Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Ghosteen review – his most beautiful songs

(Ghosteen Ltd)
Cave’s voice is richer than ever on this stunning double album that sets desperation against empathy and faith

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ 18th album was casually announced, a week before its release, in answer to an online query from a fan on Cave’s Red Hand Files website. That says a lot about how Nick Cave has transformed himself over the last 12 months. Previously an entertaining but guarded interviewee, he has, more or less, thrown himself open to the public. His website began with Cave posting the words “You can ask me anything” online. He’s subsequently answered dozens of fans’ questions, from the trivial to the metaphysical, eloquently and at length.

His most recent tour was effectively its live incarnation, based around an audience Q&A, conducted without a moderator. Anyone who has attended an artist Q&A where a particularly banzai fan has ended up in possession of the microphone knows what a bold high-wire act that is. The accidental death of his son Arthur in 2016, he said, has led him to “see people in a different way”, giving him “a deep feeling toward other people and an absolute understanding of their suffering”.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Mf3QmT