The opening line of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ new album Skeleton Tree sounds like it could be plucked from anywhere in the band’s gut-punchingly grim catalogue.
Yet, when Cave announces “you fell from the sky, crash landed in a field near the River Adur” on opener Jesus Alone, he’s making a starkly literal reference to the death of his son Arthur last year.
Much has been written about how Cave managed to translate that nigh-unknowable grief onto tape, and take our word for it, it’ll be spoken about for quite some time. It’s that powerful.
So, in some ways it’s odd to see Skeleton Tree’s success as a cause for celebration, but the fact it’s topped the ARIA Album Chart is worth mentioning. Not only is it goddamn art worthy of universal recognition, it’s also the 15th Australian album to top the chart this year, setting a new record for Aussie #1s in a calendar year.
A cursory look back over this year’s charts reveals it’s been a huge year for Australian releases, demonstrating the variety of stellar tunes this fair land has to offer. Seriously: not in the mood for bleak introspection? Mosh out to Violent Soho and The Amity Affliction, who both scored #1s.
Something for dad? Jimmy Barnes and Keith Urban have you sorted. Delta Goodrem and Human Nature are in the mix for mum, too.
Actually, if your mum’s ~sick~, she might’ve been getting down to RÜFÜS, Flume or Sia when they peaked the charts. FYI, The Temper Trap, Matt Corby, Hilltop Hoods, The Cat Empire and The Avalanches round out the list of numero uno Aussie releases in 2016.
2013 was the previous record holder with 14, and there’s obviously still a few months left before we’re done with ’16. Here’s hoping we can get another Aussie record as good as Skeleton Tree to the top in that time.
