Four (Acts of Love) is the sixth studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Mick Harvey – and his second since leaving Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. It was released in June 2013 under Mute Records. The 14 tracks make up a song cycle, bookended by "Praise the Earth (Wheels of Amber and Gold)" and "Praise the Earth (An Ephemeral Play)". The album includes eclectic covers including The Saints' punk "The Story of Love", P. J. Harvey's "Glorious" – she also duets with Harvey on the track – and Van Morrison's "The Way Young Lovers Do" off Astral Weeks.
| Four (Acts of Love) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 11, 2013 | |||
| Studio | Grace Lane Studio and Atlantis Sound, Melbourne | |||
| Genre | Pop, Rock | |||
| Length | 33:03 | |||
| Label | Mute | |||
| Producer | Mick Harvey | |||
| Mick Harvey chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 70/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Clash | 9/10[3] |
| Record Collector | [4] |
| Blurt Magazine | [5] |
| Drowned in Sound | 7/10[6] |
| MusicOMH |  [7] |
| PopMatters | 6/10[8] |
Track listing
editAll tracks composed by Mick Harvey; except where indicated
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Praise the Earth (Wheels of Amber and Gold)" | Based on a hymn by Bishop R. Heber | 2:12 |
| 2. | "Glorious" | P. J. Harvey | 3:27 |
| 3. | "Midnight and the Ramparts" | 2:16 | |
| 4. | "Summertime in New York" | Tony McKay | 3:15 |
| 5. | "Where There's Smoke (Before)" | 1:26 | |
| 6. | "God Made the Hammer" | 2:39 | |
| 7. | "I Wish That I Were Stone" | 1:34 | |
| 8. | "The Way Young Lovers Do" | Van Morrison | 2:48 |
| 9. | "A Drop, An Ocean" | 1:14 | |
| 10. | "The Story of Love" | Ed Kuepper | 3:35 |
| 11. | "Where There's Smoke (After)" | 1:32 | |
| 12. | "Wild Hearts" | Roy Orbison, Will Jennings | 3:53 |
| 13. | "Fairy Dust" | 1:44 | |
| 14. | "Praise the Earth (An Ephemeral Play)" | 4:08 |
Personnel
edit- Mick Harvey – vocals, keyboards, drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, photography
- J.P. Shilo – electric guitar, violin
- Rosie Westbrook – double bass
- Technical
- David McCluney – engineer
References
edit- ^ "Four (Acts of Love) Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ Jurek, Thom. "Four (Acts of Love)". Allmusic. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
- ^ Smith, Mat (May 3, 2013). "Mick Harvey – Four (Acts of Love)". Clashmusic.com. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
- ^ Staunton, Terry. "Four (Acts of Love)". Recordcollectormag.com. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
- ^ Toland, Michael. "Mick Harvey – Four (Acts of Love)". Blurt Magazine. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ Zevolli, Giuseppe (April 26, 2013). "Album Review". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ Saunders, Chris (April 22, 2013). "Four (Acts of Love)". MusicOMH. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ Schurr, Maria (June 10, 2013). "Mick Harvey: Four (acts of Love)". PopMatters. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
External links
edit