Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Push The Sky Away

Push the Sky Away, released in 2013, is Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ fifteenth studio album and a strikingly restrained, atmospheric work. Moving away from the raw ferocity of earlier records, the band embraced subtle instrumentation, loops, and minimalist arrangements, giving Cave’s lyrics space to breathe. Tracks like We No Who U R and Jubilee Street unfold slowly and deliberately, while Higgs Boson Blues weaves cultural references and surreal imagery into a brooding meditation.

The album’s quiet intensity reveals a band in full command of dynamics, finding drama not in noise but in space and mood. It’s a record that rewards close listening, with Cave’s voice and storytelling at their most haunting and poetic. Push the Sky Away was widely acclaimed as a late-period triumph, proof that The Bad Seeds could continue to evolve without losing their edge.

Reviews

“Push the Sky Away is spectral, beautiful, and one of the most refined records in Cave’s catalogue.” – The Guardian

“A haunting, quietly powerful album that shows Cave at his lyrical best.” – AllMusic

“The Bad Seeds channel subtlety and atmosphere into something just as intense as their louder work.” – Pitchfork

“Push the Sky Away is a masterpiece of restraint, filled with menace, melancholy, and elegance.” – Rolling Stone