NICK CAVE レコード& CD

Review: Seven Psalms finds Australia's most imperious musical misfit Nick Cave leaving his Bad Seeds at home and teaming up with frequent collaborator Warren Ellis for a limited 10". The spoken word pieces on this record are the result of a daily song writing practice over a week during lockdown - Cave himself describes them as "small, sacred songs," set to appropriately subtle musical accompaniment. Recorded during the sessions for Cave and Ellis' 2021 album Carnage, it's a rich work in its own right that offers a different perspective on Cave's considerable gifts as a soothsayer.

Review: It only seems like yesterday when Nick Cave delivered his wonderfully captivating joint piece with fellow-Australian Bad Seed Warren Ellis. In fact it was early March, and since then we've all likely been through the kinds of highs and lows this record reflects so accurately. There's a lot of space to Carnage, but it's also an album of intensity, in a refined and sophisticated way.

Packed with incredibly cinematic, theatrical and dramatic moments, at its loudest 'White Elephant' is bordering on a genuinely euphoric religious experience, one rousing and hugely emotional crescendo of chorus and big stage notes after another. At its quietest, 'Shattered Ground' sounds like one man alone with a piano and eternal sadness. Meanwhile, the title track is classic troubadour business. In summary, a grand, mesmerising and personal voyage.