Following on from their debut release for 2020 in ‘Do Your Worst’, Melbourne’s HARVES serves up their second offering for the year in their new single, ‘The River’.
A song that continues to explore a rich balance of production and keys beneath crisp vocals, ‘The River’ charms with its use of space and brooding delivery. Written and recorded between band members Samuel K Sproull and Matthew Wright’s respective homes during Victoria’s lockdown, ‘The River’ uses the feeling of isolation and yearning to form the essence of their latest track.
‘The River’ has been born directly out of the experience the duo have been going through – along with the rest of Victoria – under tight COVID-19 restrictions that have limited interactions and connections with anybody and (mostly) everybody. As the song continues, the vocals ponder what is coming on the other side, chasing an answer to a problem that seems, at present, unsolvable.
“It’s a bit of a metaphor about being creatures of habit, good and bad. About not making changes even though you know what you need to do and hoping that one day the answer will present itself. In our case specifically, I guess that answer was to start releasing some songs and let that dictate change.” Harves
Built on a strong rhythm and groove, ‘The River’ builds around Wright’s vocals, ebbing and flowing as the intensity of the track swirls. “All my friends are caught in the glitter, while my heart is lost in the river…” he laments, leaning heavy into this feeling of restlessness and detachment.
The single shares some threads with ‘Do Your Worst’, released earlier this year; both songs built on meticulously formed beds of instrumentation. Both building on a love for ambient and experimental sounds, ‘The River’ is Harves moving into a new space, further introducing themselves to listeners with this new single.
“After realising we were gonna be stuck inside for a while, we committed ourselves to using the time to sort out a workflow that meant we could finish a bunch of new material that was hovering about. It’s been nice to develop some focus around these songs and get them finished instead of constantly throwing paint at the canvas.” Harves
Both Sproull and Wright have been collaborating for quite a while now, with the Harves project existing in some different unofficial guises between the two musicians until ‘Do Your Worst’ was picked up for placement in the 2020 romantic drama, After We Collided.
From there, Harves have been working on the finishing touches of more new material to come in 2021, ‘The River’ being the latest piece of the puzzle.
‘The River’ is out now!
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