Grinderman is the latest project from essential alternative rock personality Nick Cave. Backed by members from the Bad Seeds, Cave and company have crafted a sound that retains the bluesy influence of the Bad Seeds but aligns more with loud, experimental garage rock.The impressive rhythm section keeps the songs focused allowing multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis to grind on his bouzouki, viola, and tenor guitar in spacey jams with a tinge psychedelia all while keeping Nick Cave's electric guitar and poet diction at the forefront. Grinderman 2 sounds more polished than its predecessor, but to call it "restrained" would be a crime; this album's sound is just as badass as its cover art. You won't find an album simultaneously this sleazy, blasphemous, and exceedingly literate from anyone else this year. If you have yet to explore the extensive Nick Cave catalogue, it wouldn't hurt to start here.
- Joe Iannazzo
Recommended If You Like: Tom Waits, The Dead Weather, The Fall
Focus Tracks: "When My Baby Comes", "Worm Tamer", "Heathen Child"