Nocturama

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Nocturama

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CD Details

Artist: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2003-02-11
Music Label: Anti
Soundtracks:

Wonderful Life
He Wants You
Right Out Of Your Hand
Bring It On
Dead Man In My Bed
Still In Love
There Is A Town
Rock Of Gibraltar
She Passed By My Window
Babe, I'm On Fire

Music reviews of Nocturama

Music Review: Not bad from an outsider's perspective
Rating: 3 Stars

It seems that most of the reviews I've read of this album - most of which have been fairly negative, or at least somewhat indicative of a certain level of disappointment - have been written from the clear perspective of fans of Nick Cave, or at least people who have previously been impressed with his earlier masterpieces. I've seen a lot about this being "mediocre compared to" and, even more, the use of the phrase "treading water", and it's possible this is the case. Being historically familiar with Cave and the Birthday party, but never having heard more than a track off of a few of his later records (specifically Boatman's Call and Lyre of Orpheus), I feel somewhat priveleged to be one of the few reviewers here who has heard Nocturama (which I bought based on its inclusion in the Mojo Collection book) fully objectively, but nevertheless my feelings aren't too far removed from those of my peers.

I was enchanted with this record upon first listen, particularly from the gorgeously gloomy opening track, "Wonderful Life", which sounds exactly as I would've imagined Nick Cave does, but softer. It's enchanting in the same late-night, pseudo-occult way that Tom Waits is, and all seven minutes compose what remains one of the most impressive tracks on the album. And it's true, all but three tracks follow this slow, brooding and occasionally beautiful template. Most work, at least partially, and I'm particularly fond of "He Wants You" (which is Cohenesquely lovely, and that second chorus note Cave hits sends me), and to a lesser degree the pretty "Right Out Of Your Hand". Nevertheless, this languid and tranquil approach proves a little monotonous around the second half, as Cave drags lyrics not always deserving of such attention over seemingly formless melodies, only to arrive at a mere sliver of a chorus - witness "Still In Love", the vaguely Nine Inch Nails-sounding "There Is A Town", and the short, bare-bones "She Passed By My Window", all acceptable, none terribly riveting.

The heavier tracks, nevertheless, are just about everything they're made out to be. "Bring It On" is a beautiful, dramatic centerpiece for the first half, sounding vaguely like Achtung Baby-era U2 but nevertheless proving as gothically effective as everything that surrounds it. This is largely due to the talents of the Bad Seeds, which are unquestionable throughout the album, and Nick himself, a marvelous vocalist whose somewhat convoluted lyrics can weigh a record like this down if they're read on their own. History goes that Nocturama was written in a very short period of time, and that loose verve the band brings to all of the tracks fuels it more than the quality of the songs they're playing.

Of the two other, more vicerally hard-rocking tracks, "Dead Man In My Bed" is a tad silly lyrically (granted, probably intentionally), but otherwise ominous and driving enough to qualify as an excellent way to spend four-and-a-half minutes. There's a delightful, raw power to this and its counterpart, the fourteen-minute closer "Babe I'm On Fire" that everybody singles out, and it's a lot more fun to hear Cave and his band having a great time with an alright, upbeat song than struggling to create an atmosphere with an alright, lethargic one. "Babe I'm On Fire" remains my favorite track on the album, even after having read all 38 (not 43 or 42) verses, some of which bring the slightest semblances of winces to the corners of my mouth ("the poor Pakistani/with his lamb Bhirriani"? Dylanesque maybe, but I've never been quite so subtly bothered by any of Blonde On Blonde's tossed-off lyrical asides). The group holds its terrific own throughout, particularly Thomas Wydler, keeping a steady, manic beat with inhuman consistency for well over ten minutes (an accomplishment which brings to mind Can's "Halleluwah"). Again, Nick's striking vocalizations of sometimes questionable lyrics - and sometimes brilliant ones - drive this one home, and I'm never bored once, which has never happened to me with a Pink Floyd track. Even if Nocturama is not a great album per se, "Babe I'm On Fire" is indeed a marked achievment, and it does make everything that led up to it seem more than necessary.

Overall, Nocturama was very worth my time, and a fair introduction to Nick Cave - one that will probably make his better albums seem far more impressive by comparison. I'd like to give it a 3.5, maybe more realistically a 3.25, but in increments of stars, three seems most appropriate to how I feel about it. The seams show, some songs merely do not succeed at sticking in the craw or sending me with genius, but there are shards of genius lying all over this record - and more than several times, I find myself stepping on one, and beautifully bleeding.

More Nocturama free music reviews:
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Description of Nocturama

The twelfth Bad Seeds album Nocturama displays a renewed strength of purpose within the band, and is marked by an immediacy of recording technique and thematic diversity. The sessions took place in early 2002 when the band decided to use free time on an Australian tour to try out new material. They ended up learning and recording the album in a week. Epitaph. 2003.

After 2001's tender and tormented No More Shall We Part, Nick Cave's Nocturama sounds like the work of a madman spinning desperately and beautifully out of control. Since the Birthday Party called it quits in 1983, Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds have reframed the Party's cranky and disturbing post-punk to encompass sad blues, literary nihilism, and a kind of serenity; witness Shall We Part, and 1997's The Boatman's Call. Those qualities are still present on Nocturama, most notably in the brokenhearted violin that winds through "Right Out of Your Hand" and "She Passed by My Window." But Cave's arrangements embrace a range of styles and textures. The 14-minute-plus noise explosion of "Babe, I'm on Fire" and the dark, wide-open pop of "Bring It On" are looser and rougher than anything since at least 1994's Let Love In. This makes Nocturama feel messy, unpredictable, and even a little dangerous--qualities Cave's music hasn't had in far too long. --Matthew Cooke

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