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Ghosteen Image
Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 28 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 284 Ratings

  • Summary: The 17th full-length studio release for Australian rock band is influenced in part by the accidental death of Nick Cave's 15-year old son in 2015 and is considered the third and final part of trilogy of albums that includes 2013's Push the Sky Away and 2016's Skeleton Tree.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Nov 13, 2019
    100
    It can only tower when it comes to naming this decade’s great albums; miles above and light years ahead of anything else.
  2. Oct 7, 2019
    100
    It’s another masterpiece that will forever be enshrined in his ever-growing legacy. Absolute perfection.
  3. Oct 9, 2019
    100
    Yes, it can be painful, but there’s a beautiful catharsis contained within Ghosteen that makes it one of the most essential records of recent times – a lifejacket for anyone surfing that dreadful wave of grief.
  4. Oct 10, 2019
    90
    Ghosteen is a masterpiece of melancholy. You mourn right along with him and hope he finds solace.
  5. Nov 12, 2019
    90
    The anguish a parent feels for losing their child is harrowing and Ghosteen masterfully captures Cave's grief and spiraling rumination on mortality.
  6. Oct 9, 2019
    88
    At a distance, the album can feel like an ambient mood piece with some pretty moments rising from the mist. Listen closely, however, and something changes. The album becomes a meditation on pain and wonder, an apparent duality that Cave’s narrator turns into an acceptance of what it means to live.
  7. Oct 7, 2019
    80
    In the face of enormous loss, Ghosteen finds comfort in what worldly wonders remain. It surely ranks among Cave and company's most ambitious efforts, and maybe among their most affecting, too.

See all 28 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 52
  2. Negative: 6 out of 52
  1. May 28, 2020
    10
    Based on keyboards, Ghosteen is a full of sensibility album. Sentimental backing vocals reach perfection and Nick proves a wider vocal rangeBased on keyboards, Ghosteen is a full of sensibility album. Sentimental backing vocals reach perfection and Nick proves a wider vocal range than expected.

    To be honest, i’ve never been a fan of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds but this album shows these guys are true musicians.
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  2. Oct 4, 2019
    10
    A masterpiece. Phantasmagoric, personal, raw, visionary. An instant classic.
  3. Nov 20, 2019
    10
    There are tales, where there are realms and there are Kings, Amongst this, there is an achingly beautiful true musical experience like noThere are tales, where there are realms and there are Kings, Amongst this, there is an achingly beautiful true musical experience like no other before in the popular music at all. It's that tiny. Expand
  4. Oct 5, 2019
    10
    Poignant, Astonishing, Mesmerizing, Hypnotic Masterpiece that evokes more than emotions.
  5. Nov 9, 2019
    10
    Simply, quite possibly the most perfectly fragile, devastating and hopeful album of the 21st Century. Exquisite in its pain.
  6. Dec 19, 2019
    9
    the thing that i love most about this is the set up and the style of the songwriting itself. It allows you to visualize what you hear and tothe thing that i love most about this is the set up and the style of the songwriting itself. It allows you to visualize what you hear and to see what is going on in the story that is playing out in front of however dark it is. The production as well helps the story move and to help the listener to feel what is happening Expand
  7. Jan 4, 2021
    0
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See all 52 User Reviews

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