say I love you is to say my heart breaks for you, and this sentiment resonates within all things, bringing a clarity to both the world before us and the world beyond the veil. Sorrow becomes a way of life, part laughter, part tears, with very little space between. It is a way of conducting oneself in the world, of loving it, of worshipping it.” I can only hope to find some level of newfound beauty & trust in the world, along with some level of newfound perspective of faith, should trauma at that scale ever come my way. I can’t express exactly what Nick Cave has done with this album, but I do know that it is one you must hear before you die. Numbers don’t apply to something that acts as such a potent expression of one’s bared, battered & beaten soul, but I suppose this is a 10. What a piece of art. P.S.: I suppose I should address one aspect of the album, just so this doesn’t feel like a purely mopey bit of prose. The first track, “Spinning Song”, being about Elvis & his impact on the world almost feels disconnected on a first pass through the album, but I would argue it’s the perfect opening track, once the rest of the album reveals itself. Forget about Elvis himself – think about the way people *remember* Elvis. They worshipped that man. Hell, they still worship that man, given that we just had two movies based on his life in 2022 & 2023. “Spinning Song” uses Elvis as a metaphor for how much impact someone can have on your life. For Nick Cave, his son is his Elvis, and by putting his impact on his life to tape like this, it’ll live on just as long as Elvis’ records have. It’s a perfect opening track, at least for the context of what Arthur meant to him.

The 5 is because I saw that other people rated this unbelievably low, they should have included Skeleton Tree instead, it's less epic and ambitious I suppose but it's such a tight record, it's my favorite from the trilogy, not that normies would have liked it better haha

My second Nick Cave album on this list, just two weeks after the first. This album sounds like grief, it's devastating. The songwriting is exceptional, especially in the closing song, Hollywood. Sonically it's mostly ambient music, but emotionally, it is very, very heavy. It's ironic that, for being ambient music, it kept drawing my attention whenever I tried to do anything else while listening.

Well this album is something that I can't be objective at all. Lifelong Nick Cave fan and knowing the context of this album this album is quite cathartic for me. Having gone through tragic loss I personally feel that the mourning here is real. The first 3 songs usually crush me to tears. I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea and it's definately for specific occasions. But for those occasions it's fantastic album.

😭😭😭

I usually like Nick cave and I know music is subjective, but this is subjectively just bad. It just drones on and there isn’t anything memorable to me.

Heartbreaking.

Vi a Nick Cave en el Primavera Sound de 2022 sin tener prácticamente idea de quién era. Fue un espectáculo en el que se dedicó a acercarse al público y a tener momentos intimísimos con esas mareas de manos, escogiendo a una de ellas y cantándole a los ojos hasta que llorase. No entendí nada pero me pareció poderosísimo. Tres largos años después aquí estamos, escuchándome mi primer disco de Nick Cave, fracasando en mis intentos de no llorar por la calle mientras canta a la memoria de su hijo sobre synths de ambient. Qué pedazo de disco. Poderosísimo también sin duda. Admiro su vulnerabilidad y le agradezco haber tenido la maestría para convertir su dolor en un dolor bonito de los que poder compartir y que durante hora y pico nos haga pensar en lo que es la vida y lo que es la muerte. Gracias, Nick Cave, seguiré escuchándote, pero puede que las próximas veces intente no hacerlo por la calle.

Nick Cave & The Bad Albums. the creation and circumstances surrounding the creation of this album are very tragic, but that does not make it good, at all. Sure, pour your heart into it, but also make it sound good. Just do slam poetry Nick, none of this half singing half talking pretentious nothingness. I'll give you this, the piano sounds nice on some of these tracks, and he manages to create some interesting soundscapes. That doesnt redeem this album though.

Look obviously it’s tragic that Mr Cave lost his son, but this album was an awful listening experience. I just do not like Nick Cave. Please let this be the last album from him list… please list!

I like this one. Also the long songs on the B-Side. Pleasantly surprised.

Listened to half, boring

Christmas came early for me this year, this is the last Nick Cave album I'll be forced to endure! How is it that f-ing Nick Cave gets 5 albums listed in this book and in comparison, legendary artists like Steely Dan, Pink Floyd and Joni Mitchell get only 4 mentions? Mega-legendary Bob Dylan and the Beatles merited 7 mentions and Nick Cave still gets 5?!! Where is the perspective? It seems to me he got 4-5 too many mentions. It just goes to show you the crappy choices the author consistently made for the book. This album was a drag and depressing to listen to. Good riddance to Nick Cave.

Who would have thought a Nick Cave penned double record about the death of his son would be so upbeat?

Haunting. Devastating.

Heartbreaking.

Weird. I can't appreciate it. 1/5

Wasn’t expecting to like it, but this album is actually great. Calm and surprisingly enjoyable atmosphere with beautifully layered instruments. Albums like this tend to be way too minimal and underwhelming for me, but there’s great texture here that easily offsets the minimalism. Great album. Not my type of music, but this is very well made.

Unless you're David Bowie, Paul Simon or The Beatles, you probably don't deserve to be represented more than three or so times on this list. And yet here we are, listening to a third Nick Cave album (and with more to come). This one is hard to judge and rate. It’s deep, heavy and incredibly raw, emotionally. I feel for the guy based on the personal tragedy that fed into the subject material here. But it’s also a hell of a long slog with painfully little dynamism or variety.

Mesmerising, to be honest. Knowing the backstory, as this album was written following the death of his son, makes this ambient piece of beauty even more special. It's bleak at times, it's doleful at others, but sometimes it's almost hopeful and uplifting. How we does all that within the constraints of his own grief and while never stopping producing Nick Cave music is beyond me.

Sometimes, something is so beautiful you get out of the way and let it speak for itself.

It’s a little too much Nick Cave at this point. If this album is not even in the top 10 of his based on major publications’ lists on the guy, it should not be among the 1001 best of the best

Fuck, this is a tough listen. Musically it reminds me quite a lot of Kid A / Amnesiac era Radiohead, which is good because that’s my favourite Radiohead era. Lyrically and emotionally … fuck. Great music can come from personal tragedy - Rumours, Arrival, Zeppelin’s ‘All Of My Love’ - and this is on a par with those. It’s raw, and broken, and a really hard album to hear, but it is good although not something I really want to go through again soon.

I don’t get the appeal

Weird, slower Nick Cave

Coveret ser ut som at da blei AI-generert. Føltes ut som at da aldri tok slutt

Having not really liked much Nick Cave before I actually thought this one was quite good, but not really 1001 worthy. 3.7/5