Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Bolstering his rep as the baddest songwriter on the planet, Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds fuck inhibitions and get off on punk fun. At the rate he’s going, Cave could quietly equal Bob Dylan’s prolific mid-’60s period, writing one overwhelming album after another, led by the sound of his own confident voice. There’s such wild, crass spirit in Cave’s lyrics and, though they’ve never been slouches, the Bad Seeds respond with spooky pop rock hooks, giving Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! an unholy groove. For the title track’s eclectic mash-up of blues and prog, Cave chokes the microphone for a compellingly demented, quasi-Biblical tale. "Moonland” is a haunting R&B track that recalls ’80s Bowie, while "Albert Goes West” has the geek muscle of the Pixies. The black humour of narratives like "We Call Upon the Author” is matched by the driving dance club allusions of glitchy, electro-rock soundtracks. Enriching folk like "Jesus of the Moon” is a kind respite, but Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! is at its mightiest as an unadulterated, mannish rock record made by one of the dead coolest bands around.