Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds "Skeleton Tree" 2016****

This was the 6th or 7th Nick Cave concert I've witnessed in a period of 30 years. I've seen Cave the self-destructive junkie, Cave the bible-wielding madman and fantastical murderer, Cave the troubadour of love, Cave the damned poet, Cave the singer of the underworld, even Cave the mid-life crisis hard rocker (about the time he also took to wearing a 70's pimp moustache). So when I entered Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome on October 6, I didn't know who to expect. Cave the grief-stricken father, perhaps? The shocking story of his 15-year old son Arthur's death (he fell off a cliff after taking LSD with a schoolmate) had dominated Cave-related news in the last years, and this tour is the first after that personal tragedy. At that point I hadn't heard the new album yet (it was delivered to me on the same morning) but some youtube excerpts seemed to point to a rather depressing bunch of slow songs. I was somewhat apprehensive of a night of morose piano balladry, but I needn't have feared: this was the Nick Cave we've known and loved for 30 years: visibly affected by his experience, but not beaten. Did he seem angry? Yes. Dark and broody? Absolutely - but then these words have been synonyms of "Nick Cave" forever. Haunted? Maybe. Lyrical? Philosophical? More than ever. Also theatrical and energetic as always, and keen to connect to his audience, often losing himself in the crowd and leading many of them onstage for the encore. The Bad Seeds were impeccable as usual, despite the absence of Cave's former lieutenant, Blixa. One minor quibble for old fans like me was the over-reliance on "Skeleton Tree" material (7 songs), but both the new songs and what we did hear of the old favourites was played fervently. So, upon returning to my house after a very saisfying concert, it was with a positive attitude that I listened to "Skeleton Tree" for the first time.
The cover certainly doesn't forebode anything good, being a simple green font on black background, like a PC monitor from the 80's. I mean sure, sometimes the lack of artwork can be a kind of art statement (think of The Beatles' "White Album") but this is just blunt and ugly. The album opens with "Jesus Alone"'s eerie synths, while its first lines seem to address his recent loss in a shockingly direct manner "You fell from the sky/Crash landed in a field/Near the river Adur". A litany of lost characters follows, as if summoned from the purgatory by Cave's incantation "With my voice/I am calling you". "Rings of Saturn" is an atmospheric, ambiguously erotic, song with Cave reciting rather than singing - something he does more often as his poetry gets longer and more complicated. "Girl In Amber" is a poignant ballad, many of the lyrics once again seemingly vaguely referencing his son's death. It ends with the repeated warning "Don't Touch Me", a phrase you'd expect to hear from someone with a raw wound. "Magneto" is a slow tune with atmospheric synths over which Cave half speaks and half sings in a voice reminiscent of Van Morrison circa Astral Weeks. "Anthrocene" is another rumination on humanity and loss set on a slow trip hop beat while "I Need You" has at once the most accessible melody and most heartrending, despairing lyrics and vocals. "Distant Sky" is a transcendental song, featuring a church-like organ and the crystal clear voice of Danish singer Else Torp (in the concert, her part was a recording) in stark contrast to Cave's (he sings desperately: "They told us our dreams would outlive us/They told us our gods would outlive us/But they lied", she answers with hope: "Let us go now, my only companion/Set out for the distant skies/Soon the children will be rising, will be rising/This is not for our eyes". The same-named "Skeleton Tree", which closes the album is a sorrowful ballad which nevertheless ends with the mantra "it's alright now", signifying acceptance if not actual catharsis. One can't help but be affected knowing the personal tragedy behind the making of this album, but even if it was possible to ignore the facts, it'd still remain a deep and emotional work of art by one of the last great poets and performers in rock.

**** for Jesus Alone, Rings Of Saturn, Girl In Amber, I Need You, Distant Sky, Skeleton Tree

*** for Magneto, Anthrocene