Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
  • Record Label: Mute
  • Release Date: Apr 8, 2008
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    Even if Prince, Madonna, Paul Weller, Shane MacGowan, Ice-T and Michael Jackson got together to form a freakish supergroup, they’d struggle to make an album containing as much vitality, humour and invention as Cave and his wizened cronies have.
  2. NOW Magazine
    60
    It’s not surprising, then, that a number of the tunes on Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! sound familiar. Besides the ones that sound like rewrites of Iggy Pop and Leonard Cohen rewrites, Cave and crew aren’t above recycling their own work--'More News From Nowhere' is just a riff on 'Deanna.'
  3. Observer Music Monthly
    100
    Musically, the album is a triumph from first to last.
  5. The Guardian
    100
    It's hilarious, chilling and exhilarating: further evidence of the unique and enviable position Cave finds himself in at 50.
  6. Tiny Mix Tapes
    90
    On Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, rock, country, blues, and post-punk rhythms meld with Cave’s lyrics on sex, death, God, and America to create what could be one of his most perfect albums yet.
  7. Uncut
    80
    The band has never sounded better, and Cave seems to have relaxed into the hysteria of his vocal style; like Elmer Gantry singing Leonard Cohen at a tent-revival.
  8. Dot Music
    80
    There's a rolling, free and expansive feel to the album as a whole that is not only one of its most attractive features, but is also the most difficult thing about it to pin down.
  9. Drowned In Sound
    80
    While there are inevitable parallels what with one album following the last so soon, this fourteenth LP from the fluctuating-of-membership Bad Seeds is a bolder creation that its predecessor.
  10. Filter
    92
    Cave's themes remain unchanged, but his songcraft prowess continues to grow, aided by the finest instrumental backing and production of any Bad Seeds album to date. [Winter 2008, p.90]
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  11. Hot Press
    85
    The record is a less sonically abrasive affair than the album Cave released last year with his side-project Grinderman, but it teems with as many musical and lyrical ideas as ever.
  12. Mojo
    80
    The fourteenth Bad Seeds record is willfully untidy and, at times, pretty chaotic. It also rocks like crazy. [Apr 2008, p.104]
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  13. Spin
    80
    Feral intensity abounds. [Apr 2008, p.98]
  14. Delusions of Adequacy
    80
    Dig Lazarus Dig!!! delivers a platter that is both powerfully-arcane and invigoratingly-fresh, that serves as possibly Nick Cave’s best ‘main-course’ studio release with The Bad Seeds for quite some time.
  15. Paste Magazine
    80
    In other words--even though the mood is more menacing than morose--it’s vintage Cave.
  16. Q Magazine
    80
    The 50-year-old's songwriting blue streak continues on Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, a triumphant album that merits all three exclaimation marks. [Apr 2008, p.105]
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  17. Austin Chronicle
    89
    Jangling Jack's back.
  18. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    Cave spits out his woebegone lyrics as if he were a Holy Ghost-filled preaching machine leading the world's funkiest revival meeting.
  19. Pitchfork
    84
    The Bad Seeds sound even edgier and more sophisticated on Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, providing a fitting pulpit for their bandleader's ravings.
  20. The A.V. Club
    83
    Yes, Dig bears little concept or nuance, but it more than makes up for it in raw, oozing passion.
  21. Boston Globe
    80
    'We Call Upon the Author to Explain' goes the title of one song, but Cave offers no explanations and no justifications merely another lean, assured set of glamorously gloomy songs.
  22. Village Voice
    80
    Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! should prove an exhilarating listen for most fans of Cave's oeuvre. It has a lot of the rawness and jagged edges of a classic Bad Seeds album, hopped up with off-kilter beats and loads of loops contributed by violinist Warren Ellis.
  23. Hartford Courant
    80
    Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! is even more entertainingly disturbing, a rocking psycho-carnival ride (complete with swirling organ) that clearly nods to Cave's roots.
  24. Under The Radar
    60
    For all its foreboding themes, Dig, Lazarus Dig!!! is melodically accessible and a very neutrally pop album. [Spriung 2008, p.74]
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  25. Dusted Magazine
    90
    He sacrifices none of his newfound momentum on the fantastic Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, his sharpest, wittiest, most resolute album in over a decade.
  26. AllMusic
    90
    What it all comes down to is that Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! is a Bad Seeds record that ups the ante once again.
  27. Slant Magazine
    90
    Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! is ultimately a rock record more than it is an ideas record, but on both counts the Seeds bring it like a band half their age.
  28. Rolling Stone
    80
    It's not every goth-punk fiend who can celebrate his fiftieth birthday with an album as loud, filthy and brilliant as Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
  29. cokemachineglow
    66
    So, while Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! is a pretty good album and as characteristically lip-smacking as Cave is capable, it’s only engaging in the details which, unfortunately, are hard to hear because Cave’s screaming something about vulvas over top.
  30. The Wire
    80
    Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! sees Cave at his wittiest and most relaxed, though perhaps also most detatched. [Apr 2008, p.53]
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  31. No Ripcord
    90
    It’s a vital record, one that’s Nick Cave through and through, and whether he’s exploring his garage roots or his spooky, narrative tendencies it’s at all points a triumph.
  32. Prefix Magazine
    90
    On Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!, Cave weaves yet another tapestry of characters.
  33. Magnet
    80
    The playful Dig!! Lazurus Dig!!! stands among his most mature albums. [Summer 2008, p.98]
    All this publication's reviews

Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Best Album of 2008
48
#48 Most Discussed Album of 2008

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 86 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 75 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 86
  3. Negative: 4 out of 86
  1. mekaindy
    Feb 19, 2013
    10
    No filler on this bad boy. Brilliant. Found the album compelling from start to finish. Guitars Guitars Guitars. Wonderful album one cannotNo filler on this bad boy. Brilliant. Found the album compelling from start to finish. Guitars Guitars Guitars. Wonderful album one cannot tire of listening to anytime of the day!… Full Review »
  2. Ricko
    Mar 6, 2012
    9
    A really strong record and one of the best he's produced during his pretty impressive career . He really gets the balance right on this oneA really strong record and one of the best he's produced during his pretty impressive career . He really gets the balance right on this one between strangeness and pure class. You can hear the time and care put into the song writing. Not only are the lyrics great but there are plenty of tunes on here too. More News from Nowhere is a classic. Highly recommended.… Full Review »
  3. drownsoda
    Aug 27, 2010
    9
    Fun-filled, eccentric and recaptivating the Nick Cave poetry, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! stands as a pivotal moment in Cave's catalogue. GrindingFun-filled, eccentric and recaptivating the Nick Cave poetry, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! stands as a pivotal moment in Cave's catalogue. Grinding off his side project's aesthetic, the funk-ridden cheer of Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! doesn't compare to the genius of Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus... but hey, it's a hell of a ride!… Full Review »
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