coinciding with his 62nd birthday yesterday, Nick Cave has surprised fans through his Red Hand Files website with the by the announcement of the imminent release of the Bad Seeds‘ album Ghosteen which is set for release next week.
Last autumn, Cave’s wife Suzie Bick, updated fans that the Australian singer/songwriter was in Los Angeles working on the new album.
“Some of his songs reveal themselves at night in his fever dreams,” she said of the songwriting on the album. “They are his Fever Songs.”
In January of this year, during a live performance at Melbourne Town Hall, Cave took a moment to update the crowd:
“We’ve really nearly finished a new record, I would say, and it’s an amazing thing in my opinion. I’m very, very excited about it.”
Following a beautiful series of thoughtful letters to fans recently, resembling more and more Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, Cave made the announcement through The Red Hand Files, announcing that the new album Ghosteen, which is named after a “migrating spirit”, will be a double album, with part one of the record representing “the children” and part two being “the parents”.
Responding to a fan named Joey, asking about the new album on Red Hand Files, Cave wrote:
“Dear Joe,
You can expect a new album next week.
It is called Ghosteen.
It is a double album.
Part 1 comprises of eight songs.
- The Spinning Song
- Bright Horses
- Waiting For You
- Night Raid
- Sun Forest
- Galleon Ship
- Ghosteen Speaks
- Leviathan
Part 2 consists of two long songs, linked by a spoken word piece.
- Ghosteen
- Fireflies
- Hollywood
The songs on the first album are the children.
The songs on the second album are their parents.
Ghosteen is a migrating spirit.
“Love, Nick”
“Ghosteen, by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds premieres in full 03.10.19. Digital and streaming 04.10.19. CD and vinyl 08.11.19.