Since hitting 50, Nick Cave has been putting out his roughest music. With the Bad Seeds he unleashed Dig Lazarus Dig, and with his Grinderman project he put out two albums that showcased raucous experimentation. On Push the Sky Away, Cave and the Bad Seeds fall gently onto more introspective music presented using instrumentals that edge on ambience. Cave tones down the ferocity of the music without abandoning a hint of his noir lyricism. The light instrumentation lays out a undertone for Cave’s brooding vocals, and it does so relying mostly on bass, flute, violins. and synths. The lack of cutting guitar, and leading piano is something that is new for Nick Cave and the Black Seeds, but it leaves more space open for Cave’s soulful, slightly twisted vocals. Push the Sky Away is a shift for the band, and it displays their ability to flex gently, and age brilliantly.
RIYL: Grinderman, Leonard Cohen
Play: 8,2,1,4,9
FCC: Clean