Grinderman

Nick Cave hasn’t played electric guitar for years and his primitive, grinding approach to the instrument inspired the name of the band and the thrashing, primal, punky noise it spits out on its debut album. With Bad Seeds Warren Ellis (violin, keyboards, bouzouki, guitar), Martyn Casey (bass), and Jim Sclavunos (drums) given permission to take the music anywhere they wanted to go, Cave began improvising lyrics and Grinderman took off on leathery wings like a rabid bat trying to escape — or maybe embrace — oblivion. While the band wails, Cave snarls like an intoxicated lothario, using sexual frustration as a metaphor for all the aggravations and limitations we face as we age. The violent, brutal squall of tunes like “Get It On,” “Honey Bee (Let’s Fly to Mars)” and “Love Bomb” prove Cave has no intention of going quietly into that good night. Grinderman delivers an invigorating blast of manic rock ‘n’ roll energy that’s all too rare these days.