Reviews

Me Climb Mountain in The Rocket

“Ba na na na na” sing the members of Harvester on their album closer, “Pequod.”  It’s a big sing-along number, so they sing it again.  And again.  They sing it until you think you’ll go insane, then they stop.  Then they start up again.  In concert, they jump up and down, stick out their tongues and generally act like the most ridiculous rock parody this side of Spinal Tap.  What’s so weird about this is that Harvester aren’t a Dead Milkmen-like joke band.  On the rest of Me Climb Mountain, their major label debut, Harvester are a laidback, folk-rockin’, rural soundin’, occasional fiddle usin’, low-tech ensemble.  Northern Californian-turned-Portlander Sean Harrasser writes catchy melodies (even that “Ba na na” thing would be catchy and not preposterous if they sang it four times instead of four dozen) and sets them to some weird but evocative lyrics: “My skin feels like a fruit roll pasted to the vinyl seat.”  The elements of a great album are here, but you might not notice if you’re stuck on the “Ba na na.”   - William Crain