“I’m also very funny and charismatic…”
The whimsical remark from the New Zealand-born singer-songwriter had the crowd in a fit of awkward laughter. Up to this point, Aldous Harding has namely made a name for herself within the indie-folk fold through her intimately opaque lyricism and somewhat enigmatic onstage demeanour, rarely revealing too much of her real self. Collaborating with the likes of Mike Hadreas of Perfume Genius and producer John Parish, Harding is now touring her latest 3rd LP, Designer, exuding a comparatively more colourful and brighter facade to her earlier work’s bleaker romanticism. Whilst her discography may “defy obvious influence”, many of this sold-out audience were ecstatic at the thought of witnessing a true-blue folk singer-songwriter in this day and age - one who’s daringly introspective, reserved, and oracular.
Sticking to Designer’s tracklist running for this evening’s setlist, Harding’s solo acoustic refrain bolstered the first title track which exuded a more valiant sheen emblematic of her latest sound. With Paul Simon-esque percussive sounds situated within a world of nostalgic folk, Harding showcased her recent sonic evolution to a crowd yearning for her quirky onstage dance moves. Aside from the evident sonic shift, Harding determinedly stuck to her lyrical guns with the incorporation of such cryptically-spelled romanticism. Brewed within such latest track as ‘Treasure’ and ‘The Barrel’, Harding’s recurring theme of ‘braiding’ as a symbol of turbulent love and commitment amalgamated exquisitely into her intrinsically delicate vocal delivery.
Much like her fellow folk contemporary Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief, these two particular singer-songwriters have incessantly proved their writing and lyrical skills beyond the pale of many others. Supported by intricate and tightly-compressed instrumentation, namely drums, guitar, piano and backing vocals, their sonic concoction surges their cryptic lyricism to the fore, with such beautifully elusive lines from Harding, “opulent fair, all fear is green.”
Unfortunately, the crypticism buried amongst Harding’s act transcended into a slower-paced and somewhat tedious mid-section revelling in their ultra-repetitive, simplified refrains. Although ‘Weight of the Planet’s flurrying synths layered the track’s facade, other subtler tracks such as ‘Damn’, ‘Heaven is Empty’, and ‘Pilot’, held such monotony to their core. Having drawn-out such seminal influences like Paul Simon and Billy Joel at the start of the evening, the disparity between these two parts of the set proved discernibly apparent. Instead, the reverberating nature to the spacious venue seemed to go heavily amiss with an all-too-watertight mid-section revelling in Harding’s tedium.
Thankfully, Harding later utilised this reverb in the set’s latter half, with such personal favourites as ‘Elation’ and ‘Blend’. With the former’s heart wrenching delivery resonating, “I have not died though I’ve never tried in relation”, to the latter’s enticing off-beat rhythmics, Harding ensured a more memorable conclusion for tonight’s serving of opaque indie-folk. From the cover of Gerry Rafferty’s 1978 reggae-rock single ‘Right Down The Line’ to her bonus track single from her 2017 LP, ‘Old Peel’, Harding crafted an apt ending, heavily wearing her 70's influences on her angelic-white sleeves. To the delight of two particular fans in the front row infected with dance blues, Harding bid farewell with the latter’s groovier folk-rock rhythms bolstered by Harding’s ebullient percussion - a tin cup and drum stick.
It is precisely these quirks which Harding has characteristically carved out for herself supporting her intimately cryptic music. Showcasing the wide variety of legacy acts which have evidently influenced her more recent style of glossier folk-rock, Harding incessantly reverted to such tightly-compressed instrumentation on stage - rarely taking advantage of this capacious Hackney venue. Yet in spite of her monotony, I ultimately became infatuated with her onstage mystique, shadowing the contextualisation of her tracks and instead awkwardly shimmying throughout. Perched at their edge of their seats for the evening, the London crowd ultimately applauded Harding with two standing ovations in appreciation for the apparently funny, yet undeniably quirky, musician hitting the peak of her powers.
7/10
Aldous Harding's latest 3rd LP, Designer, is out now and can be found here.
Photos are courtesy of Giles Thomas, whose work can be found here.
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