Nick Cave continues to prove why he's one of the most prolific songwriters of his generation on 'Wild God'

I met Nick Cave once, and it was a surreal experience. My job at the time had me staying in a fancy hotel in Gdansk, Poland (if you’ve never been, it’s a lovely place) and I tracked down a free ticket to see Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. The show was amazing — it was one of my top ten favorite concerts, hands down. Afterward I headed back to the hotel and sat in the lobby for a bit. After about 20 minutes or so, in walks Nick Cave — he was staying at the same hotel! I mustered up my courage and said: “Great show Nick!” He looked at me, smiled a bit and said: “You liked that huh?” I replied: “It was awesome.” He said: “Thank you.”

And off he went. So, there it is — my Nick Cave story.

Wild God is the new record by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, and it continues a late career stretch of amazing work by Cave and the band. Ever since 2013’s Push the Sky Away it’s been great record after great record, with a few documentary films thrown into the mix, because, why not?

The album starts with the track “Songs of The Lake,” a soaring piano/bass-heavy song with Cave’s signature storytelling lyrics. This time, the song's about an old man questioning his own mortality. It’s a beautiful, ethereal album opener. Sonically, there’s a lot going on: church bells, driving drums, reverb to the max and Cave keeping it all tied together with his storytelling.

What separates Cave from many of his contemporaries is his uncanny way of crafting lyrics. I’ve always found his way of singing and weaving a story to be unparalleled (except for maybe Bob Dylan). On this album in particular, songs tie into other songs from earlier records, imagery of all kinds is explored, weird characters are brought to life. It makes for fun, thoughtful listening.

At the moment, “Frogs” is my favorite track on the album. It has a majestic quality about it, and it’s exhilarating from start to finish. I haven’t fully interpreted the meaning behind the song, but that’s half the fun with Cave’s lyrics. Are frogs a metaphor? I don’t know, but what I can say is the music is amazing. Cave even name-drops Kris Kristofferson, who for reasons unknown is walking around in the song with only one shoe. I’m not going to question why.

Wild God has an overall joyous feel to it. Many of the songs here are uplifting, and feel like they’re riding momentum upward. The group’s last few records have been sadder and very introspective. This makes sense, as Cave lost two of his sons in the last decade — one in 2015 and another in 2022. As evidence of the difference in sound between this and his previous albums, listen to “I Need You” off 2016’s Skeleton Tree — I guarantee you’ll get the feels. Wild God sounds like Cave has refound happiness, and that comes through in both the music and the lyrics.

Love is an overarching theme on this album as well. On “O Wow O Wow (How Wonderful She Is),” Cave finds reassurance of God in the form of a lover. The track has an old recording of a woman remembering times gone by and laughing about good memories. It’s sad but also happy. “Do you remember we used to really have fun?” the woman says, then goes on to laugh.

This is a record that gets better each time you listen to it. Cave is an expert storyteller, and The Bad Seeds are in top notch. It’s not light listening, but if you let yourself go down the road Wild God paves, you might just find yourself taking away true meaning from the music. This isn’t an easy task, but in the words of Cave: “it costs nothing, it costs everything.”

Must Listens – “Frogs,” “Song Of The Lake,” “O Wow O Wow (How Wonderful She Is)”