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Grinderman

Grinderman

Label: Mute

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“I’ve gotta get up to get down and start all over again!” belts out Nick Cave, commencing one of the most exciting and thoroughly hilarious projects of recent times. His subsequent rant about white mice and black baboons conjures a Kafkaesque kick to writer’s block – which ultimately may be what Grinderman is all about. The album pares back the Bad Seeds to a raw and willing splinter cell of four, does away with Cave’s more formal song-writing process and places the man himself on guitar for the first time in his career. 

 

There is undoubtedly an identity game going on here, which may cause some initial trepidation for fans. After all, Cave has already done it all – song writer, performer, poet, novelist, script writer, (not quite) actor, devil’s ambassador to god, etc. What more could he be after? The thankfully simple answer, judging by these results, is just a little fun. 

Hence we have surprisingly short and linear constructions, certainly offering stories but not a hint of a ballad. Cave’s dark humour finds fine material, principally satirising the group’s own position as simultaneous aging rock icons and a ‘hot new act’. How else at this stage could he get away with an opening song that exhorts us to ‘Get It On’! A vaguely ‘Prince Charming’ backing provides irony, given that the song laments a messianic rock prototype dug from the ground who, “drank panther piss and fucked the girls you’re probably married to.”   

If you’ve got a big grin on your face by now, you’ll be doubled over with joy during ‘No Pussy Blues’. It’s a wonder how the band managed to keep straight faces long enough to complete the recording of this tale of failed post-gig conquest. Sings Cave: “I changed the sheets on my bed / I combed the hairs across my head / I sucked in my gut and still she said / that she just didn’t want to.” It’s even better on second listen when you know where he’s going with this. 

Not that there aren’t more serious songs in here as well – and one shouldn’t confuse the approach with any lack of commitment to creating a good record, as quite frankly it’s fantastic. Grinderman will stand the test of time with everything else that’s come out of the Bad Seeds thus far. Impossible to categorise, the album strikes a perfect balance between comedy and commentary that seems entirely appropriate for the current state of the world. Cave has located a rich vein of fighting lyrics too, which roll out one gem after another. A personal favourite from ‘Go Tell the Women’: “We’re sick and tired of all this self-serving grieving / all we wanted was a little consensual rape in the afternoon and maybe a bit more in the evening.” 

The Bad Seeds have evolved. - Alderson