Genres: Art Rock, Gospel
The Musiquarium’s Wild God Review Score: 8.5 out of 10
As much as I enjoyed Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ masterful 2010s trilogy (Push the Sky Away, Skeleton Tree, Ghosteen), where the musical focus was on texture and ambience, I was also hoping for an eventual return to the rock sound found in their work in the mid to late 2000’s on Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus and Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! With Wild God, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds merge together both eras, which results in a brilliant compromise between their last two decades as a band.
Song of the Lake is an optimistic opener, guided by gentle synths and setting itself apart from Cave’s recent works. The title track starts off calmly, but then explodes into a powerful, gospel-backed climax, where Cave urges the listener to “bring your spirit down”. Frogs is another song that elevates the soul. The sparsely-arranged Joy and Cinnamon Horses both sound like Skeleton Tree / Ghosteen era tracks. Conversion brings back the gospel choir climax of the title track, with Cave chanting “You’re beautiful”. O Wow O Wow (How Wonderful She Is) is a lovely ode, dedicated to the late ex-Birthday Party and Bad Seeds member, Anita Lane.
This is an emotionally heavy album, especially if you know of the events that preceded it. Nick Cave had lost one son back in 2015 (which was felt on 2016’s Skeleton Tree and 2019’s Ghosteen) and another one in 2022. By the time of the latter’s death, Cave had already dealt with the sorrows of losing one child and I don’t think he was ready to do that a second time, so you can tell this album and its supporting tour were ways to fight those demons and stay positive. I’m not suggesting that this didn’t affect Cave as much this time, but that it might kill him to spiral into the depths of that darkness again.
Wild God is a fantastic album for having been released 40 years into the band’s career and an album that seemed necessary and cathartic for Nick Cave to make.
For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view Nick Cave & The Bad
Back to the 2024 Album Guide or the Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Reviews page.
Written by Brett Nippard
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