The legendary and highly prolific Mick Harvey‘s collaboration with Mexican singer and filmmaker Amanda Acevedo continues to bloom with a glorious blush as they release a new single ‘Perfect Storm’, ahead of news of a new originals album entitled ‘Psychedelia in White’ and an UK/European tour.
‘Perfect Storm’ positively shivers and shimmers with a mysterious timbre, a drone buzz hovers in the ether while Acevado’s vocals are ethereal and enigmatic, with an Arctic edge, cold and observant. Backing vocals add a certain Nordic edge: an haunting, ghostly presence.
The lyrics are poetic and opaque, imbued with an air of melancholy:
Insurrection of salt today
Before I cause the storm
Lightning thunder and water stare
While I become the storm
(the storm, the storm)
Acevado explains says of the track:
I wrote the lyrics of “Perfect Storm” after Peter McNestry sent me an early instrumental of his composition with that title. His music took my imagination to a very specific place, and it was easy for me to know what I needed to write. It’s a journey and a statement of confidence and playfulness, mixed with a dark stormy feeling. The Storm starts to develop slowly and as it grows and grows its presence becomes impossible to ignore.
Harvey adds:
This was created a couple of years back by Amanda and a Canadian called Peter McNestry who runs a musical excursion called Pink Elephants. They made the track through file exchanges, and once we decided to include it on the album project, I worked extensively on the original recordings adding guitars, sound effects and backing vocals.
The video is directed and edited by Acevedo and features Harvey and Acevedo in an enigmatic enthralling performance:
‘Perfect Storm’ is out today and available via all the usual download and streaming sites.
The album ‘Psychedelia in White’ is out through Mute Records on 4 September and you can pre-order here and through the link below.
‘Psychedelia in White’ is Harvey and Acevedo’s third album together, and is the follow up to ‘Phantasmagoria in Blue’. Where the duo’s debut, and their second release, Golden Mirrors (The Uncovered Sessions Vol. 1) were predominately reinterpretations, for this album, the duo have recorded seven tracks of original material exploring some of the themes from their debut – mythology, love, hope, loss and mysticism – but with a distinct shift in musical style and an overarching theme of finding a safe space within the chaos and confusion of the outside world.
Harvey and Acevedo will be supporting Mercury Rev on tour throughout the UK and Europe in October, followed by headlining dates in November – details below.
Mercury Rev Tour:
14 Oct – Vicar Street – Dublin (Ireland)
15 Oct – Queen Margaret Union – Glasgow (UK)
16 Oct – 02 Ritz – Manchester (UK)
17 Oct – Hackney Church – London (UK)
19 Oct – TivoliVredenburg Pandora Hall – Utrecht (NL)
20 Oct – Cultuurcentrum Hasselt – Hasselt (NL)
21 Oct – Stadsschouwburg Leuven – Leuven (BE)
22 Oct – Le Trianon – Paris (FR)
24 Oct – Stadsschouwburg Brugge – Bruges (BE)
26 Oct – DR Koncerthuset Studie 2 – Copenhagen (DK)
Mick Harvey and Amanda Acevedo tour:
27 Oct – Kulturkvarteret, Kristianstad (SE)
28 Oct – Medley, Malmo (SE)
29 Oct – Debaser Nova, Stockholm (SE)
30 Oct – Dokkuset, Trondheim (NO)
31 Oct – MIR, Oslo (NO)
2 Nov – URO Haugar, Tønsberg (NO)
3 Nov – Lille Ole Bull, Bergen (NO)
4 Nov – The 100 Club, London (UK)
You can read an interview I did with Harvey here.
Feature Photograph: Alex Hallag
