Based on 9 reviews from outlets we track. Scores run 70 to 100.
By the numbers: The third best-reviewed album of 2024 we've tracked. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds's best-reviewed album here since Ghosteen (2019).
| The gist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Guardian via Wikipediaby Alexis Petridis | 5/5 | 100 | 2024 | “Contemplating pain, death and suffering, rock’s former prince of darkness finds euphoria despite it all, on an album of contagious joy and thrilling melody” |
| The Independent via Wikipediaby Helen Brown | 5/5 | 100 | 2024 | “Swinging between doubt and faith, this is a record that can feel fathomless but leaves you buoyant” |
| DIY via Wikipediaby Joe Goggins | 5/5 | 100 | 2024 | “It is genuinely moving to hear the one-time Prince of Darkness finding so much beauty in the world around him, even after everything life has thrown at him in recent…” |
| Uncut via Wikipediaby Alastair McKay | 9/10 | 90 | 2024 | |
| Clash via Wikipediaby Robin Murray | 9/10 | 90 | 2024 | “Each project Nick Cave undertakes begins with a blank slate. Starting from nothing, and with huge exertion of will, something – some remarkable thing” |
| NME via Wikipediaby Andrew Trendell | 4/5 | 80 | 2024 | “Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' Wild God' review: Once the godfather of goth, now a freewheelin' preacher of joy, Cave elevates above the grief” |
| Pitchfork via Wikipediaby Stuart Berman | 8.0/10 | 80 | 2024 | |
| AllMusic via Wikipediaby Mark Deming | 4/5 | 80 | ||
| Rolling Stone via Wikipediaby Brenna Ehrlich | 3.5/5 | 70 | 2024 | “Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' 'Wild God' Review” |
Every Sunday: the week's new albums, scored by the critics. Plus our own reviews when we post them. Free, and one click to leave.
More from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
More Indie & Alternative from around 2024
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How the Breakdown works
Every outlet’s score is converted to 0–100 (2/5 is 40, 5.9/10 is 59, a B+ is 88) and averaged. Grades follow the B-Side scale: A is 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60. Approval is the share of critics who scored it 75 or higher; the Breakdown shows green at 75 and up, red below. Divisiveness asks a different question: not how many critics liked it, but how close their scores are to each other. Five critics who all give it 50 are Unanimous, even though none of them liked it. The labels run Unanimous, Broad agreement, Some debate, Divided, and Contentious. Replay rate comes from listeners, not critics: yes counts fully, a few tracks counts half, no counts zero. The gist quotes each outlet’s own summary of its review. Published is the date on the review itself, read from the outlet’s page, so you can see whether an album’s reputation came at release or years later. Scores marked est. come from reviews that publish no number. Scores marked via Wikipedia are archive ratings, mostly for older albums, taken from the “Professional ratings” box on the album’s Wikipedia page (published openly through Wikidata); each links to the original review when we can find it online, and to that Wikipedia entry when we can’t. When an outlet reviewed an album twice, years apart (often for a reissue), both scores count, each labeled with its year.
A-Side marks the critics’ top tier. An album earns it automatically, from its numbers alone: a Breakdown of 90 or higher, from at least 5 reviews, with at least 75% approval. Nobody hands it out and nobody can buy it; if new reviews pull an album below the line, it loses the badge.










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