Review Summary: Let Love In finds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds utilizing their talents to craft the most accessible album of their career without sacrificing their unique gothic style or gloomy lyrics.
Upon first reading the title of the record one may expect to hear a collection of optimistic songs about being in love. Those who are familiar to the music of Nick Cave however would know that something far more sinister is likely lurking underneath. And they would be right. Sure Cave is no stranger to romantic ballads but his familiar territory has always gravitated toward the macabre. This fascination with all the grim things life has to offer has been prevalent in the Bad Seeds music since they formed in 1983. At that time the band’s sound was predominantly post-punk, but on this album their sound shifted to a more accessible alternative rock without sacrificing the eerie music and lyrics. In fact the album perfectly encapsulates the band’s musical progression up until the time it was recorded. Let Love In combines the gothic blues and post-punk sounds from the group’s earlier works with the grandiose ballads found on their album The Good Son. Now this same formula was used on the Bad Seeds’ previous album, Henry’s Dream, but here the music appears more polished and cohesive. The work of Nick Cave is vast and varied and he has many classic albums and songs under his belt, but this one tends to stand out among the rest. And that is for good reason. The band perfectly utilized all of their talents to create a truly remarkable listening experience from start to finish.
A two part song entitled Do You Love Me? bookends the album. The opening track features this constant building of a nervous tension as Cave sings in a voice of tender desperation about distrust in a romantic relationship. The pulsating organs, entrancing piano melody, and driving bass line give you a glimpse of what is yet to come on the rest of the record. The closing track is the opposite. It is far more stripped back and slowed down then the first part and serves as the final relief to all of the songs that come between the two. Early on in the album comes a track that immediately warrants the consolation of the closing number. Subtle and quiet instrumentation emerges throughout the first verse of this track letting the depraved lyricism of Nick Cave take center stage. The song is entitled Loverman and has a malicious nature due to the vocals and how they switch from an unnerving spoken verse to a blistering and violent shouting in the chorus. It only gets more unsettling when you hear the almost whispering voices in the background and when Cave uses the title of the song as an acronym to describe the protagonist’s malevolent desires. An explosion of harsh instrumentation erupts during the first chorus and reverberates through the remainder of the track adding to its suspense. There are very few moments on the rest of the album that reach the same climactic heights as this song. Jangling Jack and Thirsty Dog both come close to reaching the same intensity as Loverman, albeit in energy and tone only. Both songs contain a manic energy that takes the listener on a thrill ride through the stories that Nick Cave is telling about murder and regret respectively. These tracks are very guitar driven and have an almost punk sound to them which is unlike any other songs on the record.
In contrast to the high energy tracks on the album are numerous ballads about Nick Cave’s second favorite topic to murder: heartbreak. Lost love and the contemplation of which is a prevalent theme on this album as it is on much of Cave’s other work. This is shown on the song Nobody’s Baby Now, a track that Nick Cave originally wrote for Johnny Cash but decided that he wanted to record himself instead. Sorrow and genuine pain permeate through his voice as the piano and drums gently float around the lyrics. Knowing that the song was originally written with Johnny Cash in mind, it is easy to pick up on tinges of a southern gothic style throughout this song as well as the rest of album. I Let Love In is another song about lost love that features a guitar melody which has been dipped in the sound stylings of country and blues music. The title track also features one of the most memorable and heartbreaking lyrics on the record:
“Far worse to be love’s lover then the lover that love has scorned”.
I Let Love In is ripe with a desolate sadness that is hard to get away from. This is especially impressive since it immediately follows what is arguably one of the best songs that the Bad Seeds have ever released.
The discography of Nick Cave is so long and rich that any fan of the man’s work would have a rather difficult time picking a single song as his undeniable masterwork. There were many contenders before this album was released: The Mercy Seat, The Ship Song, and Tupelo to name a few. The Bad Seeds even managed to keep putting out more classics to the present day including Stagger Lee, Into My Arms, and O Children. However none of these songs ever managed to capture the dark magic that lies at the center of this record. From the bell chime that opens Red Right Hand onward an undeniable eeriness is felt which puts you on edge for the remainder of the track. Each drum hit sounds like a clash of thunder as Nick Cave sings on ominously about how man can be so easily tempted and seduced by greed, society, and a desire to change one’s insecurities. A very simplistic yet effective organ melody flows throughout the track that is reminiscent of something you would hear in a classic horror film. Ringing out with such a shriek the oscillator sounds like the screams of someone being murdered for atmospheric emphasis during the end of an entrancing solo by Cave. It is truly no mystery as to why Red Right Hand still remains as the Bad Seeds trademark song more than two decades after it was released.
Let Love In was a landmark record for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It managed to make their music more accessible while still retaining the essence of the group’s style. With this album Nick Cave started to flirt with the mainstream. Red Right Hand has become known as the theme song for the Scream franchise as well as the Netflix show Peaky Blinders, and Loverman was later covered by Metallica which introduced more people to the music of Nick Cave. The Bad Seeds went on to have continuing success with their next two albums Murder Ballads and The Boatman’s Call. Now with 16 fantastic studio records in the discography of the Bad Seeds, Let Love In lies in the midpoint of the band’s career. Likewise Red Right Hand lies at the center of the album itself as a point of perfect cohesion. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have many outstanding pieces of music that were released both before and after Let Love In, but there is truly no better place to start then at the heart of it all.
