Description:
Nick Cave at 50 seems as relaxed as any retired gent. But he works harder than ever too, last year alone producing the soundtrack (with Warren Ellis) to Andrew Dominik`s epic deconstruction of the Jesse James myth and fronting the magnificently puerile Grinderman.. . Cave always did have a funny side. Even in his hysterical big-haired pomp, his self-conscious invocation of Elvis played up the King`s absurd side. His cover of Leonard Cohen`s already knowing Tower of Song may well be the most lugubrious performance ever committed to tape. . . But Dig Lazarus, Dig!!!, unbelievably the Bad Seeds` fourteenth studio album, sustains a level of casual insouciance throughout that makes it a career standout. . . This record is ... fun, 11 well-resolved songs that effectively refine a trademark sound. The catchy, clanging We Call Upon the Author .. the Stooges-quoting Today`s Lesson relies on jaunty handclaps rather than raw power. . . Lie Down Here (& Be My Girl) attempts to marry Cave`s own classic Deanna and the crude Sixties anthems of lusty farm boys the Troggs (ie, it`s perfect), while the churning title track turns Lazarus into Larry and tells a picaresque tale of a man who might not have requested resurrection. . Experienced Cave watchers though will be most intrigued by the elegant two-chord chug of the closing More News From Nowhere, in which he references old characters and collaborators in a spot of light self-mythologising. -- Steve Jelbert. timesonline.co.uk (Anti-)
