Wild God is the eighteenth studio album by the Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 30 August 2024 on PIAS.
Produced by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, the album was mixed by Dave Fridmann and preceded by the singles "Wild God", "Frogs" and "Long Dark Night".
[8] Wild God sees the band exploring themes of "convention and experimentation" that are set to enhance "rich imagery and emotive narratives".
"[11] Cave and Ellis decided upon the album title, Wild God, in November 2023 after finishing the mixing process at David Fridmann's studio in Cassadaga, New York.
We discussed the titles and thought Conversion was probably too overtly religious and may scare people off; we both liked Joy, but I was concerned that the word 'Joy' might be interpreted as 'Happy', which felt misleading.
"[12] The album's earliest recording sessions took place at Soundtree studios in Shoreditch, East London in the spring of 2023, with Nick Cave on piano and Warren Ellis on synthesizer.
"[11] Cave and Ellis wanted to expand the sound to include bass guitar, however longtime Bad Seeds bassist Martyn P. Casey was based in Australia and unable to quickly attend the recording sessions.
Cave and Ellis invited Radiohead bass guitarist Colin Greenwood, who had played with the duo on their 2022 Carnage tour, to participate in the recording sessions due to his proximity to the studio.
The album ultimately found each of the Bad Seeds members contributing fully to the recording process for the first time since Skeleton Tree (2016), with guitarist George Vjestica noting: "On Wild God, it felt like there was more space to express yourself.
'"[11] Longtime drummer Thomas Wydler, who retired from touring with the Bad Seeds in 2018 due to health complications, stated: "The first second I started playing on the new songs it was clear it was going to be different from Ghosteen, Skeleton Tree and Push the Sky Away.
The opening acts in mainland Europe were Dry Cleaning or The Murder Capital, while Black Country, New Road was named support in the United Kingdom, Dublin and Paris.
[13] On 6 September 2024, Cave announced 2025 North American dates for "The Wild God Tour", beginning 15 April in Boston's Agganis Arena and ending on 14 May in San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
[15] Alexis Petridis, writing in The Guardian, gave Wild God five stars, stating "this masterpiece will make you fall back in love with life."
"[19] NME praised the record as the band's most upbeat offering in decades but still "coloured with the many shades of a life so challenging and weathered."
[20] Numerous critics and publications listed Wild God in their year-end ranking of the best albums of 2024, often inside the top ten.