Let’s talk contrast, as in the manly, often brutish sounds of Nick Cave’s work with some of the Bad Seeds in Grinderman versus, “We No Who U R,” the first single from Nick Cave and the Bad Seed’s forthcoming album, Push the Sky Away, and its subtle arrangement of electric piano, bass, slight, electronic beats and flute. Grinderman would have never done flute. Grinderman would have sent you back to band camp with that flute busted in two. Yet, for Cave, who was seeking another new direction after two Grinderman albums and one by the Bad Seeds which kept much of Grinderman’s mystique, “We No Who U R,” is both a simple statement and a perfectly executed career reset for a man and a band not bound by expectations. That’s what contrast can do.

STREAM: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – We No Who U R

For more information on Push the Sky Away, it’s out Feb. 19th, and a list of current tour dates, there’s this, a link to Nick Cave’s website.