The New Zealand artist's latest for 4AD is a masterclass in intrigue, method-acting vocals and delightfully oddball lyricism.
“Big thick coats on the dogs of people/ Just try’na help” – if you’ve ever heard a more delightfully oddball and hilarious lyrical musing please slide into our DMs immediately. Sung so matter-of-factly, this closing track’s choruses contrast the meticulous vocal layering of its verses, which give the impression of multiple personalities ganging up in your mind.
Throughout Train On The Island, Harding portrays various roles – method acting, if you will – within single songs. She supplies haunting, overenunciated Kate Bush-esque BVs during opener I Ate The Most, accompanied by minimal mystery percussion: “I’m not afraid, like you’re not gay/ And you’re not old, like I’m on the spectrum/ Every day you look up in my body/ There’s ‘heavy’ and ‘heavier’..”
Aldous Harding
- Label: 4AD
- Release: 8 May
- Listen on Spotify
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Built from plonky piano melodies, One Stop sees Harding turning an awks encounter into lyrical gold as she belts, “I met the real John Cale/ He had no words, but I don’t mind/ I packed the stage while he ate rice…”
It would be satisfying to listen to the title track, which showcases Joe Harvey-Whyte’s pedal steel prowess, while gently rocking along in a rocking chair, perhaps while stitching needlepoint.
Venus In The Zinnia, a stunning duet feat H. Hawkline (Googling him rn), sees the pair nonchalantly trading lines: “[her] Red rose trying to leave me/ [him] Redrum rocking the ages.” Producer John Parish’s discordant Wurlitzer parts bring this standout ditty home.
If Lady Does It (“who will be left outside”) comes across like warning a cherished pet not to repeat bad behaviour, but lyrics read more like revolutionary violence of some kind.
Veering from stream of consciousness to diaristic, Harding’s lyrics are rich with sensory detail. Dark subject matter materialises (“It’s too late for the girl inside”?), but Harding never lingers there too long – intrigue suits her well. Repeated lyrical phrases suggest repressed memories resurfacing. Listening to Harding makes you wanna delve deep – it’s profound stuff.
“I lost my head in San Francisco/ You begged me not to drink alone…” – San Francisco grabs us from the jump, then – beyond the three-minute mark – jangly guitar strums enter like a timelapse sunrise shedding light on things.
“What am I gonna do if I can’t break out of it?/ What am I gonna do if they can’t train me out of it?…” – Mali Llywelyn’s glistening harp dominates What Am I Gonna Do?, landing on the ominous bassline like softly falling dew.
Tambourine is major within this album’s sonic palette, with so many techniques utilised throughout.
Nothing feels forced in Aldous Harding’s enchanting, timeless world. She’s an artist in the true sense of the word.
