HARVEY MILK - Special Wishes

Finally! Harvey Milk are finally back! And while "Special Wishes" is anything but a masterpiece, it does mark the return of a band that, in its own way, is legendary, the architects, back in the Nineties, of a couple of evolved doom albums with "progressive" leanings that could make your skin crawl (and of which, at the very least, "My Love Is Higher Than Your Assessment of What My Love Could Be" (1996) remains a superb work). On those records, the band made up of Creston Spiers (guitar, vocals), Stephen Tanner (bass) and Paul Trudeau (drums) let themselves be bewitched by the heavy, majestic sound of Melvins; they worshipped the flayed-alive rock of Big Black; they learned the progressive shortcuts and tragic grandeur of Type 0 Negative, while, in turn, flirting with perverse dreams and macabre temptations in the manner of Swans. A sound, ultimately, deeply emotional and "theatrical", with Spiers' voice literally cutting in two a gargantuan union of metallic heaviness and desperate melodicism.

Today, after the "Kelly Sessions" of 2004, "Special Wishes" returns to flaunt those wonders, although, it must be said, the colors are a little faded and the inspiration is uneven. The formula, moreover, while remaining essentially unchanged, has been, how to put it, slightly "normalized", through the insertion of some more markedly rock moments that, in some cases, don't shy away from almost watered-down-grunge solutions. This is the case, for example, with "Once In A While", a kind of dark-ballad with melancholically romantic tones; and with "The End", a crepuscular melody fueled by Pearl Jam. We also didn't expect a subdued folk piece like "Old Glory", but it's also true that the band has every (sacrosanct!) right to try new approaches (even if the results aren't always what was hoped for). It's reassuring, however, to know that, at least as far as the good old "progressive" doom is concerned, the band's output still has substance.

So, starting with "I've Got A Love", things start heading in the right direction: imperious vocals, a solemn kammerspiel pace, a meditative yet decadent guitar solo. It's a bit like reuniting with old friends, really. And the confirmation comes in the following "War" (martial, vaguely airy, with those small distorted epileptic fits that are always a joy), "Crush Them All" (dark and introverted), "Instrumental" (a brief instrumental primer for newcomers) and "Love Swing" (all jolts, muddy panoramas and psychedelic whirls). But, truth be told, it's not even for these that "Special Wishes" deserves at least some of your attention. That attention, in fact, Harvey Milk will win immediately with the eight-odd minutes of "Mothers Day", yet another journey into a psyche assailed by tensions, memories and shadows that, should you be lucky enough to come across that masterpiece that is "My Love Is Higher Than Your Assessment of What My Love Could Be", will seem (why not?) not too dissimilar from your own.

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12/10/2006