Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Released	3 March 2008
Recorded	June–July 2007
Genre	Alternative rock garage rock[1]
Length	53:35
Label	Mute ANTI-
Producer	Nick Launay
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds chronology
The Abattoir Blues Tour (2007) Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (2008) Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2008)

Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! is the fourteenth studio album by Australian alternative rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The album was recorded in June and July 2007 at The State of the Ark Studios in Richmond, London and mixed by Nick Launay at British Grove Studios in Chiswick, and was released on 3 March 2008.

It would also be the last album to feature founding member Mick Harvey, who left the Bad Seeds in 2009, and the second without founding member Blixa Bargeld. Dig features the same personnel as the Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus double album. It is also the first to be released since the Bad Seeds side project Grinderman released their eponymous album. In several interviews Cave has stated that this album would "sound like Grinderman", implying a garage rock sound. In line with this rough-and-ready approach, the album was recorded in about five days, an uncommonly short period for a full-length album.^[2]

Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! features artwork by British artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster.

Concept

On the band's official website Cave wrote about his inspiration for the album: "Ever since I can remember hearing the Lazarus story, when I was a kid, you know, back in church, I was disturbed and worried by it. Traumatised, actually. We are all, of course, in awe of the greatest of Christ's miracles—raising a man from the dead—but I couldn't help but wonder how Lazarus felt about it. As a child it gave me the creeps, to be honest. I've taken Lazarus and stuck him in New York City, in order to give the song, a hip, contemporary feel. I was also thinking about Harry Houdini who spent a lot of his life trying to debunk the spiritualists who were cashing in on the bereaved. He believed there was nothing going on beyond the grave. He was the second greatest escapologist, Harry was, Lazarus, of course, being the greatest. I wanted to create a kind of vehicle, a medium, for Houdini to speak to us if he so desires, you know, from beyond the grave".

Singles and promotion

A series of viral video trailers for the album were produced by artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard.

On 18 February the title track "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" was released as the first single—on CD, limited edition 7", and as a digital download—with "Accidents Will Happen" as the B-side. The second single, "More News From Nowhere", was released on 12 May. It draws its title from News from Nowhere, an 1890 utopian socialist novel by William Morris.

An extended promotional video for "Night of the Lotus Eaters" was also released along with a live studio video of "Midnight Man" and a promotional video for "More News From Nowhere", all directed by artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. The "More News From Nowhere" video released in May 2008, features cameo appearances by journalist Will Self, singer Beth Orton, British TV actors Karl Theobald, Michael Higgs and Caroline Catz plus British artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster and socialite/ broadcaster Peaches Geldof.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	87/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[4]
The Guardian	[5]
The Independent	[6]
NME	8/10[7]
Pitchfork Media	8.4/10[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Slant Magazine	[10]
Spin	[11]
Uncut	[12]

Critical response to Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! was overwhelmingly positive, with reviewers citing the album as both a return to greatness and a new side of the band. The album currently holds a score of 87 out of 100 on the review aggregate site Metacritic, which indicates "universal acclaim".^[3] A review from NME described Dig, Lazarus Dig!!! as a "gothic psycho-sexual apocalypse" and stated that "just when The Bad Seeds seemed content to settle into middle-age as a cabaret gospel showband – albeit an extraordinary one – they've bared their teeth again".^[7] Steven M. Deusner of Pitchfork Media stated that "this is how rock musicians are supposed to age".^[8] Alastair McKay of Uncut wrote that "the band has never sounded better, and Cave seems to have relaxed into the hysteria of his vocal style; like Elmer Gantry singing Leonard Cohen at a tent-revival."^[12] In his Consumer Guide for MSN Music, Robert Christgau gave the album a two-star honorable mention (), picking two songs ("We Call Upon the Author" and "More News from Nowhere") as highlights and commenting of Cave: "Gosh—at 50, he's almost Dylanesque for blessed moments, plus he utters the welcome words 'Bukowski was a jerk'."^[13]

Canadian magazine Now gave the album three stars out of five and stated, "Besides the [tunes] that sound like rewrites of Iggy Pop and Leonard Cohen rewrites, Cave and crew aren’t above recycling their own work--'More News From Nowhere' is just a riff on 'Deanna.'"^[14] Tiny Mix Tapes gave it a score of four-and-a-half stars out of five and said that "rock, country, blues, and post-punk rhythms meld with Cave’s lyrics on sex, death, God, and America to create what could be one of his most perfect albums yet."^[15] The A.V. Club gave it a B+ and said that it "bears little concept or nuance, but it more than makes up for it in raw, oozing passion."^[16] Paste gave it a score of 8 out of 10 and said, "In other words—even though the mood is more menacing than morose—it’s vintage Cave."^[17] The Observer gave it all five stars and called it "a triumph from first to last."^[18] Drowned in Sound gave it eight out of ten and said, "While there are inevitable parallels what with one album following the last so soon, this fourteenth LP from the fluctuating-of-membership Bad Seeds is a bolder creation that its predecessor."^[19] No Ripcord gave the album a score of nine out of ten and called it " a vital record, one that’s Nick Cave through and through, and whether he’s exploring his garage roots or his spooky, narrative tendencies it’s at all points a triumph."^[20] Hot Press gave it a favorable review, stating, "The record is a less sonically abrasive affair than the album Cave released last year with his side-project Grinderman, but it teems with as many musical and lyrical ideas as ever."^[21]

In May, 2008 the album was announced as the first nomination for Triple J's 2008 J Awards.

The title track was ranked at 35 in the 2008 Hottest 100 Countdown from Triple J in Australia.^[22]

Awards

• 2008 MOJO Awards: Best Album of 2008 (Dig, Lazarus Dig!!!)
• 2008 ARIA Award: Nick Cave Best Male Artist of 2008 (for Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!)
• Certified Silver for UK sales.^[23]
• Certified Gold for Irish sales.^[24]

Track listing

All songs written by Nick Cave unless otherwise stated

1. "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" – 4:11
2. "Today's Lesson" – 4:41
3. "Moonland" – 3:53 (Cave/Ellis/Casey/Sclavunos)
4. "Night of the Lotus Eaters" – 4:53 (Cave/Ellis)
5. "Albert Goes West" – 3:32 (Cave/Ellis)
6. "We Call Upon the Author" – 5:11 (Cave/Ellis)
7. "Hold on to Yourself" – 5:50 (Cave/Ellis/Casey/Sclavunos)
8. "Lie Down Here (& Be My Girl)" – 4:57
9. "Jesus of the Moon" – 3:22
10. "Midnight Man" – 5:06
11. "More News from Nowhere" – 7:58 (Cave/Ellis/Casey/Sclavunos)

Singles

• "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" (MUTE 377) (18 February 2008)
  • b/w: "Accidents Will Happen"
• "More News From Nowhere" (MUTE 390) (12 May 2008)
  • b/w: "Fleeting Love"
• "Midnight Man" (MUTE 403) (28 July 2008)
  • b/w: "Hey Little Firing Squad"

Personnel

• Nick Cave – Vocals (1–11), Organ (1,2,6,7), Piano (3,8,9), Tambourine (3,5,11), Sleigh Bells (3,11), Toms (5), Harmonica (5), Electric Guitar (9), Vibra-Slap (11)
• Martyn P. Casey – Bass (1–3,6–11)
• Thomas Wydler – Brushed Snare (1), Shaker (2,10), Tambourine (2,5,10), Drums (4,8,9), Hand Drums (7)
• Warren Ellis – Viola (1,6,9,11), Loops (1,4,6,7,10,11), Fender Mandocaster (2–4,7–10), Tenor Guitar (3,5,8,10), Maracas (3) 12 String Lute (5), Drum Machine (6), Piano (8), Flute (9), Mandolin (9)
• Mick Harvey – Electric Guitar (1,4–6,10,11), Acoustic Guitar (2,5,7–9), Bass (4,5), Organ (10)
• Jim Sclavunos – Drums (1–3,5–7,10,11), Bongos (1,5), Cowbell (1), Cuica (3), Congas (3,4), Finger Cymbals (4), Shaker (5), Maracas (7), Tambourine (8,9), Sleigh Bells (9)
• James Johnston – Organ (2,5,9), Electric Guitar (5)
• All backing vocals and handclaps by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds; Conway Savage is listed as a band member but does not play keyboards on the album

Chart positions

References

External links

• Official website
• Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! at Metacritic
• Nick Cave Online