Carnage

by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis

Carnage cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 25 February 2021
  • Label: Goliath
  • Country: Australia/United Kingdom
  • Length: 40:00
  • Community rating: 3.99/5 from 15 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown, 'Carnage' is the first full studio album by collaborators Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, distinct from their previous soundtrack work. The album's sound is built upon improvisational and atmospheric foundations, merging Ellis's synthesizer textures, loops, and string arrangements with Cave's piano and spoken-word vocal delivery. Lyrically, the work explores a landscape of communal catastrophe, personal loss, and spiritual desire, shifting between raw aggression and moments of stark, hopeful beauty.

Genres

Descriptors: piano, ballad, minimal, orchestral, confessional, folk, ambient, storytelling, experimental

Tracklist

  1. Hand of God (05:16)
  2. Old Time (05:16)
  3. Carnage (04:47)
  4. White Elephant (06:08)
  5. Albuquerque (03:56)
  6. Lavender Fields (04:33)
  7. Shattered Ground (05:34)
  8. Balcony Man (04:30)

Credits

  • Nick Cave - vocals, background vocals, percussion, piano, synthesizer, arrangements, production, mixing, sleeve design, lyrics, music
  • Warren Ellis - background vocals, autoharp, drum machine, alto flute, glockenspiel, tenor guitar, harmonium, loops, piano, synthesizer, viola, violin, arrangements, production, mixing, music
  • Thomas Wydler - drums
  • Luis Almau - drums, acoustic guitar, arrangements, mixing, engineering
  • Esmeralda Conde Ruiz - choir conductor
  • Amy Carson - choir
  • Hannah Cooke - choir
  • Nicholas Madden - choir
  • Sarah Dacey - choir
  • Timothy Dickinson - choir
  • Matt Colton - mastering, lacquer cut
  • Ben Jones - assistance
  • Hingston Studio - sleeve design
  • Ramera Abraham - mixed by [assisted by]

More from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis: full discography