From that first spoonful of jelly and ice cream to the frantic competitiveness of musical chairs, the birthday party perfectly captured the wonderment of childhood. But once Nick Cave's pillaging troupe of anarchists crashed the soiree all innocence was lost to a wailing blizzard of white noise. In the thunderous bellows of Grinderman's 'Get It On', it once again seems that the original Bad Seed's in no mood to don a party hat. Scraping the skin with torturous razor-sharp distortion, it's a head-fucking whirlwind of inebriated gospel punk blues. It's not exactly lovingly wrapped, but there's no finer birthday present than Grinderman. [Billy Hamilton]