A murky collision of sludge metal and noise rock,
Harvey Milk's debut full-length,
My Love Is Higher Than Your Assessment of What My Love Could Be, is a revolution in art metal. Coming out of Athens, Georgia around the same time that Elephant 6 bands like
the Apples in Stereo and
the Olivia Tremor Control were starting to put out music, the album feels like a direct response to the town's indie rock/pop pedigree. Gnarled and muscular, songs like "All the Live Long Day," which features a sledgehammer hitting an anvil as a part of its instrumentation, heave along with little concern for the listener's well-being. For all of its shuddering violence, however, the album also has moments of genuine beauty and tenderness, with singer and guitarist Creston Spiers' bellowing shout tamed into something sweet and fragile on "My Father's Life's Work."
My Love Is Higher Than Your Assessment of What My Love Could Be might be the band's most difficult work, but those with the fortitude to stick it out will find it to be a rewarding debut from one of underground metal's most innovative bands. ~ Gregory Heaney