Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Skeleton Tree
2016
Spotify

Australia's Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have always toyed with death in their songs. It is one of the elements that makes the band appealing in the first place, but it is another thing entirely when you have to confront death in real life. After the recording for this album had Nick Cave's 15 year old Son died, falling from a Cliff near their England home. The idea that this horrific tragedy would not totally color this record is foolish and the ghost of that young man hangs over the entire record. The first track "Jesus Alone" harness that same emotion that Bowie's Blackstar did but instead of an acceptance of death as Bowie amazingly portrayed there is much more anger and confusion here. Cave finds himself lost in a world that He really does not understand, and has to try and reconcile that with going on with his life. The record is hell bent on explaining this to you as well, no matter how long it takes. Song son Skeleton Tree tend to be on the longer side most coming in well over five minutes, but in that time it is all about the lyrics. The music is interesting, but it gets totally lost in the emotion Cave's voice is conveying. Haunting does not even begin to describe tracks like "Magneto" where it takes almost everything you have not to break down.

You simply cannot listen to this record without dealing with how somber the world around it is. The off kilter somewhat experimental music adds to this unease. "Anthrocene" has a drum line that seems to spring up out of nowhere and suddenly vanish. It's not really on time, nor does it add something to the track besides this sense of what the fuck is going on. You think you may get a bit of relief from the melancholy on "I Need You" as the opening notes seem a bit sweet but then Cave begins the song "When you're feeling like a lover/nothing really matters anymore". The rest of the song follows suit with couplet after couplet of really sad stuff. We never get transcendence here, nor an acceptance of the grief, instead it is just painful. Perhaps a better way of going in to this record is to not know the circumstances surrounding it, but that seems somehow disingenuous. If you are going to listen to this record you really need to listen to it all, just be prepared to get very sad.

7.8 out of 10