I hate album reviews. Instead of going into indepth and long-winded sentences about the chord progressions of Generic Band A, I’d rather spotlight albums that I’ve been rocking the shit out of lately and talk about why I have been, well, rocking the shit out of them lately. It’s the record store geek mentality, what can I say? I’m not saying we won’t have our standard album reviews. I’m saying that I’d rather do this from time to time. So screw it, let’s go! So to clarify for those keeping notes, this isn’t an album “review” but rather an album “spotlight.”

Ok, I’ll admit it, up until recently, I really wasn’t the biggest fan nor did I have a clue about the genius of Nick Cave. Yes, I had a greatest hits collection on my iPod and I knew of a few Birthday Party songs here and there but that’s about it frankly. That has changed since hearing his latest full-length Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (Mute/Anti-). I was a fan of his Grinderman project and I think this is why I dig this version of Nick Cave so much more than his older stuff. Lazarus is filled with Cave’s usual dry wit and lyrics but the songs are much more bare-boned RNR. 

Follow after the jump for more.

I’ve been listening to it pretty much on a constant loop since I got it and, yes, pardon the cliche analysis, it gets better every time. Hands down, “More News From Nowhere” is the best song I’ve heard this year.  I’m looking up and down through the tracklisting and I really can say that there isn’t a bad song on this album. It’s got something from every Nick Cave fan, new or old.

I’m an idiot. I’ve denied Nick Cave for so long and now after Lazarus, I’ve become a preacher for his cause. I had no logical explanation for it and I’ll probably pretend like I’ve loved him all along like a true poseur does. Well, whatever, this album is fucking genius and you’d be a jackass if you didn’t go get this right now.

Check out the video for the title track below. The video just proves how much of a badass the man is. I can actually imagine him doing this in real life. Maybe while walking to get some juice from the store. Oh, who am I kidding….Nick Cave doesn’t go to the grocery store.

Tags: Album Review, Album Spotlight, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, record review //