On Mick Harvey's Five Ways to Say Goodbye the Birthday Party co-founder delivers an introspective collection of original compositions and poignant covers of songs by Neil Young, Marlene Dietrich, the Saints, and more.
On Mick Harvey's new album, Five Ways to Say Goodbye, the seasoned musician presents his fifth solo album made up of introspective acoustic rock, blending original compositions with poignant covers. The album features Harvey's reimagined version of Marlene Dietrich's 1950s Berlin tribute, "A Suitcase In Berlin" ("Ich Hab' Noch Einen Koffer in Berlin"), a track initially unveiled as a standalone single in 2023, offering a tantalizing taste of what was to come.
A testament to Harvey's passion for music which came before, the album also pays homage to Australian artists with covers of Ed Kuepper's "Demolition," Fatal Shore's "We Had an Island," David McComb's "Setting You Free," Lo Carmen's "Nashville High," and the Saints' "Ghost Ships." These interpretations seamlessly weave alongside Harvey's take on Lee Hazelwood's "Dirtnap Stories" and Neil Young's "Like A Hurricane," showcasing his ability to reimagine classics in his distinctive style.
Harvey's music career traces back to his days at Caulfield Grammar School in Melbourne, Australia, where he began playing in bands. Together with schoolmates Nick Cave, Phill Calvert, and Tracy Pew, Harvey formed the Boys Next Door, which later evolved into the Birthday Party upon their move to London in the early 1980s. Renowned for their raw performances and groundbreaking recordings, the Birthday Party's impact remains significant in the music landscape.
Beyond his celebrated collaborations with Nick Cave and PJ Harvey, Harvey's solo career spans nearly two decades, from his debut album One Man's Treasure in 2005 to FOUR (Acts of Love) in 2013. Notably, he embarked on a four-volume project translating Serge Gainsbourg's songs, initiated in the 1990s, and more recently explored the fictional WW1 poet Edgar Bourchier's story through music in collaboration with Christopher Richard Barker on The Fall and Rise of Edgar Bourchier and the Horrors of War (2018).
With Five Ways to Say Goodbye, Mick Harvey continues to evolve, offering a soulful blend of nostalgia and originality that underscores his enduring influence on popular music.