Critically acclaimed artist Nick Mulvey returns after three years with ‘Dark Harvest, Pt. 1,’ a scintillating ode to survival and hope.
Stream: ‘Dark Harvest, Pt. 1’ – Nick Mulvey
It’s been three years since we’ve heard from Nick Mulvey. Since then, he’s been on a journey of endurance, persistence, and survival.
Rising from these times, he returns with his fourth full-length studio album, Dark Harvest, Pt. 1, an exploration of Mulvey’s inner musings.
Mulvey has already amassed critical praise from the industry, having been shortlisted twice for a Mercury Prize as a solo artist. This record, however, represents the first of his projects to be released via his independent label, Supernatural Records. The project also introduces world-class collaborators, such as Jimmy Hogarth (Amy Winehouse, Paolo Nutini), Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, Jon Hopkins), and the Parisi Brothers (Ed Sheeran, Fred Again). Together, they’ve crafted some of the most esoteric and insightful tracks to be seen from Mulvey thus far.

Released June 6, Dark Harvest, Pt. 1 combines the synthetic textures of futuristic soundscapes, blending raw, stripped-back vocals that invoke a sense of intimacy and closeness all throughout. The record’s storytelling is just as much of an exploration of grief, loss, and survival as it is an exploration of Mulvey’s musical capabilities.
According to Mulvey, the record arrives from a period of grief and loss; he shares, “For me, Dark Harvest, Pt. 1 tracks the descent and grief that hit me in the last three years, during the losses and challenges I faced. Often brutal, these years have tenderised me, as I know they have others. Making this music carried me through. Back when I was at the hardest point, when I was on my knees, a friend said to me, ‘There will be a ‘dark harvest’ to all of this Nick, there will be treasure from these struggles.’ And she was right.”

The album’s titular track, “Dark Harvest” is underpinned by electronic nodes that drive his organic instrumentation forward, while “Radical Tenderness” and “River to the Real” also nod to a relationship with his spiritual self. Arriving like an interlude, “Hey, how was your day?” feels almost like a pause in thought amidst these inner workings. The expansive sonic release in “Holy Days” arrives like hope in the storm, before descending back again in “My Maker.” The dark harvest is cyclical, after all. Soft fingerpicking guitar, sparkling piano, and electronic textures further bolster Mulvey’s evocative vocals – a tender, yet effective combination of the calm and the chaos.
Mulvey himself is no stranger to pushing boundaries when it comes to musical expression. Coming from a background of Ethnomusicology, Mulvey was a seminal part of Portico Quartet until 2011, when he decided to embark on his solo career. After releasing four solo records, Mulvey is set to embark on a world tour to accompany Dark Harvest, Pt. 1.
Ushering in Mulvey’s new chapter in musicalities and storytelling, the ‘dark harvest’ he speaks of is surely something that provides hope to listeners everywhere – the hope, the grief, and the light we find in hard times.
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© Liam Maxwell
Dark Harvest, Pt. 1
an album by Nick Mulvey