W♥M

Grinderman

Grinderman - Love Bomb Grinderman Band Members ♥ Nick Cave ♥ Warren Ellis ♥ Martyn Casey ♥ Jim Sclavunos A song about a man who doesn't have a cat... http://weheartmus... I heard his song moments ago on Later with Jools Holland, which was recently described as a rare ...

Ryan previously mentioned Nick Cave's project, Grinderman, last May, and recently, I was fortunate enough to receive a review copy of their self-titled debut album.

Before I begin, I should tell you a little about Grinderman. They are basically Nick Cave's band, the Bad Seeds. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have been together since 1984, and after twenty years of writing music and touring - they begin to deviate from their normal sound to what people describe as "raw". They decided to give themselves a new name: Grinderman.

After recording the album in October 2006, the self-titled album was released domestically in the US on Anti- Records (worldwide on Mute Records) on April 10th.

The CD package is in a slightly oversized cardstock which folds out like an old record to reveal the band in, what looks like, a hotel room (all setup and ready to rock). I was ready to rock... but to be honest, I have heard most of this album via last.fm and myspace that I felt I have already known the album.

I instantly knew half the album, and the ones that I wasn't familar with, I gave it a closer listen. Of the 'new' tracks, I really liked "Depth Charge Ethel" which features a very interesting guitar sound. The song is about a woman called Ethel, who is apparently "famous throughout the land" and "people come and bath in her lake". It is like the craziest love song you've ever heard.

 

 

No Pussy Blues

Of the songs I already knew, of course "No Pussy Blues" is a given. I thought "Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)" was also really good, as usual with Nick Cave's crazy lyrics: "Ack-ack positions everyone/She's my honey bee and here she comes/Cancer rabies SARS".

"Love Bomb" is my favorite. These lyrics are actually comprehensible, you have to love the line: "I read that book from back to front/It made a deep impression/Near 20000 pages, Baby".

Do you think he was referring to the novel, Red Alert?

Look for Grinderman's self-titled album at most good record shops, as well as through these stores:

 

 

UPDATE: Apparently Grinderman will be their usual selves as Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds on their next release, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! out on Mute Records on March 3, and on Anti- on April 8th. Cave describes their 14th album as "A hemorrhaging of words and ideas... With DIG, LAZARUS, DIG!!! we allowed ourselves to get expansive."

 01/26/2008 12:34:34  vu my♥posts www.grinderman.com myspace.com

A song about a man who doesn't have a cat...

 

No Pussy Blues

They say a dog is a man's best friend. Nick Cave disagrees. He is a man who wants a cat. After all, cats are friendly and loyal creatures with an edgy air of intelligence.

I heard his song moments ago on Later with Jools Holland, which was recently described as a rare piece of television that actually allows artists to mix it up or words to that effect. Regardless the lyrics are classic Nick Cave. It is not as dark as some of his works but well-referenced, mentioning Eliot, Yeats and Marcel Marceau.

I won't harp on about Nick Cave. If you know music, you know Nick Cave. He is a massive Leonard Cohen fan and the man who actually gave Kyle Minogue a good song. I am not open to debate on this point but I don't mind folks disagreeing with me, Where The Wild Roses Grow.

Where The Wild Roses Grow

 

Grinderman is Nick Cave's latest project. It contains three members of his previous band, The Bad Seeds. Their self-titled album was released in March 2007 with "No Pussy Blues" released as a single in February of the same year.

In a recent interview with BBC 2's The Culture Show, Nick stated that he started his band "because they had some thing going on musically that they just couldn't do with the Bad Seeds". This is guitar music, plain and simple - Ryan

Their album is available via Amazon UK, Amazon USA and iTunes.