Opal Nightly is the result of Elliott Harvey's collaboration with two classical composers, a sound designer, an experimental bassist, a medieval harpist, and the drummer of a marching band. With so many musicians on board, the instrumentation still remains sparse and subtle, leaving room for the intimacy that a Stick and a Stone's music demands. Layering ethereal vocals with rich harmonies, Harvey tells a story of surviving mental illness and escaping religion
amidst humming organs and wailing strings.
The title refers to mystic nature scientist Opal Whitely, whose childhood diary was discovered and published in 1920. Alive with talking trees, hidden creatures, and singing creeks, the journal was pieced together from scraps of paper she scribbled on as a seven year old and stored in a shoebox. Harvey wrote half of the songs on this albums as a teenager, and in a similar act of rediscovery dug them up and and breathed new life into them with the help of old friend and recording engineer Bill Moriarty.
Graced with the freakish paintings of Mandy Katz, the surreal illustrations of Krystee Wilder, and the detailed drawings of Lee Davis, Opal Nightly is available on vinyl and CD.
a Stick and a Stone on Opal Nightly includes Elliott Harvey, Jack Ohly, Natalie Nguyen, Ross Lipton, Jeff Russo, Alene Hsia, Darian Scatton, Benjamin Schurr, and Dan Angel.
