Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus (2LP)

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus (2LP)2LP, Reissue, 180g Mute (2014) EU With Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds sprawling 17 track behemoth Abattoir Blues The Lyre Of Orpheus (2004) we have something that few could have expected two albums that can both be regarded as self contained masterpieces; two storming, driving, relentless, devotional, slinky, subtle, heartbreakingly beautiful records that, lyrically, switch from the cynical to the sanguine, the defeated to the defiant, dealing in love,

A critical and commercial high water mark for both parties

As is (and was) his custom

Only by accepting that I might never be able to do it again

paths traveled

yielding no less than five successful singles with "Tim McGraw

her striking voice and lyrics that simultaneously seem hyper-personal yet relentlessly relatable

featuring two reworks by Baths and Chrome Sparks

only existed on a page in a "dream destinations" travel book that lay open on a desk in the new recording studio that guitarist Jimmy Shaw built in 2020

musicians sweep away the existing musical landscape to create something new

Printed innersleeves

spittle and grit across two riveting 20-minute side-length trajectories of noise-drenched widescreen postrock: inexorable chug blossoms into blown-out twang

It's a wonderful collection of tracks that showcase Gaga's vocal abilities