Labels: Relapse
Review by: Kunal Nandi
Legendary Atlanta, Georgia heavyweights Harvey Milk are having something of a renaissance ten years after the fact. They split up a long time ago, but what with the current musical climate edging towards praise of all things slow, low and heavy, HM’s cult status has risen to the point where the EBay feeding frenzies around their records is rife and they are probably being name-checked without people having actually heard them.
Their full-lengths, of which there are a few, are painfully hard to come by, but the singles are as rare as golden batshit. Many of the tracks had to come from the personal collection of fellow Georgian and Chunklet Magazine editor Henry Owings, who also provides some great liner notes. Despite being recorded over a variety of sessions over a period of years, this collection still sounds remarkably cohesive, proving that Harvey Milk defined their own approach and style from the outset. The main thing is how fresh it is, and how well it’s stood the test of time! If this came out today, people would be all over this. They were obviously years ahead of their time, but I’m glad they’re getting the recognition they deserve.
So, what do you get encapsulated on a shiny disc then? On a basic level, Harvey Milk play dense, heavy, noisy stoner sludge stuff, like a nastier, less melodic Melvins. The pace varies a great deal, veering from pretty speedy to painfully slow, and some songs are pretty straightforward rockers whilst others are exercises in mathematical precision for both player and listener, but the heaviness is the main thing. Usually all this would be enough to get my dander up. Delve beneath the surface however, and you have a real emotional core lacking in most heavy bands, with every howled lyric shot through with meaning.
I’m now going on a soul-destroying hunt to find the rest of their stuff. Wish me luck!