Five Ways to Say Goodbye

From 1977 to 2009, Mick Harvey was one of Nick Caves most faithful and valued collaborators, from their early work in the Boys Next Door to their popular and critical peak in the Bad Seeds. While they no longer work together, Cave and Harvey still feel like kindred spirits, and Harveys 2024 album Five Ways to Say Goodbye bears no small resemblance to the spare but elegant approach of Caves albums Skeleton Tree (2016) and Ghosteen (2019), songs full of loss and longing married to arrangements that reflect the protagonists search for grace with a mournful but genuine beauty. The biggest difference between the two is Cave is a master songwriter, while Harvey is talented yet not as prolific, and Five Ways to Say Goodbye is dominated by his interpretations of the work of other tunesmiths, while he contributes only three new songs to this project. Also, Harveys gifts as an arranger allow him to dress these songs in strings and keyboards that are superbly evocative and graceful, and the skills that have allowed him to become a successful composer of film scores are on display here. The album plays like a mood piece, and a brilliantly executed one. Harvey may not have penned most of these selections, but he brings something fiercely individual to his performances: In his hands, Neil Youngs "Like a Hurricane" is a bittersweet meditation on a love that didnt go the distance; Ed Keuppers "Demolition" ponders the dysfunctional bonds of family and loved ones, punctuated with a drum machine that fails to keep the beat; and the reworking of the Marlene Dietrich chestnut "A Suitcase in Berlin" becomes a chronicle of rootlessness and the curse of memory. Harvey has become an eloquent, thoughtful interpretive vocalist whose grasp on this material is as assured and nuanced as the work of a great actor, and the best performances are remarkable in their unforced but genuine power. If Mick Harvey isnt quite the songwriter his old boss Nick Cave is, as a vocalist, arranger, and producer, hes an estimable talent, and Five Ways to Say Goodbye is a remarkable work thats deeply moving and crafted with intelligence and heart. ~ Mark Deming