Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

Perhaps it’s a bit of residual energy from Nick Cave’s 2007 over-the-top <i>Grinderman</i> project, but in 2008 he and the Bad Seeds came spiraling back at their most lively and animated for <i>Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!</i>. There’s an Iggy Pop and the Stooges type street-walkin’ machismo swagger to accompany the band’s always present Doors-ish gloom that pushes the group from the bottom up. The title track saunters loose and free as Lazarus (or Larry) hits the New York to Los Angeles streets. The bass guitar pumps relentlessly through “Today’s Lesson.” Cave’s organ moves from the funeral parlor to the circus, accenting the tight rhythms and helping form the tight-snapping net from which his sharply invigorated voice springs into action. “Moonland” stalks on the somber side. “Night of the Lotus Eaters” talks its way into circles. However, it’s the tough rockers that make the deepest impressions. “Albert Goes West” and “We Call Upon the Author” slam into the garage rock wall.  While the perfect moody groove sets the path for the album’s supersmooth closer “More News From Nowhere” where Cave rewrites himself into the lives of characters from classic literature.