Nick Cave and Warren Ellis are to release an 18-track digital album this Friday. It was recorded at the Sydney Opera House last December during their tour of Cave's native Australia.
The album, Australian Carnage, will be released on digital and streaming services on August 25, with an 8-track vinyl version to follow on December 1.
“Touring Australia with Warren after so much time away was one of the highlights of recent years", Cave said today.
"Every show was moving and unforgettable, from the intimacy of playing in theatres and arts centres, to the vast and uplifting nights at Hanging Rock, through to our final three nights at the inimitable Sydney Opera House.
"We are excited to share these recordings, made at the Sydney Opera House, and hope they capture even a tenth of the collective elation we felt at those shows. We'll never forget them".
Cave and Ellis toured the UK together in 2021, playing Abereen Music Hall and Edinburgh's Playhouse in September and Glasgow's Theatre Royal the following month. The tour, and the duo's album, Carnage, attracted stellar reviews from critics.
Review: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
In her Observer review of the album, critic Kitty Empire noted: "This Nick Cave feels like the ne’er-do-well seasoned Cave-watchers haven’t heard much from of late. (The Old Testament is not far off either: the “hand of God” plays a starring role on this album’s opening track.) A sense of deja vu haunts parts of this exhilarating record – disorienting, but pleasurable".
The tracks on Friday's digital album are: Spinning Song, Bright Horses, Night Raid, Carnage, White Elephant, Ghosteen, Lavender Fields, Waiting For You, I Need You, Cosmic Dancer, Breathless,
Hand Of God, Shattered Ground, Galleon Ship, Leviathan, Balcony Man, Hollywood, and Ghosteen Speaks.
The eight tracks on the vinyl version will be Bright Horses, Carnage, White Elephant, Leviathan, Ghosteen, Waiting For You,
Breathless and Balcony Man.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald last October, prior to the Australia concerts, Cave said: “I haven’t been there in over two years and I’m aching to get back.
“I’m incredibly excited to go back to Australia and play. Whenever I step back onto Australian soil, I feel this immediate sense of relief, and a deep connection to the land".
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