Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds have released their latest album, Wild God, today. The album, described as “surprisingly joyous,” marks a new chapter in Cave’s long and storied career. While fans dive into the new music, Cave is also making headlines for his recent comments on international affairs, specifically regarding the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

As reported by Stereogum, Cave’s remarks came during a guest appearance on the Reason podcast, hosted by Nick Gillespie. When asked about his differing views with musicians like Roger Waters, a staunch supporter of BDS, Cave didn’t hold back. He labeled Waters’ approach to the movement as “deeply embarrassing,” contrasting it with another BDS supporter, Brian Eno, whom Cave described as “a thoughtful individual.” He emphasizes that while he does not support the Israeli government, he is concerned about the implications of a cultural boycott on ordinary citizens and the potential for such actions to reinforce negative governmental policies.

Cave elaborated on his stance, explaining his broader opposition to cultural boycotts, saying, “I understand that this is a controversial thing to say. I just don’t agree with a cultural boycott in general. I mean, there are places where it’s worked, I think. Mostly because it doesn’t even work. Clearly, it’s not working in Israel at the moment. In my view, it emboldens the very worst aspects of the current government. They exploit—it’s an isolationist thing, like ‘The whole world is against us. No one will come and play.’ I think that it’s used to further their nefarious agendas, and at the same time punish ordinary fans. That’s just how I feel. It’s awful what’s going on over there. But I don’t feel comfortable with that.”

We recently covered and reviewed Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ recent release of their single “Long Dark Night”, featured on their newest album, Wild God. Read that article here and our other coverage on Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds here.