At the beginning of the year, the legendary Mick Harvey (The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) announced his collaboration with enigmatic Mexican singer and filmmaker Amanda Acevedo on a new album entitled ‘Phantasmagoria In Blue’, along with news of a string of dates in Europe. Today, a taste of what can be expected is delivered in the single ‘Milk and Honey’: a delectable sonic amuse bouche for the main course.
Plucking guitars and a ghostly presence in the ether introduce a reflective and haunting refrain – Harvey’s vocals deep and sonorous like a Las Vegas crooner with sweeping, weeping strings creating a profound base. Acevedo’s vocals drip with heartache and yearning – a velvet contrast to Harvey deep timbre when the two voices combine. The song has an ethereal flow with an elegiac tone: it is statuesque and imperial.
The accompanying video directed by Harvey and Acevedo is simple to reflect the dreamy music: bucolic scenes of Harvey and Acevedo along a luscious seaside sunset: peaceful and beautiful like the music itself.
Utterly exquisite.
The single is available through all the usual download and streaming services, and you can pre-order the album here (due out on 1 September 2023) and though the link below:
Meanwhile, Harvey and Acevedo will be embarking on a massive European tour together with J.P. Shilo, and Sometimes with Others on the The Invisible Blue Unicorns Tour – a unified ensemble for a big showcase experience with the artists delving into their individual catalogues. Details are as follows:
4 May – Leipzig (DE) – Moritzbastei
5 May – Wroclaw (PL) – Akademia
6 May – Wien (AT) – Porgy & Bess
7 May – Munich (DE) – Rote Sonne
9 May – Bologna (IT) – Locomotiv
10 May – Montecosaro (IT) – Mount Echo
11 May – Torino (IT) – Spazio 211
13 May – Belgrade (RS) – KC Grad
14 May – Zagreb (HR) – Mocvara
15 May – Ljubljana (SI) – Gala Hala
17 May – Geneva (CH) – L’Usine
18 May – Martigny (CH) – Caves du Manoir
20 May – Paris (FR) – Petit Bain
21 May – Kortrijk (BE) – Wildewesten
22 May – Liege (BE) – Reflektor
23 May – Hamburg (DE) – Kampnagel
24 May – Copenhagen (DE) – Loppen
27 May – Brno (CZ) – Mersey Gathering 4
28 May – Berlin (DE) – Lido
More details and tickets here.
Feature Photograph: Matthew Ellery
