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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Dig Lazarus Dig

03rd March 2008 | by Aidan Williamson

"Hi, you've reached the Nick Cave hotline. If you'd like fiercely delivered rantings, please press 1. For stylistic universes populated by abstract, larger than life characters, press 2."

"For stripped down, lo-fi, bass obsessed grooves, press 3. For an immense towering presence coupled with flawless, bombastic delivery which almost negates the need for instrumentation, please press 4. If you would like callous, darkly humourous lyrics with ne'er a hint of basic human decency, press the 5 key. If you would like a 50 year old musician with the bark and bite of an angry punk kid without the snotty nose and complete disregard for common sense, press 6."

"If you would like to order copious amounts of marijuana, please press the hash key."

It's at this point that Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds proceed to mash the keypad, for on their 14th studio album, there is no such thing as common decency. They paint a vivid landscape of abstract thought and fictional characters set in a dystopian world which is sadly our own that will seem all too familiar to any who managed to catch Monkey Dust on late night BBC.

This is truly an album that will rarely reward passive listening, you need to sincerely attempt to insert yourself into the constructed world, absorb every reference, chew on every statement and all but meditate on the meaning of it all. “Dig Lazarus Dig” is a tricky taskmaster, constructed of a veritable montage of obscure murmurings it may frustrate all but the most ardent psychiatrist. Happily though, it's all so darn entertaining that you're unlikely to notice.

Musically, as mentioned before, it's all very sparse. Tracks rely on the thick, multi-faceted vocals of Cave to power things along, percussion litters the background, guitars take to the stage like a demented stalker and are removed just as quickly and backing vocals reinforce the ferocity when needed.

"We Call Upon the Author" and “More News From Nowhere” are likely to be the tracks that invade your brain, hijacking the synapses and condemning you to a life of breaking rocks as you struggle to focus on the likely important tasks of the day. If you happen to be in charge of the button that's capable of averting any kind of apocalypse, we'd like to recommend you something more tuneless. How about Adele or anyone that won one of the nme awards.

Rating:  8 / 10