"Nocturama" is the twelfth studio album by Australian rock band, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It was released on 3rd February 2003 on the Mute Records label. The album is notably the last one featuring founding member Blixa Bargeld who decided to depart from the band to focus fully on his main project, "Einstürzende Neubauten."
The album was recorded in just a period of one week, marking it as one of the band's quickest records to complete. Produced by Nick Launay and Nick Cave, the album showed a mix of the band's signature sound with some more accessible rock elements.
"Nocturama" is not considered among the band's strongest work by many fans and critics alike. Some critics argued it does not bring anything substantially new to the band's discography. However, tracks like "Dead man in my bed", "Still in love", and "Wonderful Life" were praised within the album. Despite this, the album charted in various countries, reaching #27 in the UK and #68 in Australia, which presented the band's broad fan base's loyalty.
The album's title, "Nocturama", denotes a place for night-dwelling animals, a play on "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds" often being called a nocturnal beast. It's a band that has always thrived in the gloom and the underbelly, and "Nocturama" captures a moment of twilight transition for them.
