Settle in for the latest Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album. Get interrupted by a man at the door with a parcel containing a step ladder, some plastic tubs and bin cleaner. Settle in for Wild God, the newest works from Cave, longtime collaborator Warren Ellis and the rest of the tightly-knit band. Watch as the builders dump their vans on your drive and head off to work, it shouldn’t bother you since driving was thrown out the window six years ago, but it does. Life is full of little distractions and those smoothed-out lives which are ready from waking up to hitting the pillow once more are a dream. It will never occur. Those trivialities are set aside for the bigger picture of Wild God, an intense new offering from the Bad Seeds.
Aside from having your ears blasted by Song of the Lake, (noise-cancelling headphones should not be left on full volume for the next user) the Wild God experience is a tranquil, moving one. As expected by Cave at this point, the post-Skeleton Tree appeal is in his soft honesty. Joy in the realisations of mortality can be heard in this opener – a striking piece to shake away your doubts. Pursue what you must and what you need, Cave accepts, as we all should, that “never mind” is a valid end to our journey. We grow from failure as much as success, and while being put back together again is out of the question, it is not the end. A neat companion piece to Death is Not the End, an earlier piece from Cave which is less about questioning the end and more about accepting the higher place. But before we join whatever comes next, Song of the Lake implores us to make the most of our time. Wild God too, pull your spirit down from the rising, everlasting place and make sure it is lived in first.
Wild God is an intensely spirited effort. A demand from Cave and the band to feel positivity among the brass and glowing backing vocals. Joy presents the turmoil of the real world and how we must buffer ourselves from those angry words and venomous intentions. Unconditional love can be heard on Final Rescue Attempt, and those powerful emotive tones are, in their way, a last chance for those drifting from purpose. Reliance on backing vocalists hit its peak with Conversion, and with it, the allusions to faith and its welcoming embrace for Cave are made clear as ever. He verges on rock-like enlightenment when breached by the peace of his well-documented spirituality and though there is warmth to it there is still struggle and uncertainty, heard in the brilliant vocal range he maintains.
Cave and the Bad Seeds do not sit in place, stagnating in their beautiful collection of joyous songs. They provide a call to arms and a new instrumental focus. It is easy to take this for granted considering how long the group has been around, and how often they evolve their sound. Vocal manipulations on O Wow O Wow (How Wonderful She Is) are one of the many moments those new sounds make their way through, cementing themselves as a necessary and welcome addition to the Bad Seeds sound. Unmistakably the sound of the Bad Seeds but with flickers of unbelievable personal strife – something the band has detailed before. But Cave was right when he said this was more of a celebration of the trials and tribulations of life. It is just that, and a wonderful listen.
