Grinderman 2
by Grinderman
  • Record Label: Epitaph
  • Release Date: Sep 14, 2010
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 37
  3. Negative: 0 out of 37
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  1. The Fly (UK)
    Mar 16, 2012
    60
    A who's who of re-mixers have been cast for the job, and there's value in finding their take on Nick Cave's already unique sound.
  2. The Quietus
    Mar 27, 2012
    60
    Grinderman 2 RMX provides an enjoyable enough distraction but ultimately this is a collection of material that would have worked better as an EP rather than an album.
  3. The Wire
    40
    The music veers between between a kind of funk slop with trippy organ squelches and good ol' fashioned rawk with biblical overtones, It feels a little like drowning in a bath of Jack Daniels, but not in a good way. [Sep 2010, p.53]
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Awards & Rankings

36
#36 Best Album of 2010

User Reviews

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User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 33 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 33
  3. Negative: 1 out of 33
  1. rppcave
    Sep 16, 2010
    10
    only cave, after turning 50, could howl like a mad wolf in a rock and roll album and not sound utterly ridiculous... only cave could surpassonly cave, after turning 50, could howl like a mad wolf in a rock and roll album and not sound utterly ridiculous... only cave could surpass his own previous work with the bad seeds with something even darker... i mean, is this guy for real?!… Full Review »
  2. keep_yr_bias
    Apr 24, 2012
    8
    I guess now is a good time to review Grinderman's 2nd album now that their remix for this album was recently released. Personally, I reallyI guess now is a good time to review Grinderman's 2nd album now that their remix for this album was recently released. Personally, I really like this band. They're a fairly hardcore rock band with plenty of edge, their songwriting is strong, and they still have surprises up their sleeves to separate them for you standard rock band. The mission statement for this album "Mickey Mouse and The Goodbye Man" is excellent. It may be the best song on the album. The opening riff is pretty damn catchy, and as soon as Nick Cave starts off his first verse saying "I woke up this morning and I thought what am I doing?" the song grabbed me. It's not a groundbreaking lyric, but Cave delivers it with plenty of conviction and he sounds like he MEANS it, or at the very least MEANT it. As the song grows, Cave tells the story of his brother who is a lot of trouble and has law enforcement searching for him. After the first verse the band turns the volume up to 10 and jam like nobodies business. This leads into the 2nd verse where Cave shows off his humor when describing his brothers paranoia that the rattling locks to their hotel room is probably from the cops. Once again, Cave's delivery is what helps make his lyrics. The following two tracks "Worm Tamer" and "Heathen Child" are pretty decent, nothing great. However the 4th track "When My Baby Comes" is my favorite track. It's well over 6 minutes, and the first half sounds like nothing else on the album. Cave's singing is backed up heavily by strings rather than guitars or drums. It's surprisingly soothing, but at the half way point the song completely changes, and the 2nd half is nothing but a heavy (and ear worm catchy) riff. I wish there were more moments like this on the album. The rest of the album is fairly straight forward, but that doesn't mean there aren't other strong tracks. "What I Know" is a laid back acoustic track and is a nice bridge between "When My Baby Comes" and the hectic "Evil". "Palaces of Montezuma" is great and is without question the closest thing Grinderman will ever come to making a love song, and the album closer "Bellringer Blues" has some great guitar work. The album does have it's low points though. It's safe to say that Grinderman is fairly dark, and some times it's just a little too dark. In "Worm Tamer" Cave sings to his girlfriend/wife/lover about how he can't go on in the relationship because he has loved her for too long. It's a pretty lame excuse similar to "It's not you, it's me". It's fairly generic, and it's pretty difficult to be in a mood where I feel like listening to that song. Same thing for "Kitchenette" which would be a better song if Cave wasn't singing to a married woman, talking down on her husband in an attempt to convince her to sleep with him. Once again... I'm rarely in the mood to hear a song like that. Those are fairly minor quibbles though. Overall there are plenty of strong songs on this 9 track LP, and it's a very solid album.… Full Review »
  3. finemind
    Oct 13, 2010
    9
    Different enough from Grinderman I to reassure me there is a future to this band. I have listened to it every day since release and I think itDifferent enough from Grinderman I to reassure me there is a future to this band. I have listened to it every day since release and I think it hangs together as an album better than the first and more so than any recent Bad Seeds record.… Full Review »
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