This last year has seen a burst of creativity as people are turning to art to express themselves. The most recent album by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds bandmate Warren Ellis is surreal and emotive, a reflection of Cave’s darkest times during the Covid-19 pandemic. Described by Cave as ‘a brutal but very beautiful record embedded in a communal catastrophe,’ Carnage is an album rooted in current events. The motifs of overwhelming frustration and being stuck recur throughout, juxtaposed by the feeling of hope and positivity that inspires the end of the album.

Houseago painted for Cave, Cave wrote ‘White Elephant’ for Houseago, and Carnage had begun

Cave said, of the beginnings of the album, both he and his painter and sculptor friend Thomas Houseago found themselves struggling to create their art. Cave’s idea was for them each to create art for each other. Houseago painted for Cave, Cave wrote ‘White Elephant’ for Houseago, and Carnage had begun.

The album opens with ‘Hand of God,’ a song with a pulsing beat that builds dramatically. There is a sense of being overwhelmed by a higher power and a feeling of darkness. Cave’s deep vocals and growls give the song the emotion it needs as he takes on the role of a crazed preacher. The song evokes a desire or even a desperate need for intervention. With this opening, Cave captures the oppressive loneliness of this past year.

With this opening, Cave captures the oppressive loneliness of this past year

‘Old Time’ continues this pulsing, hypnotic beat, intoned with a higher energy and jazzier sound. When Cave sings, ‘Wherever you are darling I’m not that far behind,’ there is a moving sadness to his baritone voice. The lyrics, ‘A strip of ordinary sun, a biblical sun / A colonial sun, an enlightened sun,’ show a struggle to find meaning in the monotony, with the somewhat comforting recognition at the end that it is ‘The same sun.’

‘White Elephant’ is the song that stands out the most on the album. With its dramatic and strong opening, it is a song that demands to be listened to. His most political song yet, Cave references the Black Lives Matter protests – ‘A protester kneels on the neck of a statue / The statue says, ‘I can’t breathe’ / The protester says now you know how it feels / And kicks it into the sea’. Cave tells us in the chorus he will ‘shoot you in the fucking face.’ The antagonistic lyrics speak of the anger and frustration felt by many in this last year. Yet the song then takes an optimistic turn as a church choir breaks through singing ‘There’s a kingdom in the sky / We’re all coming home.’ What begins as a powerful, attention grabbing and angry song, ends with a lighter feeling of hope.

Cave also shows his sense of humour. The lyrics ‘I’m a Botticelli Venus with a penis / Riding an enormous scalloped fan’ speak to the utter absurdity some have felt at times during lockdown. There is a reminder to enjoy the comedy in between the darker moments.

The rest of the album has a more relaxed energy. ‘Albuquerque’ is romantic. The lyrics are simple and sweet: ‘And we won’t get to anywhere, darling / Anytime this year / And we won’t get to anywhere, baby / Unless I dream you there,’ speaking directly to the frustration of staying at home in lockdown. Yet, Cave suggests that he is happy staying put. Gone is the overwhelming loneliness, the latter half of the Carnage now suggests contentment.

The album ends softly with ‘Balcony Man.’ The final repetitions of ‘This morning is amazing and so are you’ leaves the album with an uplifting note and feeling of redemption.

the album journeys through Cave’s conflicting emotions to arrive at a communal sense of determination

Carnage is a hypnotically beautiful and heartfelt album. Filled with anger, desperation, passion, love, sadness, and hope, the songs are tied well together by the same romantic grandeur Cave gives to his music. Beginning with frustration and loneliness, the album journeys through Cave’s conflicting emotions to arrive at a communal sense of determination, a positive note that we can get through these difficult times.

Rating: 9/10

Carnage is available now via AWAL records

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