1.Three Studies Of A Half Human /2. Jester Quantised /3. Fire Without Heat /4. Let The Moon Cry With You /5.Retreat To Barbarism/6.People Are Plastic /7. Hilversum /8. The Mad Decades /9. Hilversum (single edit) /10. Three Studies Of A Half Human (single edit) /11. Jester Quantised (single edit)
Release date: May 29, 2026
Madness the mental state that has inspired artists and intrigued the collective imagination since ancient times. Sometimes, it is viewed as a manifestation of evil and other times as a secret into unknown areas of the psyche. In the famous painting “The Extraction of the Stone of Madness” by Hieronymus Bosch, we see a representation of a superstitious belief according to which madness and foolishness were caused by actual stones lodged in the brain, which then ‘cowboy’ surgeons attempted to remove. Thankfully, humanity has moved on from superstition, if not from being enticed by systems and actors that create maddening situations.
In his latest album, ‘The Mad Decades‘, Nick Carlisle celebrates the self-inflicted madness of humanity and ostracises it for a short time so that after we finish listening to the album, we can live with and feel a bit lighter about it.
With a haunting mix of melancholic psychedelia and glam rock goth, the melodies and the lyrics on this album managed to get a decisive grip on my heart. The little moments within this album, where the riffs of ‘Mad World’ from Tears for Fears and ‘The Order of Death’ by PiL came to mind, unlocked some additional aesthetic dimensions of its music.