Skeleton Tree
The sixteenth album, made across the months of Arthur Cave's death: eight songs, a companion film, and the best reviews of their career.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, 2016
- Released
- 9 September 2016
- Recorded
- Late 2014 to early 2016
- Studio
- Retreat Recording Studios, Brighton; La Frette Studios, La Frette-sur-Seine; AIR Studios, London
- Label
- Bad Seed Ltd
- Producer
- Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, with Nick Launay
- Length
- 39:42
Recorded over about eighteen months and paid for by Cave, with lyrics by Cave and music by Cave and Ellis. Arthur Cave died near the end of the sessions. Most of the backing tracks were finished, and Cave altered some words afterwards; he later wrote that several of its songs seemed to speak into the future. It was released alongside One More Time with Feeling, a black-and-white and colour film by Andrew Dominik that includes about 35 minutes of the band playing the songs at AIR Studios.
It went to number one in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand and Norway, two in Britain, and 27 in the US, at the time Cave's highest placing there. Metacritic gave it 95. NME called it a masterpiece, Pitchfork named it Best New Music, and The Quietus heard it as the heaviest of a year of weighty records. It topped Flood's year-end list and was third for both Mojo and Uncut.
Track listing
- Jesus Alone5:52
- Rings of Saturn3:28
- Girl in Amber4:51
- Magneto5:22
- Anthrocene4:34
- I Need You5:58
- Distant Sky5:36
- Skeleton Tree4:01
Personnel
- Nick Cave vocals, piano, Wurlitzer, synthesizer, vibraphone, backing vocals
- Warren Ellis synthesizer, loops, Wurlitzer, piano, baritone tenor guitar, violin, viola, drum treatments, backing vocals
- Martyn Casey bass
- Thomas Wydler drums
- Jim Sclavunos percussion, vibraphone, tubular bells, Wurlitzer, backing vocals
- George Vjestica acoustic guitar, backing vocals
- Else Torp vocals on Distant Sky
- Nick Launay additional producer, engineer
- Kevin Paul engineer
More from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
The Boatman's Call (1997)
Sources
- Skeleton Tree, Wikipedia
- Skeleton Tree review, NME (2016-09-09)
- Skeleton Tree and One More Time With Feeling reviewed, The Quietus (2016-09-15)
- Who is the girl in amber?, The Red Hand Files (2020-02)
- One More Time with Feeling, Wikipedia