Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (2008)

BIOGRAPHY
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Steve Huey
After goth pioneers the Birthday Party called it quits in 1983, singer/songwriter Nick Cave assembled the Bad Seeds, a post-punk supergroup featuring former Birthday Party guitarist Mick Harvey on drums, ex-Magazine bassist Barry Adamson, and Einstürzende Neubauten guitarist Blixa Bargeld. With the Bad Seeds, Cave continued to explore his obsessions with religion, death, love, America, and violence with a bizarre, sometimes self-consciously eclectic hybrid of blues, gospel, rock, and arty post-punk, although in a more subdued fashion than his work with the Birthday Party. Cave also allowed his literary aspirations to come to the forefront; the lyrics are narrative prose, heavy on literary allusions and myth-making, and take some inspiration from Leonard Cohen. Cave's gloomy lyrics, dark musical arrangements, and deep baritone voice recall the albums of Scott Walker, who also obsessed over death and love with a frightening passion. However, Cave brings a hefty amount of post-punk experimentalism to Walker's epic dark pop.

Cave released his first album with the Bad Seeds, From Her to Eternity, in 1984, which contained a noteworthy cover of Elvis Presley's "In the Ghetto," foreshadowing much of Cave's style and subject matter on the follow-up The Firstborn Is Dead. Kicking Against the Pricks, an all-covers album, broke the band in England with the help of "The Singer," which hit number one on the U.K. independent charts. The album also strengthened Cave's reputation as an original interpreter and a vocal stylist of note.

Following 1986's Your Funeral...My Trial, Cave took a two-year hiatus from recording, partially to appear in Wim Wenders' 1987 film Wings of Desire, and then returned with Tender Prey, which featured Cramps guitarist Kid Congo Powers and Cave's strongest vocal performance up to that point. Cave's productivity picked up immensely over the next two years after he kicked a heroin habit. He had two books (1988's King Ink, a collection of lyrics, plays, and prose, and 1989's And the Ass Saw the Angel, a novel) published; appeared in the 1989 Australian film Ghosts...of the Civil Dead as a prisoner; recorded a soundtrack to the film with Harvey and Bargeld; and released 1990's The Good Son, his most relaxed, quiet album. Cave received his due as one of the leading figures in alternative rock when he was invited to perform on the 1994 edition of the Lollapalooza tour to promote his Let Love In album. Early in 1996, he released Murder Ballads, a collection of songs about murder. Murder Ballads became Cave's most commercially successful album to date, and, with typical perversity, he followed it with the introspective and personal The Boatman's Call in early 1997. A spoken word release, Secret Life of the Love Song, followed in 1999. Two years later, a rejuvenated Cave teamed up with the Bad Seeds once again for the piano-laden No More Shall We Part. Nocturama was released in 2003, and the double-album Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus followed by the end of 2004.

REVIEW
Limited edition pressing of the 2008 album from Nick and his Bad Seeds. This version not scheduled for release in North America. Produced by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Nick Launay who worked with the band on their last album Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus, this album was recorded over the summer of 2007 at State of the Ark Studios in Richmond and mixed by Nick Launay. Dig Lazarus Dig transports the biblical character of the title to contemporary New York, as well as drawing inspiration from escapologist Harry Houdini. Featuring the majority of his usual personnel in The Bad Seeds (including violinist Warren Ellis and organist/pianist Conway Savage).

DIG, LAZARUS, DIG!!!
Por Fernando de Albuquerque

Nick Cave é artista consagrado. Quase tudo já foi dito ao seu respeito e dentro dessa amálgama de declarações e metáforas já publicadas, suas composições, hoje, são muito mais um mantra a ser entoado pelos fãs do que música propriamente dita. É sobre essa pecha que Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, banda que o acompanha há duas décadas, lança o 14º álbum intitulado Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!, através do selo Mute Records.

O trabalho repete a parceria de Cave com o produtor Nick Launay, com quem eles trabalharam no álbum mais recente, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, disco duplo lançado em 2004, e a arte do encarte (por que todas as minúcias do CD merecem ser detalhadas) está ao cargo dos artistas Tim Noble e Sue Webster.

A narratividade do disco parte de um antigo fascínio do artista pela figura bíblica de Lázaro readaptando-o ao contexto Nova Iorquino de hoje e ao mesmo tempo refletindo sobre o próprio ceticismo da personagem. No disco ele volta à sua forma monotemática de contar histórias como se fosse um policial cínico e mafioso com o braço recostado à sua viatura, empostando um cigarro com a mão direita. E nessa mis-én-scene, o australiano Cave (que já morou em São Paulo na década de 1980) mais uma vez levanta a bandeira do sexo, da culpa e da religião como principais nortes de cada compilação. São vários personagens estranhos, escuros e muitas vezes surrealistas que são montados ao longo do disco.

O Bad Seeds é uma banda pomposa, com sonoridade inclinada para o gospel e mesmo baladas pesadas, bem diferente de seu último projeto, o Grinderman. E Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!! lança mão dessa sofisticação em uma sonoridade (contraditoriamente!) baseada em guitarras sujas com sua tradicional culpa cristã. E aí cabe sua sempre presente influência pós-punk, marca deixada pela Birthday Party, banda que montou nos anos 1970, só que hoje muito mais lapidado, com muito menos heroína (afinal todo mundo envelhece) e pronto para sempre angariar fãs.

Ele continua mal-humorado, culpado, mal agradecido e frustrado. Tudo representado por um rock pesado, burro e gestado em bares de quinta categoria que relembra os clássicos dos Stooges. São onze faixas, todas de longa duração, e na primeira, com nome homônimo ao CD, é um nítido regresso aos dias vividos entre From Her To Eternity (1984) e Henry’s Dream (1992). Numa espécie de escavação ao clássico The Velvet Underground & Nico.

De novo com bigode, Nick Cave continua enveredando por um rock pesado, burro e gestado em bares de quinta categoria

E cavar parece ser mesmo necessário para compreender todos os meandros de Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!! que se mostra completamente diferente à cada audição. Tal como outros clássicos de sua carreira e outras notáveis obras como Let Love In (1994) e Murder Ballads (1996). Quanto à imagem, vídeos e clips, o sarcasmo parece ter aumentado em Nick Cave, que ressuscita o bigode. E é possível descobri-los sem muita arqueologia no YouTube ou numa loja da AkiDiscos.

Uma dica: se você está prestes a se matar não ouça, por exemplo, “Jesus Of The Moon” ou “Midnight Man”. Além das guitarras extremamente soturnas e sem concessões , o ritmo mais lembra um filme de Tim Burton e a voz do cantor mais se assemelha à de um algoz prestes a decepar, recheado de muita culpa, a cabeça de outrem. É pro sujeito pular varanda abaixo.

TRACKS/CREDITS
01. "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" – 4:12 (Cave)
Nick Cave - vocals, organ
Warren Ellis - viola, loops
Mick Harvey - electric guitar
Jim Sclavunos - drums, bongos, cowbell
Martyn Casey - bass
Thomas Wydler - brushed snare
02. "Today's Lesson" – 4:41 (Cave)
Nick Cave - vocals, organ
Warren Ellis - fender mandocaster
Mick Harvey - acoustic guitar
Jim Sclavunos - drums
Martyn Casey - bass
Thomas Wydler - shaker, tambourine
James Johnston - organ
03. "Moonland" – 3:54 (Cave/Ellis/Casey/Sclavunos)
Nick Cave - vocals, piano, tambourine, sleigh bells
Warren Ellis - fender mandocaster, tenor guitar, maracas
Jim Sclavunos - drums, cuica, conga
Martyn Casey - bass
04. "Night of the Lotus Eaters" – 4:53 (Cave/Ellis)
Nick Cave - vocals
Warren Ellis - loops, mandocaster
Mick Harvey - bass, electric guitar
Jim Sclavunos - congas, finger cymbals
Thomas Wydler - drums
05. "Albert Goes West" – 3:32 (Cave/Ellis)
Nick Cave - vocals, tambourine, toms, harmonica
Warren Ellis - 12 string lute, tenor guitar
Mick Harvey - bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
James Johnston - electric guitar, organ
Jim Sclavunos - drums, bongos, shaker
Thomas Wydler - tambourine
06. "We Call Upon the Author" – 5:12 (Cave/Ellis)
Nick Cave - vocals, organ
Warren Ellis - viola, loops, drum machine
Mick Harvey - electric guitar
Jim Sclavunos - drums
Martyn Casey - bass
07. "Hold on to Yourself" – 5:51 (Cave/Ellis/Casey/Sclavunos)
Nick Cave - vocals, organ
Warren Ellis - fender mandocaster, loops
Mick Harvey - acoustic guitar
Jim Sclavunos - drums, maracas
Martyn Casey - bass
Thomas Wydler - hand drums
08. "Lie Down Here (& Be My Girl)" – 4:58 (Cave)
Nick Cave - vocals, piano
Warren Ellis - fender mandocaster, tenor guitar, piano
Mick Harvey - acoustic guitar
Jim Sclavunos - tambourine
Martyn Casey - bass
Thomas Wydler - drums
09. "Jesus of the Moon" – 3:22 (Cave)
Nick Cave - vocals, piano, electric guitar
Warren Ellis - flute, mandolin, fender mandocaster, viola
Mick Harvey - acoustic guitar
Jim Scalvunos - tambourine, sleigh bells
James Johnston - organ
Martyn Casey - bass
Thomas Wydler - drums
10. "Midnight Man" – 5:07 (Cave)
Nick Cave - vocals
Warren Ellis - loops, fender mandocaster, tenor guitar
Mick Harvey - organ, electric guitar
Jim Sclavunos - drums
Martyn Casey - bass
Thomas Wydler - shaker, tambourine
11. "More News from Nowhere" – 7:58 (Cave/Ellis/Casey/Sclavunos)
Nick Cave - vocals, tambourine, sleigh bells, vibra-slap
Warren Ellis - viola, loops
Mick Harvey - electric guitar
Jim Sclavunos - drums
Martyn Casey - bass

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Gomez - How We Operate (2006)

BIOGRAPHY
by Greg Prato
The British band Gomez is a five-piece, consisting of Ben Ottewell (vocals, guitar), Tom Gray (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Paul Blackburn (bass, guitar), Olly Peacock (drums), and Ian Ball (vocals, guitar, harmonica). Whereas the majority of up-and-coming British bands are either retro-pop (à la Oasis), trip-hop (Portishead), or space rock (the Verve, Radiohead), Gomez is one of the few to contain bluesy elements in their rock. Their debut for Virgin Records, Bring It On, was praised in the rock press on both sides of the Atlantic. They also received the distinguished Mercury Music Prize for 1998 Album of the Year in England, where they edged out such stiff competition as Massive Attack's Mezzanine and the Verve's Urban Hymns. They completed their inaugural U.S. tour opening for Eagle-Eye Cherry in October 1998, while the press still offered praise — Spin magazine called Bring It On "a damn beautiful album," giving it an eight-out-of-ten rating. Liquid Skin followed in 1999 and the rarities and B-sides compilation Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline was issued a year later. A third studio album, In Our Gun, appeared in spring 2002. Another hiatus saw Ian Ball relocating to Los Angeles, while still working with the band at their new studio in Portslade, England. The dozens of tracks recorded during this time were whittled down and fashioned into Split the Difference, released in May of 2004. By that time, Hut, their original label, had gone under, leaving them signed to Virgin (Hut's distributor). Despite all the critical acclaim, sales were never up to what Virgin was expecting from Gomez, and the two sides parted ways later that year. In 2005, they signed with ATO Records and released Out West, Gomez's first live album, in June of that year. How We Operate arrived in May 2006, and the band rounded out the year by assembling a retrospective collection of singles, rarities, and unreleased tracks for Five Men in a Hut: Singles 1998-2004.

REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
How We Operate is Gomez's first studio offering on the ATO imprint, and it's a (mostly) quiet stunner. Produced by Gil Norton and recorded in London, the album is a deft collection of well-molded pop songs that sound of a piece. They're full of ingenious little hooks, fine singing, poetics and to-the-point lyrics, and cool guitars. After popping this disc into the deck and hitting "play," it may be tempting to do a double-take at the cover for a moment, given the music the band has released in the past. But that sound — with Tom Gray's evocative voice at the front — is unmistakable. This is the sound of a band sitting around facing one another and concentrating on writing and executing songs that stand the test of time, using multiple songwriters of equal gift and merit. In five or ten years, How We Operate will not sound any more dated than, say, Ronnie Lane's Anymore for Anymore; in other words, not at all. The world doesn't shatter with this set, the vision of rock's future salvation (a load of crap they were shouldered with by the manic, next-big-thing-of-the-week of Brit music tabloids with their debut Bring It On) from its current dregs — how else could a record by Wolfmother actually get released and promoted? — doesn't occur. But what does is that this quintet, who has so gradually come into its own via a stubborn insistence on sticking to its own principles, has grown immeasurably and become a unit of utter confidence and consistent vision that insists on excellence and will settle for nothing less. Gomez's adherence to the principles of good songwriting craft — melody, harmony, rhythm, and lyrical economy — serves them, and ultimately the listener, in spades. This is not some weepy, introspective sheaf of tunes that are full of overburdened metaphors stretched to the breaking point. The opener, "Notice," begins quietly and unhurriedly, with an acoustic guitar, a whispering bassline, and a brushed snare, as the vocalist tells an expressionistic story about opportunity, wasted, grasped, reckoned with in both life and love, with lies told, ignored in denial, and forgotten. The electric guitars kick in on the chorus, and the drums begin to pop. The verse is repeated and eventually comes to a ringing series of crescendos that are restrained yet powerful enough to hold the listener in its grip. "See the World" could have been written by R.E.M. before they started bullsh*tting and thinking they were more than they were. One can also hear an optimistic Jay Farrar in here. The bright, down-home acoustic guitars, the "sha-la-la" chorus, the exhortation to go out and get more from life, and the gorgeous meld of electric guitars and backing vocals are simply a joy to listen to. This doesn't mean there aren't rockers here. Far from it. Tracks such as "Hamoa Beach" that start out acoustically develop into sonically overdriven forays into margin-challenging guitar pyrotechnics. "Girlshapedlovedrug" has a hook to die for in its intro, and the volume level continues to rise from there without the harmonically taut, bright, sparkling Ottwell vocals and ramped-up six-strings. "Cry on Demand" has a knotty, angular lyric line, but rounds itself in the rollicking chorus and between verse fills. "Charley Patton Song," doesn't deal with the blues whatsoever, despite its title. Instead, there is an atmospheric, floating, dreamy quality to its sophisticated verse structure that never leaves out the end-of-line hook. There are strange sounds in its background that sound like a cembalom or hammered dulcimer chiming above the rest of the instruments, and a simple organ line that shimmers underneath it all. The bridge changes the nature of the entire track, Gomez pretends to let the tension out of the bag for a short bit and enters into dissonant interplay between drums and detuned guitars. The album almost whispers to a close on "Don't Make Me Laugh," where a gentle country groove unhurriedly glides in and offers the singer a breezy window to observe his unwillingness to compromise himself for another opportunity with a lost love. There are rock overtones that begin to bleed in the instrumental bridge, tension once more rises before being given the air to breathe and float away as the cut comes to a leisurely close amid almost jaunty strings and a slide playing in the high register. How We Operate is strong, focused, and a complete pleasure to engage; its maturity and confidence is beyond anything they've released thus far, and the experimentalism brought into play on their other albums is here, though the textures, tempos, and frameworks are significantly other. Above all, this is most certainly a Gomez record, one they couldn't possibly have created earlier; its maturity and confidence offer a new dimension to a sound that's already full of complexity, paradox, and a pronounced, now intractable, identity.

CREDITS
Ian Ball - Group Member
Paul Blackburn - Group Member
Katherine Bottenill - Vocals
Tom Gray - Guitar, Vocals, Group Member
Fil Krohnengold - Accordion, String Arrangements
Ben Ottewell - Guitar, Vocals, Group Member
Olly Peacock - Group Member

TRACKS
1 Notice (Gomez) 4:01
2 See the World (Gomez) 4:03
3 How We Operate (Gomez) 5:26
4 Hamoa Beach (Gomez) 3:34
5 Girlshapedlovedrug (Gomez) 4:00
6 Chasing Ghosts with Alcohol (Gomez) 3:42
7 Tear Your Love Apart (Gomez) 4:06
8 Charley Patton Songs (Gomez) 5:13
9 Woman! Man! (Gomez) 4:04
10 All Too Much (Gomez) 4:33
11 Cry on Demand (Gomez) 4:22
12 Don't Make Me Laugh (Gomez) 4:34

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