The next chapter in the Nick Cave saga was always going to be hard to predict. Push The Sky Away, his first album with The Bad Seeds in half a decade, could not be more different to the guitar and testosterone-fuelled binge that was Grinderman and 2008’s Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, at least on the surface.
Instead, this beast emerges subdued and tentative, barely raising its voice and certainly never rushing. Songwriting duties are almost exclusively split between Cave and longtime Bad Seed, collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, penning seven of the nine tracks between them. Mick Harvey is absent for the first time in thirty-six years, and ever-faithful Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos team up with Thomas Wydler to form the rhythm section. With the roster completed by Conway Savage’s vocal contributions and Nick Launay’s production, the stage for Push The Sky Away is set, and the result is a truly extraordinary experience that shakes to the core.
The lead single, ‘We No Who U R’, opens and sets the tone for the album. Shimmering chords and low organ punctuate the song, whilst Cave’s trademark baritone combines beautifully with Ellis’ flute and guitar drone. “And we know who you are/And we know where you live/And we know there’s no need to forgive” chants the frontman and his host of guest backing singers, perfectly summing up the feel of Push The Sky Away. The tone is delicate and graceful, yet never quite escapes Cave’s typical menace. ‘Wide Lovely Eyes’ continues with increased tenderness and finesse. Consisting almost entirely of looped guitars, fragile Rhodes and minimalist bass, it is a simple love song which remains achingly sincere without being invasive. ‘Water’s Edge’ signals a major musical shift, both in pace and tone. Casey’s thundering bass drives the songs, whilst Ellis’ string work adds a distinctly Eastern feel. Cave also increases in his conviction, his vocals a furious, free-flowing sneer interspersed by animalistic growls whilst he sings of the primal urges that are all in a day’s work for The Bad Seeds.
The band hit a real high note with their second single, ‘Jubilee Street’. Starting out in a basic rock format, with bass and drums keeping a steady rhythm behind an infectious guitar line, the song boasts an intensity that only continues to build. ‘I am flying/Look at me now’ commands Cave, his voice lifting for the first time on the album while choruses of strings and vocal harmonies soar to accompany him. The effect is staggering, and marks a real showpiece for the album. ‘Mermaids’ shows perhaps the most fleeting of nods towards the dark, lewd humour of Cave’s output over the last five years, as he quips “She was a catch/And we were a match/I was the match that would fire up her snatch”. These words would mark a stutter in the flow of the record if it weren’t for the magnificence of the chorus, its hauntingly sublime melody plunging us back into the depths of the rich sound of Push The Sky Away. ‘We Real Cool’ plays in much the same vein as ‘Water’s Edge’, with bass loops intertwined with deftly executed spikes and swells from Ellis’ violin. The flavour of the album continues to shift with ‘Finishing Jubilee Street’, a vaguely autobiographical song in which Cave’s voice drops to within an inch of spoken word. The chorus unfolds in an unusually playful manner, with the combined voices of the backing singers and vibe-tinged synths affecting an almost childlike manner.
Push The Sky Away reaches its conclusion with two of the finest tracks on the entire album; ‘Higgs Boson Blues’, the record’s longest song at near eight minutes, is a real epic. Again resorting to a more conventional slow rock sound, Cave’s voice is by far at its most coarse and pained, sounding more like a track from Neil Young’s ‘On The Beach’ than anything from The Bad Seeds’ back catalogue. The lyrics weave a surrealist image of bleak desolation, namechecking the Devil, Robert Johnson and, bizarrely, Miley Cyrus. It is a magnificent opus that should mark the climax of the album. And it would, were it not for the title song. ‘Push The Sky Away’ is a composition of pure gothic beauty, easily rivalling any of the band’s previous work. Backed by gloriously dark organ and a minimal rhythm section, Cave’s voice barely raises above a whisper throughout, yet manages to convey more emotion and intensity than ever before. Flanked by the combined voices of a children’s choir, there is an air of honest and perhaps naïve hope as the album draws to a close, fading away on this wonderfully poignant moment.
It is rare that a band can boast such a spectacular piece of work at any time, let alone fifteen albums into their career. With Push The Sky Away, the writing team of Cave and Ellis have set about their task in a robust manner and have much to show for their efforts. The results are a record of stunningly subtle beauty, a work that is both breathtakingly delicate and almost overwhelmingly powerful. The dapper laureate has done it again, and with more seamless elegance than we thought possible.
Watch the video for Jubilee Street
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