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Thursday, July 17, 2008
Athens’ Harvey Milk and We Versus the Shark: Pitchfork approved
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We Versus the Shark (from left): Luke Fields, Samantha Paulsen, Jeff Tobias, Scott Smith. Photo: Mike White.
It’s a big day for Athens bands over at Pitchfork, the online arbiter of indie music cool.
The latest albums from Harvey Milk and We Versus the Shark receive very favorable reviews. Harvey Milk’s “Life…the Best Game in Town” gets an 8.6 score (out of a possible 10) and We Versus the Shark’s “Dirty Versions” gets a 7.7.
Of We Versus the Shark, Pitchfork writes: “Their songs aren’t so much played as they are choked within an inch of their life, twitching with unpredictable time signatures and knotty structures, filled with copious and complicated guitar work that exhausts both band and listener, and with vocals that are varying degrees of desperate.” The full review is here.
The review of Harvey Milk’s “Life” recounts the band’s complicated history before launching into glowing praise. Here’s a sample: “Most everything the band’s ever done right — from its ultra-dynamic, frighteningly agile early work to the Dixieland Motörhead maul of its later work — falls into place here, the elements freshly recombined.” Check out the complete review here.
Both albums were also noticed by the Onion’s AV Club, We Versus the Shark getting a grade of B+ here. And like Pitchfork, the AV Club saves its biggest raves for Harvey Milk, giving “Life” an A.
