Thomas. A long, sad, brooding mediation on grief, the 17th album from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is simultaneously their loveliest and most terrible. From front to back, this thing delivers such a sweet and serene vibe that I haven't heard from anything else this year. As stately as it is exquisite, Ghosteen concludes the trilogy that began with Push The Sky Away in 2013. Carcass with Surgical Steel (Nuclear Blast) in 2013, Behemoth and The Satanist (Metal Blade) in 2014, Ghost in 2015 and 2018 with Meliora and Prequelle (both Loma Vista), Magma (Roadrunner) by Gojira in 2016, and 2017's Emperor of Sand (Mastodon - Reprise) is our legacy. As 2019 comes to a close, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot reflect on the best albums of the year. Thank you for taking time to reply to my comment! Ghosteen is the cathartic final record of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds apocalyptic trilogy that contained “Push The Sky Away” and “Skeleton Tree”. It is, perhaps, the ultimate Nick Cave album—yet somehow unlike anything he has done before. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds — Ghosteen. But close behind Eilish in the votes is Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ equally impactful Ghosteen — their 17th studio album! Double CD and LP editions were released a month later on 8 November on Bad Seed Ltd; both Ghosteen and Bad Seed are the band's own imprints. Nick Cave confronts this reality on Ghosteen, the first album he wrote and recorded in full after the tragic accidental death of his teen son, Arthur. :), Rate and review albums along with your friends. The album did very little to stick out in a sea of post-punk albums … Those incredible, scene-enhancing, ear-destroying releases are the standard-bearers by which Ghost Cult's albums of the year … Ghosteen is both his most solitary recording since 2001’s No More Shall We Part and impossible to imagine without the contributions of The Bad Seeds. Complete write-off this year but here's what I managed to love. Ghosteen is an amazing album, when I first went into it I didn't expect to be blown away to such an extent, but god this is beautiful. It's fascinating to see that even in the darkest, most devastating, hopeless and troublesome of situations, there is still light at the end of the tunnel. Nearly every piece of the puzzle fits together into a colossal emotional meditation. How has nobody commented on how horrible the cover art is??? Ghosteen deals with grief, but an even more dominant theme of the album is love. Ghosteen is an amazing album, when I first went into it I didn't expect to be blown away to such an extent, but god this is beautiful. Yes, it can be painful, but there’s a beautiful catharsis contained within Ghosteen that makes it one of the most essential records of recent times – a lifejacket for anyone surfing that dreadful wave of grief. The title, track listing and brief descriptions of the album's songs were revealed; a second follow-up post the same day included the album's cover art. @Inglume That's exactly what I was planning to do, start with Cave's earlier post-punk records. Ghosteen is, appropriately enough, a haunted record, whose spectres are fairly clear throughout, if rarely explicated in Cave’s words. Cave has written affectingly about love before, but it’s never felt so profound as this; rather than revelling in love, he is audibly clinging to it for dear life. Name of artist who released your 2nd favourite album of 2020: Name of album. On Ghosteen Cave seems more vital than ever, a master of his craft who has taken the immense nature of grief and channelled it into an album that burns with beauty. The anguish a parent feels for losing their child is harrowing and Ghosteen masterfully captures Nick Cave's grief and spiraling rumination on mortality. For that reason, Ghosteen feels just as haunting as Skeleton Tree to me, and personally even more powerful. It is extreme stuff, singular in its design, ruthless in its execution. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Announce Tour With Weyes Blood, Every Album Ive Ever Listened To : RANKED, 200 Best Albums of the Decade (2010-2019). Tides - Sundra Arc. Mojo Magazine (UK) and The Age (Australia) both named it their Album Of The Year… Ghosteen is not just an album, it's a poetic, out-of-world story! In the case of Nick Cave, the pain endured from the tragic loss of a son remains forever, but learning to love again and seeing the existential beauty of it all is what keeps everything in motion. By virtue of its moving vocal performances and lyricism, Ghosteen is among Nick Cave's finest statements—even if its sound design often leaves something to be desired. Of those I did get, the Fontaines DC album stands out as being by far the worst - an utter turd after a really good first album. Following the traumatised chaos of 2016’s Skeleton Tree, Ghosteen is a warm cloud of ambient solace – a sonic evocation of the communion he has experienced through his newly porous relationship with his audience. I am so happy it got this many likes that quick!!!! It's the kind of album that stops you in your tracks, leaving you feeling like a whole new, different person than the moment you first walk into it, and it's remarkably beautiful. Yet it’s also, astoundingly, one of the most comforting. His son’s tragic death haunts every melancholy texture of this remarkable album. His last album, 2016’s Skeleton Tree, was recorded after Arthur’s death but mostly written before it. "Put simply, Cuz I Love You is magical. It's an album not about loss, but about learning to carry the memories of whoever you miss and appreciating the beauty that life can still provide. Deleter - Holy Fuck. The beauty of Ghosteen is the way it inhabits the darkness and still manages to harvest optimism. From front to back, this thing delivers such a sweet and serene vibe that I haven't heard from anything else this year. Any reason for why the score has been decreased? Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Ghosteen. Shame’s debut album, 'Songs of Praise', was an album that many loved, though I merely thought it was an average post-punk record. I'm gonna write one more review before I sleep, because I think I have my current aoty. Truly iconic debut albums bolt out from the starting block and stop listeners … Ghosteen sounds like the musings of a handful of lost souls, each trapped in their own barren prairie with memories that soothe and ache at once, and its power is overwhelming while the volume is low-key. never has a review ever made me feel this much emotion. Every minor detail or moment is a part of the Ghosteen story and feel. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – ‘Ghosteen’ review: a beautiful account of harrowing grief Like C.S. On Ghosteen, Cave doesn’t offer any answers, but there’s comfort to be found in keeping the questions open-ended. From front to back, this thing delivers such a sweet and serene vibe that I haven't heard from anything else this year. The simplicity is mesmerizing, inviting us into meditation as light piano pieces and sparse, melodic lines weave through an omnipresent haze shimmering with feathery light. Forty years into his career, Nick Cave emerges with one of his most powerful albums yet, an endlessly giving and complex meditation on mortality and our collective grief. Buy From Amazon. EDITED: some heavy personal stuff; just a warning. My album of the year is Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “Ghosteen”, a bold yet always poetic and oblique exploration of grief and slow recovery. It’s an intriguing, somewhat beguiling listen and, surprise or not, an infinitely beautiful, heartbreaking album that only a master can create. They also hear from Sound Opinions producers and listeners about their favorites. There's rarely a moment on Ghosteen that feels out of place or unnecessary. Despite a few questionable experimental moments (that simply make the albums more Bad Seeds-eque) the highlights soar to towering heights, making the piece a triumph. 3. Ghosteen is an almost supernaturally wonderful record. The album was announced by Nick Cave in response to a fan question on The Red Hand Files, on 23 September. His latest ... seems like a broader, and altogether more stunning reaction to losing his son. why am I crying???? Another open letter straight from artist to audience that cuts right to the core of what means to have loved, lost and loved again. It's fascinating to see that even in the darkest, most devastating, hopeless and troublesome of situations, there is still light at the end of the tunnel. Albums of the Year 2020: Steve Earle & The Dukes - Ghosts of West Virginia In a year when we all dug deep, Steve Earle discovers a rich seam Albums of the Year 2020: Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways Dylan pulls out the stops for this late-period masterpiece It's a monolithic record: immense, imposing and impossible to fully comprehend with a single listen. Weyes Blood, Titanic Rising A few months before Angel Olsen came out with All Mirrors , Weyes Blood released a similarly ambitious and enthralling chamber-folk album. Needs to be a new album not a re- release, remaster etc (my rules!). You and your writing abilities. In 2004, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their 13th studio album, the double-disc Abbatoir Blues/ The Lyre of Orpheus. Fontaines D.C. - Dogrel. Some people are stuck where they are, cast underneath a dark shadow. Between 10th and 11th (1992) REMASTERED - The Charlatans. The album was recorded in 2018 and early 2019 at Woodshed in Malibu, Nightbird in Los Angeles, Retreat in Brighton and Candybomber in Berlin. Lizzo – Cuz I Love You. Naturally, Ghosteen is an album about loss, but it is also an album about connections between human beings, and about how those left behind pick up … Ghosteen, man...I am absolutely stunned. It’s a strange, beautifully bewildering record that I’m finding equally bewildering and enchanting. Absolute perfection. Ghosteen is the first Nick Cave album to be written after the tragic death of his son, Arthur. 2020 - Zombi. The songs’ unequalled emotional depth drew from a multigenerational legacy of suffering and pain. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Ghosteen (Bad Seed Ltd.) What We Said: As frequently as Cave seems to be exploring some elevated, fantasy realm in Ghosteen‘s lightest moments, what lingers are the hard truths and the hurt that never quite goes away.But Cave chose to let us into that world, into understanding his most vulnerable moments, and … Ghosteen was released on 4 October 2019 on streaming services and as a digital download on Ghosteen Ltd. In a new interview with Interview Magazine , Cave has discussed the process in which he writes songs, and has also revealed that he's been working on ceramic figures during the pandemic. Ghosteen is the seventeenth studio album from Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, following 2016's Skeleton Tree. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds shine brightly on Ghosteen, one of the most gorgeous, haunting, and intriguing albums of 2019.. On my year in review list, 25 Best Albums of 2019, I made the comment that likely, a number of folks hadn’t heard one of 2019’s most gorgeous albums. There’s an embarrassment of riches here, and emotional gut punches land hard and fast from the outset. Create an, Best Singer-Songwriter Albums of 2019 - User Score, Best Ambient Pop Albums of 2019 - User Score, Best Chamber Pop Albums of 2019 - User Score, Doctor Destruction - Planetory Destruction, Billie Eilish & ROSALÍA - Lo Vas A Olvidar. Still good for all the aforementioned reasons, just doesn't strike a chord with me now. With the sculpting of the tracks starting after the death of Cave’s son, this album is a profound exploration of experiencing loss of someone beloved. Here we go again. In the case of Nick Cave, the pain endured from the tragic loss of a son remains forever, but learning to love again and seeing the existential beauty of it all is what keeps everything in motion. Weird how much divide there is between the userbase and the critics on this one. @Cry I'd definitely recommend it to curious listeners, though it's more logical to start with Cave's earlier post-punk records. In 2004, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their 13th studio album, the double-disc Abbatoir Blues/ The Lyre of Orpheus. Mojo Magazine (UK) and The Age (Australia) both named it their Album Of The Year… Having now received the conclusion, allow yourself to step back and appreciate where each album fits within a journey so evident in process and presentation. Ghosteen is a shatteringly haunting yet ultimately cathartic album about loss unlike any other this year. Ghosteen is music that impresses upon the soul. The 13 albums you need to hear from October. I was gonna take a listen to this until I saw that your score had changed (or I'm pretty sure it did). 4 Likes. Loss is scarring. Yupp, makes sense, I'm pretty curious to listen to this. One that’s gentle yet staggering, beautiful yet devastating. Ghosteen is an amazing album, when I first went into it I didn't expect to be blown away to such an extent, but god this is beautiful. What Cave sends us from this new place is remarkable. Nevertheless, listening to Ghosteen, it’s very hard indeed not to be taken aback. Ghosteen, man...I am absolutely stunned. I envy you, honestly. The Boatman's Call (1997) was considered by many to be their best release yet. Not everyone gets that experience. Ghosteen takes years of hurt, sorrow and reflection and releases them in an astonishing double-album, one of the most challenging and most beautiful of Cave’s career. kudos for the longest review on AOTY ever. Not everyone gets that experience. … Usual deal, in this thread please provide your top 5 albums of 2020 in the following format: Name of artist who released your favourite album of 2020: Name of album. But Ghosteen is currently only in fourth place in our combined list of critic year-end top 10 lists, suggesting that it may not actually be reviewers' favorite album of 2019. Just realised that I picked up about 250 LPs this year, and only about 5 of them were actually released this year. The clouds part on ‘Skeleton Tree’s existential despair and give way to existential acceptance. Critics had nothing but tremendous praise for Cave's haunting album upon its release in October. "Ghosteen", Nick Cave's 17th album with the Bad Seeds, was announced a week ago symbolically on the Red Hand Files website, created by Nick himself so that he could converse on intimate or social topics with all his fans. But Nick Cave, on Ghosteen, makes empathy and elegy seem so near and touchable. (The previous Bad Seeds album, Skeleton Tree, sounded forlorn and abrasive, but it was mostly finished at the time of the younger Cave’s demise, its hauntedness prescient, perhaps, but not diaristic.) 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