When an established musician first branches into the world of the soundtrack, in most cases the review pretty much writes itself. First off: comment on how the relevant artist’s back catalogue has always had a ‘cinematic’ feel to it; then note how the film’s subject matter ties in with their particular world view; and, finally, conclude that, while the new record is an interesting curio, it merely whets the appetite for the next album proper.
As this is Nick Cave we’re talking about, we don’t really need to address the first point – Bad Seeds’ records are so unabashedly and swaggeringly filmic they practically fade out to credits
The second, meanwhile, is made redundant by the fact that Cave has actually written the film he’s scoring.
As for the third, mmm….
In truth, Cave, vocally anyway, is more of an absence than a presence here. With little verse, chorus, verse action going on, he seems to float through the tracks – a whisper here, a murmur there – leaving Warren Ellis’s wonderful violin playing to carry most of the record’s narrative weight.
In fact, The Proposition is probably best approached as a powerful, brooding Ellis score with an atmospheric Cave cameo.
The 16 fragments and snatches on offer have the same dust-bleached, cantina feel of Dylan’s wonderful Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid, but with a menacing, hallucinogenic sun-down vibe all of its own. In places (most notably the recurring theme tune and ‘The Rider’), it even calls to mind the broken up but beautiful solo record released almost a decade ago by Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis.
So, in conclusion: curio? The Proposition is much too parched, beautiful and intriguing for that. Appetite whetted? Like a starving cowboy in the outback.