Video: Mick Harvey Shares New Track 'We Had an Island' From Upcoming Album

Mick Harvey has shared a new track from his first solo album in over 10 years, Five Ways to Say Goodbye, that is due out on May 10, 2024. The new track is Harvey’s interpretation of Bruno Adams (Fatal Shores)’s “We Had an Island”. 

Across the album, the theme of saying goodbye is multifaceted. The album is a reflection of time passed and life elapsed, and a literal goodbye in some instances. “A lot of the songs are by people who have moved on,” says Harvey. “So that does come up. "We Had an Island" is one such example of a track – originally written by Bruno Adams (1963-2009), Harvey shines a light on one of “underground music’s best kept secrets."

The track follows original composition, “When We Were Beautiful & Young”, plus “Setting You Free” by the late David McComb (The Triffids / Blackeyed Susans), and “A Suitcase in Berlin”, a translation and reworking of Marlene Dietrich’s ‘50s ode to Berlin, “Ich Hab’ Noch Einen Koffer in Berlin”, which all feature on the new album, a mix of originals and interpretations, and the fifth release in a series that blends the two. The new 12-track collection will also feature tracks written by Ed Kuepper (co-founder of The Saints), Loene Carmen and Lee Hazelwood.

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. “I don't think cover is appropriate terminology,” says Harvey. “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.”

The album follows Harvey’s recent collaboration with Mexican artist Amanda Acevedo (who also features on Five Ways to Say Goodbye) and will be accompanied by UK and European tour dates in May and June, which can be found below.

TOUR DATES:

5/14/2024 - Antwerp (BE) - Dinsdag Club
5/16/2024 - Valencia (ES), 16 Toneladas
5/17/2024 - Barcelona (ES), Sidecar
5/18/2024 - Madrid (ES), Sala el Sol
5/19/2024 - Zaragoza, (ES) - Bombo Y Platillo
5/23/2024 - Stockholm (SE) - Bar Brooklyn
5/24/2024 - Copenhagen (DE) - Loppen
5/25/2024 - Paris (FR) - Petit Bains
5/26/2024 - London (UK), Omeara 
5/29/2024 - Coimbra (PT), Nereida in Jardim de Sereia (free concert)
5/30/2024 - Leiria (PT), Teatro José Lúcio Da Silva
5/31/2024 - Leiria (PT) - Teatro José Lúcio Da Silva
6/1/2024 - Espinho (PT), Auditório de Espinho
6/2/2024 - Espinho (PT) - Auditório de Espinho
6/7/2024 - Milan (IT), Arci Bellezza 
6/8/2024 - Brno (CZ), Mersey Gathering 
6/11/2024 - Florence (IT) - Scandicci Nazionale Park
6/12/2024 - Fano (IT) - Bagni Elsa
6/13/2024 - Bologna (IT) - Frida Parco

TRACK LISTING

1. Heaven's Gate
2. We Had an Island
3. Demolition
4. The Art of Darkness
5. Setting You Free
6. Alone with the Stars
7. Nashville High
8. Ghost Ships
9. Dirtnap Stories – featuring Amanda Acevedo
10. When We Were Beautiful & Young
11. A Suitcase in Berlin
12. Like a Hurricane

Photo credit: Matthew Ellery

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