Grinderman 2
by Grinderman
  • Record Label: Epitaph
  • Release Date: Sep 14, 2010
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
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  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 surpass his own previous work with the bad seeds with something even darker... i mean, is this guy for real?!
  2. hampusforev
    Sep 16, 2010
    9
    Only Cave can write lyrics like "The spinal cord of JFK / Wrapped in my mothers negligé / I'll give to you". And only Warren Ellis can spin the aural web of doom that enshrouds Grinderman 2. I love it, it's visceral, dark and weird.
  3. Peaver
    Oct 6, 2010
    7
    Enough, already with the viagra erection as a song writing pencil. The Bad Seeds miss you, Nick.
    The, possibly, most talented song writer of this recent decade needs to stop dreaming of groupies and get his cynical mind wrapped around something besides what his fist is pounding.
    Alright, I'm pushing Dig L Dig back into the CD player.
    Oh yeah, I did laugh my ass off.
  4. LouWeed
    Sep 24, 2010
    9
    Coincidence or conspiracy? Already this year we've had one song taken from the Velvet's white light/white heat (LCD Soundsystem's 'Drunk Girls' is totally a remake of the title track -- not that that's a bad thing), and now Grinderman redo 'Here she comes now' as 'When My Baby Comes' -- strange times, man (oh no, that would be The Doors). Anyway, brutal stuff once again from the bestCoincidence or conspiracy? Already this year we've had one song taken from the Velvet's white light/white heat (LCD Soundsystem's 'Drunk Girls' is totally a remake of the title track -- not that that's a bad thing), and now Grinderman redo 'Here she comes now' as 'When My Baby Comes' -- strange times, man (oh no, that would be The Doors). Anyway, brutal stuff once again from the best sideband of the moment (Dead Weather notwithstanding); While the opener 'Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man' doesn't have the punch to the guts that their debut supplied in 'Get it On', the album as a whole trumps the original's primal scream with a menacing growl.… Expand
  5. thehert
    Sep 26, 2010
    7
    Nick Cave does a swell job mixing the blues sound of the 70's with the effect-heavy alternative rock of today. However I find the subject a tad to dark and, for lack of a better word, sleezy for my liking. I find this very enjoyable for any one who is just looking to listen to the music, not the words.
  6. 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 it hangs together as an album better than the first and more so than any recent Bad Seeds record.
  7. 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 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 andI 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.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

36
#36 Best Album of 2010

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Mar 28, 2012
    80
    Delicious.
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  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.
    Read full review
  3. Clash Music
    Mar 20, 2012
    80
    A quality accompaniment and memorial.
    Read full review
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