Nick Cave

Australia's Nick Cave has proved to be one of the most enduring talents to emerge from the post-punk era. Accompanied by his backing band the Bad Seeds, Cave's style is inimitable as it ranges across a spectrum that includes noisy, clattering, but extremely musical rock -- equal parts mutant rockabilly, garage, indie, post-punk, and cabaret -- as well as striking romantic balladry and broken blues, sometimes all on the same recording (1986's Your Funeral, My Trial). Later dates, including 1996's Murder Ballads and 2013's Push the Sky Away, tempered his ferocity in favor of moody soundscapes for his bent yet resonant storytelling, and 2019's Ghosteen was an emotionally devastating meditation on grief and loss. Cave and longtime colleague Warren Ellis (musical director, the Bad Seeds) are award-winning film composers with more than a dozen scores, and 2021's Carnage, to their credit. The Bad Seeds' Wild God appeared in 2024.