Rock veteran Nick Cave returns to the scene with his fourteenth studio release album Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!. The new album features gritty guitar coupled with pounding bass to create a rugged garage rock sound tinged with Gothic punk elements characteristic of the Bad Seeds. Dig, however, is by no means a tired attempt to recycle an old sound. With wailing guitar overtones, mellowed-out vocals and the occasional incorporation of piano, the album fuses psychedelic dissonance with the raw energy of unprocessed rock 'n' roll.
What really keeps Cave coming back though, are his lyrics. Complex themes of religion, love and mythology paired with morbid humor set Cave's music apart from popular contemporaries. The title track borrows themes of resurrection using the biblical Lazarus and reinterpreting his rise from the dead in a modern metropolitan context. Other stand outs include "Jesus of the Moon," a melancholic reflection on a lost love, and "We Call Upon the Author," a grotesque description of all of society's ills. Paired with an up-tempo beat, the track's bleak lyrics display Cave's musical irony at its best.
Familiar fans will delight in Cave's creative expansion of his already unique sound. However, newcomers might take offense to the hard-hitting, grainy music coupled with controversial lyrics and general macabre. Nonetheless the lyrics themselves deserve at least a second listen to fully appreciate their multi-layered meaning. Overall, the album demonstrates a level of maturity characteristic of such an accomplished artist. But like the majority of Cave's work, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! is not for the faint of heart.
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