Grinderman - Grinderman
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Free Music Notes for Grinderman
Free Music Review: Get It On
Hit: 3 Stars
Nick Cave is in an unfortunate position; his past accomplishments were so great that anything he does now that isn't stellar is a letdown. His work with The Birthday Party is essential, and his catalogue with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds is monumental. So what happens when Cave starts a "new" band like Grinderman? He risks disappointment.
Grinderman is not a far step from Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. Which, considering the personnel, is not surprising. Each member of Grinderman has also worked as a Bad Seed and some of these tracks that appear on this self-titled debut could easily be reworked for the next Bad Seeds release. "I Don't Need You (To Set Me Free)" and "Man in the Moon", for example, both unfold in a shape and style similar to past Bad Seed songs.
Still, in spite of the shared elements, Grinderman is somewhat distinct from the group's other band. It is rougher, it is more disheveled, and it is less compromising. The guitar playing, or rather, the lack of guitar playing is particularly messy. Nick Cave plays the instrument himself and he is far from a virtuoso. Every pluck reinforces this. His playing is awkward and clumsy. And yet, his crude fingers also give this band added personality.
Take "No Pussy Blues", the album's first single, for instance. It begins with a driving bassline and steady, banging beats and then erupts with a spill of loud, confrontational guitar. The gawky instrumentation works well. When Cave starts to sing, his charismatic voice carries the track even further. "No Pussy Blues" is peppered with his rugged sarcasm. Lyrically, the song deals with failed sexual advances and the resulting frustrations. "I sent her every type of flower / I played her a guitar by the hour / I patted her revolting little Chihuahua / But still she just didn't want to". Every syllable is delivered with a tongue-in-cheek dark humor and smirking wry attitude.
"No Pussy Blues" is fast. It is propelled by its quick tempo, and other tracks follow a similar path. The raw excellence of "Get It On", the driving fun of "Depth Charge Ethel", the bending wines of "Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)", and rocking simplicity of "Love Bomb" all tumble forward on a throbbing bass and smacking rhythm.
Not every track relies on speed, however. "Electric Alice", which is one of the album's highlights, squirms along Warren Ellis's distorted violin strings. Voice and organ alternate their places at the song's forefront while bass and drums circle and contain the music. The song wanders and meanders blindly through psychedelic ambience.
Grinderman revisits the gritty attitude that Cave had in the 1980s, but misses the elegance. The music of Grinderman is often muddied and at least half of their songs shimmy along a sloppy path. Like an oil stain on the floor of a dirty garage, Grinderman is thick, dark, and ugly.