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Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood is an LP which beats a new trail through dusty electronica, following faded footprints but twisting programmed drums and keys, rumbling bass, and Cale's unmistakable aged-to-perfection vocal chords, into new and interesting shapes
New Adventures in Nookie Wood is brimming with ideas, and the album's chopped-up, heavy aesthetic knits them together in a way that means that not one ever feels misdirected.
Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood achieves a balance between uncompromising, avant-garde sound experimentation and pure melodic beauty that is among the most seamless and convincing you will hear all year.
It’s always a thrill to hear Cale pick up pop music and give it a hug, as he does with awkward, abstract glee on Nookie Wood—even if he breaks a few of its bones in the process.
Always expressive, tender and wry where needed, it’s a constant delight even when the tunes themselves feel slightly lacking.
For five songs, it’s the best album ever, rattling along on post-punk guitar flourishes and Cale’s auto-tuned vocal. After that it descends into an enjoyable weirdathon.
The songwriting is meandering and vague, feeling less written than whittled out of an arsenal of studio tricks.
All of its 12 tracks are reckless trials in largely unrelated genres, and most end up errors.
