Grinderman 2

Project of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (Dirty Three). Everything you’d expect from Nick Cave…no wait: you might expect him to be resting on his laurels and growing old and lame. You would be wrong: This is some of the best stuff he has ever done, easily. No disappointments here, just intense dark music with his very literate lyrical sense and dramatic vocal delivery and style. He collaborates with violinist Ellis, who he has been working with for the last decade or so (they did the soundtrack to the film version of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” recently). Dense with well recorded vocals, pianos, guitars, drums, violins. But not orchestrated. Just the high quality dark rock that typifies his work. Check it out.

1) quiet brief intro, searing slashing intensity appears, gets balls out rockin, with dramatic storytelling segues, Cave at his best
2) menacing, driving, urgent, dark, ends cold (appropriately enough) with 5 sec remaining
3) “Heathen Child”strange smarmy with a bizarre pitch changed guitar lead, strangeness…
4) lovely beginning with warren ellis’ violin taking hold, darkness begins to swell with great story lines then the expected storm breaks but at half time, a dark plod, wow- this is the epic one
5) very chill but eerie, the lyrics tell a life story from a position of experience, fantastic stuff
6) more intense lyrics, driving and urgent music, crazed with chorus/backup vocs
7) great low swinging mean with great references, one FCC buried in there so heed unless you are late night, otherwise this is one of the better tracks
8) big sound with the backup vocs, almost “traditional” Nick Cavish, funky rock beat
9) cool dark bendy backwards guitars and messed up feel