Displaying his extraordinary vocal range, Mick Harvey has unveiled his latest single ‘We Had An Island’ ahead of his first solo album ‘Five Ways To Say Goodbye’.
The new track is Harvey’s interpretation of Bruno Adams (Fatal Shores)’s ‘We Had an Island’.
‘We Had An Island’ is an achingly beautiful song about the the delicious and longing effects of memory inflected with melancholy and yearning. Harvey’s vocals are that of a Las Vegas crooner with its timbre and expression, the instrumentation softly caressing and immersive as the guitars ripple like an ocean wave.
And yet the normality of pleasure wrought from memories, there is a hint of sadness and regret and something more sinister about the lost love:
‘We Had An Island’ is out now and ‘Five Ways To Say Goodbye’ is out on 10 May.
The new album sees Harvey create a coherent mood between other people’s songs and his own, as though they are all part of the same lineage and interconnected sonic world. As such, these re-workings go far beyond functioning as simple cover versions. Harvey says:
I don’t think cover is appropriate terminology. What I am doing is not, for the most part, a copy of the original. To my mind it’s more in the traditional of how songs used to be, where they would mutate and you’d end up with lots of different versions. One is really just passing the music on and sharing the songs further.
You can pre-order here or through the link below.
This follows Harvey’s recent collaboration with Mexican artist Amanda Acevedo, who features on Five Ways to Say Goodbye, and will join him for UK and European tour dates in May and June – full details below.
Mick Harvey, founding member of seminal and legendary bands, The Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, has made a profound and lasting contribution to indie music. His ability to write and co-write some of the classic songs of these bands have only been matched by his cool and collective demeanour – a steadfast hand at the tiller in bands containing the most explosive personalities (Tracy Pew, Rowland S Howard and of course Nick Cave). Since leaving Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Harvey has not been idle – releasing solo albums (including a luminescent Gainsbourg series), writing screen music, collaborating with Amanda Acevedo and playing live.
Mick Harvey Tour
14 May – Antwerp (BE), Legendarische Dinsdag Club – short cabaret set
16 May – Valencia (ES), 16 Toneladas
17 May – Barcelona (ES), Sidecar
18 May – Madrid (ES), Sala el Sol
19 May – Zaragoza (ES), Bombo Y Platillo
23 May – Stockholm (SE), Bar Brooklyn
24 May – Copenhagen (DE), Loppen
25 May – Paris (FR), Petit Bains
26 May – London (UK), Omeara
29 May – Coimbra (PT), Nereida Fest (free concert)
31 May – Leiria (PT), Teatro José Lúcio Da Silva
1 June – Espinho (PT), Auditório de Espinho – SOLD OUT
2 June – Espinho (PT), Auditório de Espinho
7 June – Milan (IT), Arci Bellezza
8 June – Brno (CZ), Mersey Gathering
11 June – Florence (IT), Scandicci Nazionale Park
12 June – Fano (IT), Bagni Elsa
13 June – Bologna (IT), Frida Parco
14 June – Pula (HR), Rojc Community Centre
Latest ticket links can be found here
Feature Photograph: Matthew Ellery
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