The debut album from the latest Bad Seeds off-shoot is a breath of fresh air compared to the recent stodgy and MOR output of Nick Cave. What the Bad Seeds did years ago with the blues, Grinderman have done with garage rock. Eleven songs of no bullshit and no fucking about with song structures or melodies have resulted in an exciting album. To paraphrase Cave, Grinderman is old farts making music for old farts (and Martyn P. Casey's "I love Status Quo" haircut certainly backs up this statement). Well if this is growing old, then I cannot wait for my bus pass to arrive!
The album screams off the starting line with the two singles, "Get It On" and "No Pussy Blues." Both songs are shambolicly heavy but with heavy doses of humour peppered throughout. Pulverising, overdriven bass and guitar drive both songs home with a ferocity that has long been absent from Cave’s music. It is unfair of me to label this as being Cave’s music though, it as much the work of the other musicians as it is his. This becomes obvious once the CD starts spinning. This is the sound of four men in a rehearsal room jamming out the stress of the week into a burst of pure escape from their normal musical roles. Gone are all the orchestrations of their day jobs with Cave and instead there is a vibrant sense of adventure.
It is easy but misleading to compare this album to early Bad Seeds or even The Birthday Party; Grinderman are a very different entity. Even at their most tongue in cheek, the Bad Seeds never made me grin as much as the songs featured here and the heaviness is far enough removed from The Birthday Party’s storming style to discount that comparison altogether. From the tacky cover art down to the lyrics and the playing, there is a playfulness here that makes this album instantly loveable. Cave’s twisted humour comes through strongest during “Go Tell the Women” and the aforementioned “No Pussy Blues.” His funny side is sometimes lost with the Bad Seeds but shines through here like a beacon.
It is not all giggles and smiles though, Grinderman have a serious side too. Dedicated to the recently late Alice Coltrane "Electric Alice" is a furiously sad piece of music. Warren Ellis' violin is looped and processed while the rest of the group sketch out the rest of the song over it. Later on, "When my Love Comes Down" is a slithering, hormonal groove that is one of the highlights of the album. The album finishes with "Love Bomb," which sounds like the afterbirth of The Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray." Although instead of searching for his mainline, Cave is "searching on the Internet."
I was afraid that this album would not have the depth that brings me back to other albums by all these musicians but I think my fears are unfounded. Apart from the occasionally awful bit of remedial guitar playing by Cave, I find little fault with Grinderman. Some of the songs I can see myself skipping unless I am in the mood but I honestly think that future emphasis should be on Grinderman and not the Bad Seeds. Comparing this with the recent live box released by the latter, there is no contest here between them. It is not often I immediately restart an album after it finishes but I cannot stop listening to Grinderman.
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