Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

The luring melancholy in Cave’s voice draws one right where he wants them to be. In O Children this voice meets a slow, dragging even, melody taking us directly onto a dystopian train departing to our demise. The most distinct element that suspends the reality and dream-like atmosphere of the song are cymbals stopped before playing out fully leaving us wondering if they even were hit at all. When I heard Nick Cave for the first time in the dancing scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I didn’t know it will be a life long fascination and inspiration of creative pursuits in my life.

Bright Horses is an absolutely beautiful requiem with choirs of Warren Ellis whose angelic voice elevates it to a cathartic experience. I can’t imagine what Nick Cave was going through while writing it after his son’s death, but hearing this song live was a religious moment.