Grinderman - Grinderman 2 Review

Grinderman 2

Grinderman

Release Date: 13th Sep, 2010
Label: Mute
Genre: Alternative Rock
Purchase on Amazon

Just as you thought you'd worked out Nick Cave's twisted version of songwriterly sophistication, along came 2007 and Grinderman. A strange kind of side-project starring Bad Seeds stalwarts Martyn Casey, Warren Ellis and Jim Sclavunos, Grinderman dumped the usual modus operandi by insisting "No God, no love, no piano", based themselves around Cave's rudimentary guitar skills and deep love of the nasty side of the blues, and made a self-titled debut that made you laugh out loud at its rumbling aggression and hilarious takes on mid-life crisis and being an unapologetic dirty old man.

Received more rapturously than any Cave/Bad Seeds album since Murder Ballads - and buoyed by sweatily vicious shows that personified the band in terms of lounge suits and wild facial hair - Grinderman the album forced Grinderman the band to become Cave's parallel career. Hence a much-anticipated follow-up that responds to demand by sounding altogether more worked upon than the quartet's feral debut.

Not that Grinderman 2 is aimed at the Mumford & Sons market. But veteran producer Nick Launay has helped Cave & Co toward a bigger, fuller sound, influenced as much by 60s garage punk and droning Krautrock as the blues. Ellis unleashes a slew of stunning guitar moves, sometimes erecting a wall of psychedelic sound, sometimes bucking and rearing out of the murk like some wounded animal at the end of its cattle-prod tether.

But thrash is largely eschewed for suspenseful dynamics, dumb jokes (Worm Tamer features the timeless couplet, "My baby calls me the Loch Ness monster / Two great big humps and then I'm gone") and stand-out exercises in mood and texture, especially the Suicide-esque, creep-minimalism of What I Know and the stunning rock mambo of When My Baby Comes.

Elsewhere, stalking, rape and murder is just a swamp-blues kiss away. Those wanting the lovelorn, classicist Cave of The Boatman's Call and The Good Son need not apply. The rest of us will succumb happily to Grinderman's sick skill and wonder why rebel teens don't make dangerous, dastardly rock'n'roll like this anymore.

Reviewed by Gary Mulholland

About The Artist

Grinderman

Grinderman was an Australian garage rock band, formed by Nick Cave (vocals, electric guitar, organ, piano), Warren Ellis (electric bouzouki, Fendocastor, violin, viola, acoustic guitar, backing vocals), Martyn P. Casey (bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals) and Jim Sclavunos (drums, percussion, backing vocals), all of whom are members of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. After heavy touring throughout 2005 in support of Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, Cave began writing songs on guitar, an instrument he rarely played. His rudimentary playing gave the new material a rawer feel than much of The Bad Seeds' output. The group entered Metropolis Studios in London to record the original Grinderman demos and it was this material that would eventually become the basis for the band's self-titled debut album, which was recorded with long-time friend, producer Nick Launay, in April 2006 at RAK studios, London and mixed in October at Metropolis Studios. Grinderman was released in March 2007 and was applauded by critics for its raw power, similar to that of Cave's celebrated post-punk project The Birthday Party. The band made their live debut at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival in Somerset, United Kingdom the following month. This was followed by a one-off show at The Forum in London on 20 June. "No Pussy Blues", was released as a single on 19 February, "Get It On" was released as a single on 8 January 2007 and on 30 April, the band released their final single from their debut album, "(I Don't Need You To) Set Me Free". Grinderman opened for The White Stripes at their Madison Square Garden show on 24 July 2007, followed by several of their own American tour dates. The band then embarked on a theatre tour of Australia, opening for a Nick Cave "solo" set, which consisted of the same band members. The band also launched the official Grinderman web site in March 2007. Amongst other things, the site includes The Grinderman Podcast, featuring a series of fragments of recordings from the band's writing sessions. Though not complete songs, the sessions offer a unique insight into the workings of the band. New episodes were said to appear regularly over weeks and months. Five recordings have been submitted so far. On 11 May 2007, the band performed "Honey Bee (Let's Fly To Mars)" and "No Pussy Blues" on the BBC television music show, Later... with Jools Holland. The band made their US network television debut on the CBS television show The Late Show With David Letterman also performing "Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)" on 23 July 2007. Grinderman were one of the headliners at Roskilde Festival 2008 in July, the biggest festival in northern Europe. They joined big names such as Radiohead, Neil Young and Jay-Z at the top of the bill. The followup, Grinderman 2, was released worldwide on September 13 2010 and a day later in the United States. The album — which was recorded through various studios in London in 2008-2009 — featured the single, "Heathen Child", released on September 6. Ellis has described the album as "like stoner rock meets Sly Stone via Amon Düül", "very diverse", and "psychedelic." Grinderman split in 2011, with Cave announcing that the band was "over" at the conclusion of their set at the Meredith Music Festival. Sites: YouTube

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33 Comments

  1. BKI831 29 Dec 2011

    This is a GREAT album, if you don't enjoy it after you've heard it 3 times you should go fuck a dog and die of trans mutated dog AIDS.

  2. bloodmaw 22 Dec 2011

    i like this wolfshit.

  3. jayakiran 26 Jul 2011

    I don't like this wolfshit.

  4. johnnyaway 26 Jun 2011

    first 2 songs are amazing but the rest is just a pile of crap

  5. Aarny 13 May 2011

    Grinderman 2 is simply one of the best albums I've heard.

  6. j3lle 23 Mar 2011

    tagged as "pure grit and fuzz" lol

  7. pj_harvey 21 Dec 2010

    Fuck 'Em All; Album Of The Year.

  8. plotsligt 07 Dec 2010

    simply Great.

  9. mrbonzoorubber2 17 Nov 2010

    can't wait until thursday

  10. BlackCoffeeDuck 09 Nov 2010

    It's just too Nick Cave by numbers

  11. Nochek 06 Nov 2010

    thanks, Nick. lOve.

  12. BlackCoffeeDuck 01 Nov 2010

    2=poo

  13. vince_5121 28 Oct 2010

    Record of the year.

  14. d_m_g_inc 15 Oct 2010

    Megaton Atom Bomb

  15. rotting_schntzl 14 Oct 2010

    awrrrfuuugh!

  16. secret_nick 02 Oct 2010

    Liking this.

  17. ChrisCappello 02 Oct 2010

    one of the best albums of the year

  18. jsa1036 23 Sep 2010

    so good

  19. delarren 20 Sep 2010

    pure awesomeness

  20. ZurDruid 16 Sep 2010

    i like it jejejejejejejejeejejejejejejejejejejejejejejjeejje

  21. Bose-Man 15 Sep 2010

    Not sure about Nick Cave's lyrics these days but hell I don't care it sounds like a superb album to me.

  22. guirobles 14 Sep 2010

    Oh my fuckin God! Best of the year along with Massive Attack - Heligoland

  23. Ghworin 14 Sep 2010

    \m/

  24. Poliarnik 14 Sep 2010

    It's so fucking pizdatyi))))

  25. MrMoochoo31 13 Sep 2010

    Following three spins of Grinderman 2, definitive conclusions elude me. As anticipated, it’s not the debut’s equal, but by Zeus it has its moments. Cave croons excessively of “my baby” in recent releases, and the bluesy, Southern gothic is growing thinner than his fringe – but there are lines on this record (“My baby calls me the Loch Ness monster: two big humps and then I’m gone” etc), atop raucously reverberating guitars, that could not have been conceived by anyone else. Anyone. The opening four tracks appear the highpoints; “When my baby comes” (its title accepted) and “Worm Tamer” showcase Nick Cave and Co. at their bestial best. Initially, “Heathen Child’s” menstrual milieu and female predator seemed Cave by numbers, but it grows into a more complex equation. The sound recalling everything from The Birthday Party to Silver Apples Against such an unparalleled back-catalogue, Grinderman 2 was always going to a wolf in fox’s clothing. More spins, please.

  26. stardate_1804 13 Sep 2010

    this album is ridiculously amazing. i think i'm on my fifth listen of the day.

  27. Lukinx 13 Sep 2010

    \å/

  28. hvostoplet 13 Sep 2010

    \m/

  29. francis_bacon 12 Sep 2010

    \m/

  30. Plasmadaemon 10 Sep 2010

    \m/

  31. juepucta 29 Jul 2010

    \m/

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