Ghosteen, the seventeenth studio release by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, comes as a two-part album succeeding 2016’s Skeleton Tree. Recorded across various sites in 2018-2019, including Woodshed in Malibu, Nightbird in Los Angeles, Retreat in Brighton, and Candybomber in Berlin, it was mixed at Conway in Los Angeles by Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Lance Powell, and Andrew Dominik.

In this album, Cave adopts a restrained, introspective approach, blending half-sung, half-spoken vocals over a backdrop of piano and drifting electronics. Despite conveying vulnerability, there’s an evident resilience. Love is a recurring theme in the lyrics, complemented by gentle backing vocals and a captivating warmth in the instrumentation, notably in moments like the expansive synth opening of ‘Galleon Ship’ or his surprising falsetto in ‘Sun Forest.’

Ghosteen comprises a double LP: one album features conventional length songs, while the second includes one short track and two longer pieces of 12 and 14 minutes, showcasing greater complexity and grandeur. Although dense, the album proves completely engrossing.

https://open.spotify.com/album/0Ewp4PEIzkcAyrC463a5xF