Skeleton Tree - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (OTL Review)

PhenomentalOne I'm back.

Nick Cave. An artist I know nothing about. Skeleton Tree. An album I knew nothing about. Why am I reviewing this? Even I don't know.

I just stumbled upon this record. I didn't have any plans to do any of this. But, out of vague interest, I decided to check this out. And what I found was... I still don't know how to put this out. It's a dark, conceptual album, hailed as one of the best of 2016, a terrible year for hit music. Guess the not-so-popular stuff was better that year. But enough talking about myself. Let's talk about the album itself.

First, the music. The production is quite minimalist and yet it strikes a chord as a mixture of different feelings. You have the grating riffs and extremely high-pitched synths on Jesus Alone; the angelic, dreamy-like Distant Sky; the brighter and more upbeat (for its own good, because we did need to end the record with some positivity) Skeleton Tree; the rest of them are well, I forgot. See, this is kind of a problem with minimalist production. Nothing really stands out. But I won't say any of them are BAD, because they aren't. All of them have you gripped in their run-time, at least.

The lyrics... I don't want to talk about them. I mean, those who are reading this must know what the album is based upon. So I didn't even want to look them up, because I felt like it was too personal. But I did, in the end. And what caught me off-guard was the fact that the lyrics DID have a rhyming scheme. I was of the thought that Nick was spewing out vague, philosophical sentences. But boy, was I wrong. And as I went on, I found the lyrics to be quite relatable (even though I haven't had someone very close to me die). It isn't only about his son's death, it's about everything that happens after it. Consider this - you must've heard the saying, "Laugh and the whole world laughs with you. Cry and you'll have to cry alone." But here, Nick isn't quite alone. Many people know that this tragic event happened and are offering their condolences. But Nick also points out to the fact that these are the same people who wouldn't even give a damn about his life otherwise. He has been pushed into the spotlight because something bad happened to him. The story of every single artist in existence...

I can't go on about this. Sorry.

Overall, this is a great album. Kind of a rarity in the modern world. It's hard to put myself in the place of Nick Cave because then, it would mean a lot more to me than what it already is. And I'm not ready for that feeling yet.

Best Tracks - I wish I could say all of them...
Worst Tracks -...but I Need You is a bit dreary
Rating - 9/10

Comments

I Need You is only decent, I agree.
8/10
but: Distant Sky, Jesus Alone
WT: I Need You




yOu Gave REVIVALA 9 BUT DICK A 3? // wAAA MELON - ProPanda

Literally no flaws in my opinion. I would review this forty times over if I had the option. - PandaDude98