Harvey Milk's Stephen Tanner Reveals 'Things Haven't Gone Well' as Music Blues

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Jul 9, 2014

It's been four years since sludge experimentalists Harvey Milk's last LP, A Small Turn in Human Kindness, which has no doubt been a bum-out for fans. Bassist Stephen Tanner apparently feels the same, as he's unearthed plans to deliver a debut solo LP called Things Haven't Gone Well as Music Blues.

The project's first full-length drops August 26 through Thrill Jockey, with the LP having been in the works since 2010. Tanner is said to have started work on the set at Harvey Milk vocalist/guitarist Creston Spier's home in Georgia, triggered by a series of sad events including the death of Tanner's friend and !!! drummer Jerry Fuchs.

"Depression has always been the main theme in Harvey Milk and all that started when Jerry passed away," he explained of the set's genesis in a statement. "I didn't have a job, I didn't have anywhere to live, my girlfriend and I broke up. I stayed at Creston's house which was more depressing than anything, for three months."

Recording sessions took place between Spier's home and Tanner's Brooklyn apartment, with the song cycle being inspired by metallic touchstones like Melvins as much as the film score work of Ennio Morricone and John Carpenter. The slow and heavy proceedings are said to be "dirgey" and melancholy, while allowing for the occasional boogieing moments. You'll find the epic, snail-paced doomscape of the album's "91771" down below.

Thematically, the album homes in on topics like Tanner's birth ("Premature Caesarean Removal Delivery"), while also seemingly weighing in on depression via tracks "Hopelessness and Worthlessness," "Trying and Giving Up" and "Tremendous Misery Sets In," among other gloomily titled tunes. You'll find the full tracklist down below.

Up above, you'll see the grim, dirty sink scene that serves as the artwork. A double-LP edition will be pressed onto black wax, as well as a limited edition of 500 on "shit brown."

Things Haven't Gone Well:

1. 91771
2. Premature Caesarean Removal Delivery
3. Teach The Children
4. Hopelessness and Worthlessness
5. Trying and Giving Up
6. Great Depression
7. Failure
8. Death March
9. It's Not Going to Get Better
10. Tremendous Misery Sets In
11. The Price is Wrong
12. Bonus Track

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