10 Near Perfect Rock Albums Of The 2020s
9. Carnage - Nick Cave And Warren Ellis (2021)
Cave and his primary writing partner Warren Ellis opted to go it alone for this record. But far from feeling spares without the rest of the Bad Seeds, the pair have created an expansive sound.
The trilogy of Bad Seeds albums from the last decade, saw Ellis lean into texture with liberal applications of synthesisers and electronic instrumentation. This is no different. The pair have built on the minimalist ambience of Ghosteen (2019), taken some of the more ethereal parts of Skeleton Tree (2016), and scattered a few of the theatrical moments from Push the Sky Away (2013).
Gone is any resemblance of conventional song structuring, you couldn't find a chorus or a verse if you tried. Instead we have a collection of songs that move through different moments and moods, as Cave delivers his poetic musings. This feels more like an album of cinematic scores, guiding you through a series of sinister stories.
The duo are no strangers to writing music on a theatrical scale, together they've scored a number of movies with stark but hauntingly beautiful skill. This record is just as cinematic as anything they've done before, but far richer.