GRINDERMAN - Grinderman 2

When word originally arrived of the first Grinderman album—a splinter project of Nick Cave's Bad Seeds featuring its most unruly members—it came via the hilariously untamed, but uncomfortably on-the-nose single, "No Pussy Blues". An uncompromising song fueled by fiercely in-the-red guitar tones and all the considerable midlife rage and sexual frustration Cave could muster, it was exhilarating, but it also brought up the question: could the rest of the album really be this blindingly good?

Well, it wasn't. Grinderman wasn't a failure, but there's no doubt that the rest of the record lived in that song's shadow. Grinderman 2 doesn't have a song quite as novel, explosive and fun as "No Pussy Blues", but it is a much, much better album. It's not so much tamed as focused, and more interested in the power of threat and presence than its quick-strike visceral predecessor. While this album's lead singles, "Heathen Child" and "Evil!", do a pretty good job of measuring up to that first record's bravado, the real stars now are the tracks deeper in the album. "When My Baby Comes" is an awesome display of atmosphere and swampy tension that really makes use of Warren Ellis' talent for sounds both ethereal and spooky as hell. The chilled, brief ballad "What I Know" is a well-placed and -paced mid-album moment of reflection. And "Palaces of Montezuma" is a bonafide pop tune—an immediate and hooky slice of Americana that doesn't sacrifice any of the album's overall heaviness.

In case you're worried that the new Grinderman isn't as pervy or hilarious as the original, fear not. 2 packs a serious wallop of double-entendres, self-deprecating wisecracks and leering, lustful glances. But now there's a lot more to chew on after the initial shockwave has passed. Simply put, this time around, Grinderman is a lot more than a pack of two-minute brothers.