The sound of "The Boatman's Call", released in 1997, was a radical departure from the archetypal and violent narratives of the band's past, featuring songs about relationships, loss, and longing, often with sparse arrangements. Cave revealed his mindset during the creation of the album in a 2008 interview: "When I was making half that record I was furious because certain things had happened in my love life that seriously pissed me off. And some of those songs came straight out of that. I don't regret making it ... the songs are of a moment when you felt a certain way. When ... you just think, 'Fuck - please!'" The album's corresponding tour was later documented on the 2008 live album "Live at the Royal Albert Hall". After the release of the album, Cave embarked on a brief hiatus, during which time he remarried.