As you might have already gathered, we’re rather keen on Nick Cave here at . The crown prince of gothic balladeering has never gone out of fashion with audio engineers and sonic testers worldwide, predominantly because he’s a genuine visionary who loves nothing more than stuffing an album full of meaty textures and experimental sonic landscapes. Like , Aphex Twin and Massive Attack, he’s a bona fide test room darling, 1997’s has often been our test album of choice, and you’ll often find peppered across reviews for high-end hi-fi down to cheap and cheerful earbuds.
The Aussie’s 2019 release , officially as part of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, has also provided hi-res fodder, a heartrending work of grief-laden intimacy that can’t be beaten as a tester of emotional transparency, detail and organisation. Cave’s back catalogue is heaving, and it can be hard to know where to begin if you’re seeking a way to get the most out of a would-be hi-fi set-up or potential headphones purchase. You need something to ease you into Cave’s oft-intense world, something with enough simplicity to be accessible but with enough depth and musical interest to be worthy of consideration in the first place.
In collaboration with fellow Australian Warren Ellis, the soundtrack to possesses that perfect balance, so much so that it's become a staple of my testing rotation whenever I want to see how well a particular candidate can bring out the rich sense of melancholy that infuses the mov.