Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds are diving into the afterlife on their newly announced album Wild God. Set to be released on August 30, the band has offered a taste of their 18th studio album with the title track. The surprisingly cheery instrumentation—consisting of a grooving drum line, a shaker, and a guitar melody that moves up and down the fret board—belies something different than the words Cave sings. “It was a rape and pillage in the retirement village / But in his mind he was a man of great virtue and courage,” he croons in that half-talking voice of his.
Produced by Cave with bandmate Warren Ellis and mixed by David Fridmann, the songs on Wild God began coming together on New Year’s Day 2023. “I hope the album has the effect on listeners that it’s had on me,” Cave shared. “It bursts out of the speaker, and I get swept up with it. It’s a complicated record, but it’s also deeply and joyously infectious. There is never a master plan when we make a record. The records rather reflect back the emotional state of the writers and musicians who played them. Listening to this, I don’t know, it seems we’re happy.
“Wild God…there’s no fucking around with this record,” Cave added. “When it hits, it hits. It lifts you. It moves you. I love that about it.”
Pre-order Wild God here, and check out the title track below.
