After two excellent albums that marked a daring new direction, it seemsthat Nick Cave has decided to stop and smell the roses. This album ismore a reflection on the twenty years of music he has made with the BadSeeds than it is a step forward. Instead of picking up where 2001's No More Shall We Partleft off, Cave has attempted to craft an album that marries the rawsound of his earlier releases with his more refined recent efforts. Theresult, unfortunately, is a schizophrenic album whose best songs sufferdue to a lack of cohesion.It's not that Nocturama is badfrom start to finish, what really plagues it is its uneven quality.Cave fails in properly directing the Bad Seeds to create a mood to thealbum. While the opening tracks are very solid, they hold too close tothe path set by the last two albums and make little progress. Thestrikingly rocking (and horrible) "Dead Man in My Bed" provides anawkward pit stop in the middle of the album. This song sees Caveregress light years lyrically, and muscally it sounds as if he istrying to force himself to reclaim the explosive energy of earlyreleases. While it is a relief that he immediately retreats back to thecalm and collected sound he has clearly become more comfortable with,Cave's placement of this track right in the middle makes the album adifficult listen. This track would have worked better if placed towardsthe end of the album, as is done with the intense closer. "Babe I'm OnFire" is a great success and gives evidence that despite, "Dead Man,"Cave is still able to rant along perfectly when the Bad Seeds decide toplay their hardest. Every second of this 15-minute long tirade isabsolutely essential and both astonising and disappointing. For if Cavecould have found the proper bridge from "Wonderful Life" to "Babe I'mOn Fire," instead of a messy collection of occasionally uninspiredsongs, then this would have been a much better record.
Nick Cave has raised the bar so high that expectations demand a great album, not simply just a few great songs. Nocturamawas recorded in seven days and it shows. The Bad Seeds at their bestare not spontaneous but deliberate, lets hope the next one takes thatinto consideration.
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