Junkyard

2.5 second half is a lot more palatable

Unrivaled frenetic artistry in this band. Wasn’t quite as familiar with this record as the others but it didn’t disappoint. Wish the album cover weren’t so garish.

I will not include the CD reissue bonus tracks in this review, especially the opening bonus track, "Blast Off."

Funny enough, I have been familiar with Nick Cave's first group, The Birthday Party, for a couple of years now. Who would have thought that one of the most prolific singer-songwriters out there would've come from a demented punk-blues hybrid? That said, I only heard a few songs from them before, notably "Release the Bats," which would become a very influential track on the gothic rock movement. I was curious what a full listen of this group's material would be like, especially with Junkyard being their last full-length record before they broke up. So, how did they go out?

I'll admit, at first, I was mildly intrigued by the first half of this record. The distorted guitars from Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard, the murky bass from Tracy Pew, the pulse-pounding drums from Phill Calvert, and Nick Cave's mangled, borderline caterwauling vocals made for one of the most perverse sonic palettes I've heard in some time, as compositions ranged from lowly dirges like on "She's Hit" and "Several Sins", to full-on speed-driven, near-loss-of-control blazers like on "Dead Joe" and "Hamlet (Pow Pow)". All the while, Nick sang twisted tales of death, assault, and abuse, making liberal use of American Southern Gothic imagery to lean into the underlying violent tendencies and societal trauma. It was certainly enough to grip me at the start.

The problem is that there was little throughline to keep me engaged all the way through, as the momentum of the album slowed down in the second half. That's not to say there wasn't some level of enjoyment with Nick's horrifying vignettes, but at some point, the shock value diminishes, and what remains is a hybridization of genres and ideas that blend with little way to connect them all into something meaningful.

I still think Junkard was an okay record that showcased the bleak and noisy beginnings of some of the most notable songwriters out there. Nick Cave and Mick Harvey would go on to form the Bad Seeds, and Rowland S. Howard would go on to launch a successful solo career. In that regard, The Birthday Party can be considered a cornerstone for the gothic rock and post-punk acts to come.

𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘥 relies on chaos, noise and confrontation as its main tools, but instead of feeling thrilling or purposeful, the album often comes across as messy and grating. The songs lean so heavily on abrasion — frantic guitars, shouted vocals and jagged rhythms — that they leave little room for atmosphere or structure to take hold. The rawness may be intentional, yet it rarely translates into something emotionally or musically rewarding. For a listener not drawn to this kind of aggressive deconstruction, the most notable aspect of the record ends up being that Nick Cave is the frontman, rather than anything the album itself achieves.

All right, kind of surprised to see this here. A very early Nick Cave in his career. Feels very much minimal, a DIY punk affair. I quite enjoyed it, but at the same time I don't think this is that great, not even sure if this is deserving of 3 stars.

I both understand and weirdly don't understand why this album is hated so much. It is pretty abrasive, but honestly I was somehow expecting it to be even more abrasive and experimental, closer to noise.

It mostly sounds like if you took the most abrasive Nirvana songs and made them goth rock/post-punk. And there are some less abrasive, more traditional type stuff on it like Several Sins.

Honestly quite enjoying this. Stuff like Dim Locator and Several Sins are great. Not the best Nick Cave project I've listened to (Murder Ballads and Tender Prey rank higher for me), but this is some good stuff.

Nick cave and a brilliant crew being deranged.

It’s hard to believe Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds evolved from The Birthday Party, the two sound worlds apart. As much as I like Nick Cave, I just can’t warm to The Birthday Party. Their music feels chaotic, abrasive, and for me almost impossible to connect with.

I’m a big fan of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, but Junkyard feels more like noise than music. It’s messy, jarring, and sounds quite dated. I can appreciate the influence it had on what came later, but it’s not something I’d go back to.

Favourite track: Junkyard, if I had to choose one
Least favourite tracks: It could be any of them, nothing really stands out
Album artwork: Fantastic cover, wild and chaotic, and more enjoyable than the music itself

I’m at a 2.5 that I’ll bump down to a 2, though I do genuinely think that with the right framing & a bit more immersion, it could bump up to a 3, and possibly higher, somehow.

This album is an exercise in megalomania, egotism, paranoia, & fear, with a bit of a sadistic lean, touching on things like religion, murder, & sins, mixing itself in with totally incomprehensible concepts along the way. It is musically incoherent, yet intentionally designed that way to evoke a natural abrasiveness, and it’s one that’s openly invited by the album, constantly pushing the boundaries of what it’s allowed to “musically” do, forcing you to accept it for what it is, even if you actively don’t like it. This album, in some fashion, is the audible equivalent of failed gaslighting combined with Stockholm Syndrome, and once that makes itself apparent, parts of this album make more sense.

That’s a big fucking word salad to basically say “inner machinations of a psychiatric inmate-core”. Nick Cave’s vocals fluctuate between that one homeless guy next to your local pharmacy who’s on so many drugs that you actively fear him, and shades of what would eventually come with his work with The Bad Seeds, some of whom are members of The Birthday Party. As far as the instrumentation goes, the guitar plays its role as the loudest & most distracting thing here, acting as a sort of barrier to the vague, echoing morally corrupt consciousness that Nick Cave portrays. This is contrasting against the percussion, which generally tends to find a decent rhythm on a lot of these tracks, save for the moments where it feels like they’re smashing it with such ferocity that it feels like The Hulk destroying a music store. The bass is the singular consistent instrument here, and I suppose it represents one vague thread of normality left in the minds of the protagonists of all these tracks.

This is all in combination with the lyrics, which are normally either drowned out or screamed out, save for an occasionally calmer moment. The lyrics feel incomprehensible at times, and I still think they’re written from the perspective of a total madman who’s lost all grip on reality. That is the mindset & immersion that feels like it can crack, unlock, & truly open up this album. I made it a point for the final track, “Junkyard”, to go the extra mile & sit in a room with total darkness, just to feel the track as I was listening to it. That’s an extreme measure, mind you, but I just couldn’t get that sort of “psychiatric inmate” frame out of my mind, and I just wanted to see what would happen.

It felt claustrophobic. Genuinely, as his vocals grew more intense, and as the soundscape continued to swirl up with a sort of manic passion, I found myself wanting to turn the lights on, get up, and get out. In a way, it kind of felt awesome because of just how effective it was. I’m sure that’s not the intent of the album, but I just found it so fascinating that I could feel the potential that might come with a second listen. If I came back to this album another day, I think I might be able to appreciate it as an audible journey through genuine madness. As it currently stands now, I think the album itself just has too many musically driven flaws in terms of song length, some genuinely ear-piercing mixing at times, & a few moments where the performance / facade breaks for long enough to just feel far less engaging at some points than others.

The ceiling for this album, to my mind, is a 4. I’m at a 2.5 that I’ve nearly talked myself into bumping up to a 3 on account of potential alone, but given that the first half of the album bounced off of me in a way that badly set the tone (seriously, “She’s Hit” might still be the worst track on the album given the absolutely glacial pacing), I just don’t think I could do it in good faith. I do, however, genuinely recommend this as an album one you should listen to before you die just for the aural hell of it, and I admire the vision / scope of the album & the authenticity at which they just fucking went for it, without a single care for perception or commercial appeal. It’s a 2.5 that will go down to a 2 for now, but I can see it going up should I ever come back to this.

Interesting. Better than expected. But got a bit bored with it towards the end. R liked it; H did not.

Meh.

I was not expecting to like this as much as I did, but it was dynamic, gritty and short. Reminded me more of pure punk or grunge than post polunk which is probably why I like it a bit better. 4/5

Meh. All I can say is meh.

In het begin denk ik nog even. Ach, het is wat minimaal. Geef het een kans. Maar dan komt die overdreven lange schreeuw inclusief het naar adem happen. En dan ben ik eigenlijk al klaar met de plaat.

Toch nog maar proberen iets positiefs eruit te pikken. Maar ik kom bij het tweede nummer niet veel verder dan een vergelijking met Marilyn Manson, maar dan zonder muzikaal gevoel uitgevoerd. Ik geef het op. Ik zal het netjes uitluisteren. Maar verder zoeken naar iets van waarde gaat mij teveel energie kosten.

There is something here, and I think you can start to see where Nick Cave is going to end up. But the recording is pretty rough and the songs are like you took Joy Division and told them to forget how to play.

That said, I might revisit in the future, as it's not terrible. It's okay.

Sounds like cave rock Nick Cave. I liked it at times, but not too thrilled overall. It feels a bit undercooked and unfocused and it's not too clear in what it wants to do. That said, it's really cool to see this proto-Nick Cave album and the album has its moments. The title track is really fun and the album is bursting with raw energy and power. Nick Cave belts his way through this album and the backing band adds to the force.

Це клас, ранній Нік Кейв, крейзі енергетика.

Well, this was thoroughly unenjoyable

⭐⭐

On a positive note, because I disliked this so much, I had some time to work on finishing The Who - Tommy from yesterday

BARULHEIRA E GRITARIA CAÓTICA E DISSONANTE FINALMENTE PORRAAAAA.

bem gótico/post-punk, dá pra ver que influenciou uma galera boa e que foi influenciado por uma galera boa tbm.
achei bacana como algumas músicas parecem só uma super parede de som com uns berro do nick cave. ótima maneira de quebrar os 1000 albuns pau mole da lista. escutarei mais vezes!

Was interesting...mostly because every song sounded the same, and that was Nice Cave yelling. 2/5