Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Let Love In

Review

If there’s a record that takes a scalpel to the mysteries of love and leaves you hypnotized in a haunted ballroom, it’s "Let Love In" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. The songs sway between shadow and spotlight—hushed laments like "Nobody’s Baby Now" make way for electrically charged storms such as "Jangling Jack," all while Cave threads every word with fever-dream intensity. At the vortex of it all spins "Red Right Hand," a noir prophecy that still creeps under your skin, and the lascivious "Loverman," which slithers with both allure and menace. Each note feels like it’s carved in candlewax, flickering with equal parts desire and dread.

By the time the funeral-spiced "Lay Me Low" drifts in, the album’s ceremonial march is impossible to escape—each track feels meticulously staged, designed to usher you from confessional whispers to apocalyptic howls. The haunted reprise of "Do You Love Me? (Part 2)" delivers you to the exit, heart pounding, unsure if you’ve attended a savage sermon or a love affair turned séance. On "Let Love In," Nick Cave and his madcap congregation blend gothic grandeur with predatory rhythms, making devotion feel dangerous and heartbreak taste almost sweet. It’s an electrified waltz at the edge of the abyss, and in the weirdly beautiful year of 2025, its spell hasn’t dimmed one bit. - Celia