Mick Harvey and Amanda Acevedo are stepping deeper into their own world. The Australian-Mexican duo have shared the video for new single “Perfect Storm” and announced their new album ‘Psychedelia in White’, arriving September 4 via Mute. The single and video are out now.
The 10-track record was recorded mostly in Australia and mixed in Chile by Alain Johannes. It lands on white vinyl, CD, and digital, and a run of live dates follows: a UK and European tour with Mercury Rev, plus headline shows in Sweden and Norway, closing at The 100 Club in London on November 4.
‘Psychedelia in White’ is the pair’s third album together, following ‘Phantasmagoria in Blue’. Where their debut and second release ‘Golden Mirrors (The Uncovered Sessions Vol. 1)’ leaned on reinterpretations, this one carries seven tracks of original material. The duo revisit themes from their debut, mythology, love, hope, loss, and mysticism, with a shift in musical style and an overarching idea about finding a safe space inside the chaos of the outside world.
“Perfect Storm” sets the tone with woozy, tripped-out psychedelia, Acevedo’s evocative vocals riding a maelstrom of layered guitar and synthesizer washes. The track sounds genuinely immersive, the kind of song that pulls you fully under. She wrote the lyrics after Canadian musician Peter McNestry (who runs the project Pink Elephants) sent her an early instrumental, describing the result as a statement of confidence and playfulness shot through with a dark, stormy feeling. The two built it through file exchanges, and Harvey later layered in guitars, sound effects, and backing vocals.
The album marks a real leap in the duo’s songwriting. It picks up the folklore threads of their debut tracks “Medusa” and “Atlantis” and runs them through playful turns, including “Song for Aurora,” an ode to Marc Bolan stuffed with T-Rex references. Three reinterpretations sit among the originals: a new take on PJ Harvey’s “Slow-Motion-Movie-Star” (which Mick had recorded for his 2007 album ‘Two of Diamonds’), plus translations of Silvio RodrÃguez’s “Sueño Con Serpientes” and Jose Maria Cano and Mecano’s “Bride of the Sea.”
The partnership has roots worth knowing. Acevedo met Harvey years ago in Mexico City while he was touring with PJ Harvey, though the current project didn’t ignite until 2021. In the five years since that first meeting, they’ve put out two albums and toured widely across Europe and Australia, and this kaleidoscopic third record pushes the journey further still.
Tour:
UK / Europe tour with Mercury Rev
Headline shows in Sweden and Norway
November 4 – London, UK at The 100 Club