A soundtrack that makes the intimate seem epic and the quiet seem thunderous. Nick Cave is a man of many hats. Best known as the front-man for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Cave is also a prolific author, composer, screenwriter, and occasional film actor (check out the 1987 cult film Wings of Desire for a peek). The Proposition was Cave's first foray into soundtrack composition, and boy is it a doozy! Sonically a departure from previous work, Cave composed the music and wrote the screenplay for the film of the same name (which came out in 2005 and is available on vinyl for the first time), which follows the harrowing story of bushrangers in late 19th century Australia. Working with fellow Bad Seed Warren Ellis, the duo create a soundtrack that bridges folk, fragmented church hymns, avant-garde drones, haunting violin melodies and whispered lyricism. The sonic narrative the soundtrack creates allows it to stand apart from the movie as a standalone record, but in conjunction with the film it becomes an even more evocative sonic landscape. On tracks like 'The Proposition #1' the dissonant ambient background is cut with Ellis' violin melody to create a sinister sonic palette that places the listener into the tale of suspense and blood. Elsewhere, Cave and Ellis set fluttering piano, shuffling rhythms and swirling violin against flat drones, evoking the wide expanse of the Australian range. The soundtrack is best described by Cave himself: "there are moments of intense violence and there are also moments of long, lyrical, quiet sadness." Limited Edition gold colored vinyl pressing, 16 tracks in all housed in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner. Released by Mute.

• Limited Edition
• available for the first time on vinyl
• gold vinyl
• Mute 2018

reviewed by Ralphy Corduroy 1/2019