Philadelphia songwriter Elliott Harvey awakened some of his more dark and haunting pieces for the making of this new off-kilter folk record. Layering airy ethereal vocals with rich dissonant harmonies, he tells the story of escaping religion and surviving mental illness amidst humming organs and wailing strings.

The title refers to the 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 shoe box. Harvey wrote half the songs on this album as a teenager and in a similar act of rediscovery dug them up and breathed new life into them with the help of old friend and recording engineer Bill Moriarty.

‘Opal Nightly’ is the stunning result of one soprano vocalist’s collaboration with a medieval harpist, a sound designer, an experimental bassist, two classical composers, and the drummer of a marching band. The album, originally written on organ and guitar, grew to include cello, gongs, harmonium, gramophone, and mysterious drones.

With so many musicians on board, the instrumentation remains sparse and subtle, leaving room for the intimacy that a Stick and a Stone’s music demands. At times, Harvey’s humming and whispering reaches you as if he was inches from your ear.

Available now on Exotic Fever Records, ‘Opal Nightly’ is graced with the freakish paintings of Mandy Katz and the surreal illustrations of Krystee Wylder. Taking its place alongside other deviant folk projects like Joanna Newsom, Cat Power, Faun Fables, Sufjan Stevens, and Larkin Grimm, the album is an untamed journey through the echoing chambers of the heart.