Grinderman 2

Grinderman 2
A gray wolf stands in the middle of a modern bathroom. "Grinderman" is written above the wolf in blue gothic text.
Studio album by Grinderman
Released 13 September 2010
Recorded August 2008–2009 at RAK Studios, State of the Ark and Assault & Battery 2 in London, United Kingdom
Genre Alternative rock, noise rock
Length 41:17
Label Mute
Producer Nick Launay, Grinderman
Grinderman chronology

Grinderman
(2007)		 Grinderman 2
(2010)
Singles from Grinderman 2
  1. "Heathen Child"
    Released: 6 September 2010
  2. "Worm Tamer"
    Released: 22 November 2010
  3. "Palaces of Montezuma"
    Released: 14 March 2011
  4. "Evil"
    Released: 16 April 2011
  5. "Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man"
    Released: 13 June 2011
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Drowned in Sound (8/10)[2]
The Guardian [3]
The Independent [4]
Pitchfork Media (8.1/10)[5]
Spin (9/10)[6]

Grinderman 2 is the second and final studio album by alternative rock band Grinderman, a side project of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 13 September 2010 on Mute Records in the United Kingdom and ANTI- in the United States.

Background and production

Grinderman had been put on hold due to several members' involvement on Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds' fourteenth studio album, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, in 2008. After the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds summer tour in 2008, the band began recording the album in various studios throughout London.[7] Speaking to XFM, Cave noted that the album "will feature a totally different sound" and plan to "do it a more serious way this time"; he remarked that he did not plan for the album to receive commercial success.[8]

Recording was completed in August 2009—a year after the original sessions—production was completed in April 2010 at Seedy Underbelly in Los Angeles, and the album was produced by Nick Launay, a friend of the band, who had also produced Grinderman's self-titled debut, with additional production by the members of the band. In an interview with The Quietus in September 2009,<ref name="Ellis, Warren. The Quietus | News | Warren Ellis Talks "Psychedelic" New Grinderman Album Published on September 9, 2009. Retrieved on June 5, 2010.">Ellis, Warren. "'Psychedelic' New Grinderman Album". The Quietus. September 9, 2009. Retrieved on June 5, 2010.</ref> Warren Ellis confirmed that Grinderman 2 was completed. Ellis also described the album as "like stoner rock meets Sly Stone via Amon Düül", "very diverse", and "psychedelic." The album was released in September 2010, in a regular and a deluxe edition, the latter containing a 52-page booklet (illustrations by Ilinca Höpfner) and a poster (photography by Polly Borland).

Singles

The album's first single, "Heathen Child," was released in September 2010.[9] The music video was directed by long-time collaborator John Hillcoat. "Worm Tamer", the second single, was released on November 22. The music video was directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard

Track listing

All lyrics written by Nick Cave, all music composed by Grinderman.

No. Title Length
1. "Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man"   5:42
2. "Worm Tamer"   3:14
3. "Heathen Child"   5:01
4. "When My Baby Comes"   6:50
5. "What I Know"   3:21
6. "Evil"   2:57
7. "Kitchenette"   5:19
8. "Palaces of Montezuma"   3:34
9. "Bellringer Blues"   5:32
Total length:
 41:17
iTunes bonus tracks
No. Title Length
10. "Super Heathen Child" (featuring guest musician Robert Fripp) 6:30
11. "Fire Boy" (non-LP track) 4:52
12. "Evil" (Factory Floor Remix #2) 5:32
13. "Heathen Child" (Andrew Weatherall Bass Remix) 6:50

The iTunes LP will also include bonus videos of "Heathen Child", seven trailers for the album, directed by John Hillcoat and Ilinca Hoepfner and a digital booklet complete with lyrics.

Critical reception

The album received unanimous critical acclaim with most professional reviews citing the album as superior to Grinderman, such as Allmusic describing it as "more polished and studied affair than its predecessor" and "more sonically adventurous, and it's still a white-hot rock & roll record." It has been described as "full of nightmares, but nightmares worth repeating."[10] Garry Mulholland of BBC Music noted that Grinderman 2 has a "fuller sound, influenced as much by 60s garage punk and droning Krautrock as the blues."[11]

Grinderman 2 currently has an 83 score on Metacritic denoting "universal acclaim."[12]

Personnel

Grinderman
Production personnel
Art personnel

Chart positions

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[13] 9
European Albums Chart 14
Irish Albums Chart 23
Italian Albums Chart[14] 25
Dutch Top 40[15] 16
Belgian Albums Chart[16] 1
French Albums Chart[16] 43
Swedish Albums Chart[17] 24
UK Albums Chart[18] 14
USA Billboard 200[19] 38

Release history

Region Date Format
Worldwide September 13, 2010 CD, limited edition CD, LP, digital download
United States September 14, 2010

References

  1. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Grinderman 2 - Grinderman". AllMusic. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  2. ↑ Neyland, Nick (September 10, 2010). "Grinderman – Grinderman 2". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  3. ↑ Simpson, Dave (September 9, 2010). "Grinderman: Grinderman 2". The Guardian (London). Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  4. ↑ Gill, Andy (September 10, 2010). "Album: Grinderman, Grinderman 2". The Independent (London). Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  5. ↑ Fennessey, Sean (September 16, 2010). "Grinderman: Grinderman 2". Pitchfork.
  6. ↑ Gross, Joe (August 23, 2010). "Grinderman, 'Grinderman 2'". Spin. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  7. ↑ Breihan, Tom (May 25, 2010). "Nick Cave's Grinderman Returns". Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Grinderman to record second album this year". NME. June 20, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  9. ↑ Empire, Kitty (25 September 2010). "Live Review: Grinderman, Garage, London". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  10. ↑ Knable, Jim (3 December 2010). "Grinderman 2 – Nightmares Worth Repeating". Frontier Psychiatrist. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  11. ↑ Mulholland, Garry (3 December 2010). "Review of Grinderman – Grinderman 2". BBC Music. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  12. ↑ "Grinderman 2". Metacritic. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  13. ↑ "Grinderman – Grinderman 2". australian-charts.com. 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Weekly ranking from 13/09/2010 to 19/09/2010" (in Italian). FIMI. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Grinderman – Grinderman 2". Dutch Charts. 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Grinderman – Grinderman 2". Ultratop. 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
  17. ↑ "Grinderman – Grinderman 2". swedishcharts.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
  18. ↑ "2010 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. 2010-09-25. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  19. ↑ "Grinderman – Grinderman 2". Billboard. 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-23.