New Nick Cave Band: Grinderman

Out in three mos. on Mute: Nick Cave plus Warren Ellis (Dirty Three) and Martyn Casey (from the Triffids, one of my favorite Australian bands besides X) and Jim Sclavunos (Bad Seeds plus Panther Burns and 8 Eyed Spy and more) are Grinderman and this is pretty great very best shit. Press release says:

Grinderman – Debut Album Out 5th March 2007

Foul-mouthed, noisy, hairy, and damn well old enough to know better, Grinderman are Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos.

Born of babbling lyrics hatched from Bosch eggshells in the Hyde-bound apocalyptic margins of the Cave brain, the Grinderman sound is an instinctual yawlp that also resurrects the demons of each musician's past: the trashcan proselytising of Birthday Party-era Nick; Sclavunos' late 70s New York no-wave noise wisdom; Martyn Casey's ominous Triffids bass reverb; plus Ellis' avant-garde soundtrack work and his teenage love of Black Sabbath. Destination: Out!

Warren: “It was meant to be really open liberating thing, push those elements where we'd normally say 'I don't know about that' and push on, relentless.”
Nick: “We're just searching for a bit of freedom”
Jim: “Ceaselessly banging away.” Warren: “Having Nick on the guitar changed the whole dynamic of the thing and threw us into a much more rudimentary ballpark.”

Nick Cave – Vocals, Electric Guitar, Electric Organ, Piano
Warren Ellis – Electric Bouzouki, Fendocastor, Viola, Violin, Acoustic Guitar, Hohner Guitaret, Backing Vocals
Martyn P Casey – Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jim Sclavunos – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals

Grinderman sound different from everyone, including themselves. As Memphis Slim put it back in 1941, “While everything is quiet and easy/ Mr. Grinder can have his way.” It's a new day. God help you all.

Can't beat cave brain. “No Pussy Blues” waits for you here.

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