Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus

NIck Cave & the Bad Seeds

Anti Records

Nick Cave’s newest work with the Bad Seeds, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, is a daunting affair conceptually and lyrically. The two-disc affair isn’t simply a double album—it’s two albums stuck in the same box—and though it’s easy to see one as simply the “loud” one and the other as the “quiet,” the pairing is interesting at deeper levels as well. Central to both are various Western notions of theology and theism—at the risk of being overly reductive, Abattoir and Lyre representing the mono- and poly- versions of each. Lyrically, Abattoir is the more conventional-sounding in this sense, though it’s never exactly clear if the words—the opening “Get Ready for Love,” for example, is built around the simple hook “Praise Him!”—are bolstered or subverted by the (effectively) overblown gospel choir behind them. Similarly, “Let the Bells Ring” centers on the repeated couplet “Let the bells ring / He is the real thing”—definitely not an original sentiment if sincere, but also not sarcastic enough in tone or delivery to be clearly sardonic.

Musically, Abattoir Blues also muddles reading any clear intentions. At times (“Cannibal’s Hymn” and the title track in particular) this is rock and roll in all its arena-mystic-pot-cloud 1970 glory; drummer Robert Donahoe must have found John Bonham’s drumset on eBay. Elsewhere, the album sounds like over-drugged outtakes from Exile on Main Street—a narrow distinction, perhaps, but one which hints at how Cave & Co. never make it clear if they are trying to say something profound musically or just rock the fuck out. (Extra credit bonus assignment: compare “Hiding All Away” with “Gimme Shelter.”)

This unclear sense of irony is only confounded all the more with The Lyre of Orpheus. Though intentionally opaque and periodically über-theatrical (especially in the opening eponymous track), Lyre is never quite too much to make you cringe or laugh. Indeed, part of what makes it so intriguing is its way of doling out just enough minimalism (“Babe, You Turn Me On” and “Easy Money”) to musically temper the fact that, lyrically, this is an album built from an erudite classical myth (fittingly, perhaps, about a man who can’t make the music he wants) and which dabbles heavily in pagan-bucolic imagery: “The fox chases the rabbit round / the rabbit hides beneath the ground” Cave liltingly observes in “Breathless.” Yet the overall effect is convincing, if at times a little benign; Cave manages to blend convention and allusion seamlessly enough to make this a very spiffy and intriguing album.

—Drew Ashwood

Like Trees We Grow Up To Be Satellites

Lazarus

(Temporary Residence)

Lazarus departs from the mysteriously intimate and controversially emotional demeanor of his first solo release, Songs For An Unborn Son, with the newest collaborative effort and second full-length Like Trees We Grow Up To Be Satellites. This latest record departs from its precursor’s haunting, depressed melodies to offer a more ethereal, less driven tracklist, displayed through an optimistic lens.

Upon his departure from the acclaimed indie-rock group Tarentel, William Montgomery adopted the Lazarus persona and let his personal styling flow onto CD. Like Trees We Grow Up to be Satellites is less emotionally uncomfortable to the listener than his first album, both lyrically and melodically signaling yet another turn in his musical career. In this CD, Montgomery takes a more mature and experienced outlook on the world around him.

The music of Lazarus is truly only for the indie-rock aficionado. To the untrained ear this music is a less inspired Parachutes, or a less harmonious Sea Change. With its staccato synthesized tambour, poetically upbeat lyrics, but melodiously stilted chords, this is an avant-garde record with a narrow and specialized audience.

The subtitle of this CD, A Backwards America, sums up its lyrical philosophy. Songs such as “This American Dream” and “Yes Roam” contrast a traditional view of the United States with the more realistic tracks “The Poet of Emptiness” and “Breathing in Backwards.” Despite the directly negative connotation that these later titles invoke, the lyrics of these pieces surprisingly provide an actively optimistic attitude.

Put out by Temporary Residence, Lazarus and label-mates Explosions in the Sky (EITS) performed an exhaustive tour of North America in the fall of 2003, and it was on this tour that EITS became permanently affiliated with William Montgomery. While Lazarus accredits his influences to Elvis Costello, Pink Floyd, Nirvana and others, much of the material behind the music is inspired by his road experiences while on tour.