I started writing this review on Saturday, the day after the albums release, and it is only today (Monday) that I feel I can actually write something meaningful and in depth. Music is inevitably created as an art form that makes you feel, and this album definitely does make you feel. Since listening, I have felt incredibly attached, and I have felt emotion beyond believe. I don't really know whether this is because of the love I have for Nick and the personal connection this album creates or because of the cavernous nature of the album. All I really know is that I have had an incredibly tough time finding the words to write this post, to the point were tears have been falling on my keyboard.


I honestly thought that no Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album could ever top 'A Boatman's Call' but since the release of 'Skeleton Tree' on September 9th my mind is in a different world entirely. I couldn't quite pin point what it is about this album that brings so much life especially in light of such grievance, but then I realised that through the darkness, the mourning and the despair, Nick is still living; he is living in his family, and in his band. His whole word has changed, his music has changed, and I can't help but think that this album will catch us changing with him.

Sometimes, an albums personal meaning can be so intense that it throws the listeners field of vision right out of sync - Skeleton Tree is that album. The Bad Seed’s 16^th studio album comes shortly after the death of Nick’s son, who tragically died last summer, and is simply a masterpiece of love and destruction. Powerful, energetic, emotional, harrowing yet beautifully steady, each track is so fragile and sombre that they continue to remain extremely difficult to listen to, but even harder to turn off. 


"Let us go now, my darling companion/ set out for the distant sky's/ see the sun, see it rising/ see it rising, rising in your eyes" - Distant Sky

Unsurprisingly, we are introduced to a very dark album which allows us to delve into Cave's feelings, and connect with him personally through his journey into a new world, a world of loss and never forgetting. And for those who were lucky enough to watch the albums feature film 'One More Time With Feeling', it is evident that this is the connection Cave wants to develop with his audience as he documents his bereavement.

Carrying on from my last post, in second place, but not really because this is a fucking massive favourite too... its The Clash!

2/3: Stay Free, The Clash - Give Em' Enough Rope

I think this track speaks a lot for itself. Taking it even further back, all the way to 1978, I am starting to actually believe that I am definitely born in the wrong era, but at least I'm 23 and have fucking good music taste, right?

So for me, The Clash are that band that begun it all. I know we had The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, but The Clash introduced something much more special; they were part of the original wave of punk. They were the beginning of a musical serge that influenced a flock of young kids to pick up their guitars and start making music. One of those bands were the Manic Street Preachers.


The 70's was a time of economic austerity, global capitalism and political incorrectness, with the nation lacking in ambition and no interests in the political state. To many, it was noted that the anger wasn't there, as the nation continued to watch their lives reluctantly being controlled by the higher authority. This was until the punk movement, the movement that reconciled everybody regardless of gender, skin colour or age.

When the band signed to CBS to create their 2nd album in 78, with a much better production team behind them, it was obvious the band were going places; especially given that the ever famous London Calling album was to be released the year after. Give Em' Enough Rope jolted the nation in many of ways, with some fans actually complaining that the audio was too clean cut and although the record doesn't quite imitate the same intense energy as The Clash's third album London Calling, it does have a big forceful sound that is nearly as powerful.


Stay Free, track 8, dominates the second half of the LP and it blows me away every time I hear the intro. Written by Mick Jones, it gives a very different perspective to The Clash with its poignant lyrics and Jones' very affecting lead vocals which make you feel happy despite what the lyrics say. And not forgetting those clash guitar moments either.

I will never forget the first time I heard the lyrics 'Go Easy, Step Lightly, Stay Free', those simple lyrics that have somewhat become my life motto.