Music Reviews

How to describe Aldous Harding? The New Zealand artist has spent the past eight years shirking easy categorisation, as well as avoiding explaining the meaning of her work.

Her self-titled debut, released in 2014, was informed by folk, largely featuring acoustic, ethereal songs that contained their own unique combination of menace and melancholy. Her last two records Party and Designer (produced by John Parish, known for his many collaborations with PJ Harvey), saw her sound and subject matter grow more playful; singing in many different vocal registers about airports in Dubai, screaming birds, aliens and her inner child. One could call it surreal, but I think the best explanation I’ve seen of her work has been ‘‘impressionistic”. While she really is a singular artist, for me her work often brings to mind the late Dory Previn, a poet and singer, whose work is theatrical and haunting, full of fables and dreamy, child-like quality.

Harding has again teamed up with Parish on Warm Chris, which anchors itself in the stranger corners of 70s experimental pop-rock – think Nico and John Cale. Songs hypnotise with plodding piano and organs, and Harding’s multiplicitous voice, which stretches itself to even stranger territory. Her voice is liturgical, angelic, wry, squeaky, jazzy and cartoonish. As for the lyrics, I will have to give it a fair few more listens before I can begin to crack its cryptic, strange beauty, which includes skies, Bambi and the sculptor Henry Moore. IT

WHO IS ALDOUS HARDING?

SOMETHING I ONCE HEARD NICK GRIFFITH

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Anyone who’s heard Nick Griffith’s assorted bands (Big White, High-tails, Bored Shorts) will already be acquainted with the South Coast multi-tasker’s talent for hook-driven guitar-pop. He reaches new heights on his second solo album, which opens with the title track’s pure-spun bubblegum jangle before slipping directly into the bright and spontaneous power pop of ‘Dream Come True’. Griffith traces most of these tunes to his travels in Spain and Portugal, after which he adapted the demos with help from members of Big White, The Middle East and Body Type. The single ‘Island’ provides a mellow entry point for newcomers to Griffith’s songbook, spinning anxiety-induced escapism into a gorgeous ballad warmed with ruffled organ and playful percussion. Most surprising, by contrast, is ‘Barcelona’, a pulsing synth-pop throwback that extends to nearly six minutes with plenty of open space along the way. Something I Once Heard is a fairly short outing at only eight songs, but Griffith packs the half-hour running time with casual revelations, plucking yet another classicsounding chorus seemingly from thin air on ‘Waking in the Dead of Night’. DOUG WALLEN

ANGEL IN REALTIME GANG OF YOUTHS

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The death of a father, and the release of family secrets, are at the centre of angel in realtime, Gang of Youths’ ostentatious third album. The Sydney band, now based in London, are known for their arena-primed rock songs, and their new record certainly delivers this – and then some. Gospel choirs, orchestral sweeps, claps, rollicking guitars and Dave Le’aupepe’s vocals are in full force. The palette is more diverse than previous releases, with the band adding a touch of electronic flourish. Lyrics are bold, weird and sometimes completely silly, swinging from self-deprecating confessions to verbose, street-preacher proclamations. The result is a mixed bag, with an outsized ambition often leading to bloated songs that would have done well with less adorned approach. ‘the angel of 8th ave’ is a case in point: an unabashed love song by way of The Killers and Springsteen, stuffed with corny lyrics and clichés. They are best when straying from their rock roots, like on the soul-driven ‘tend

BY THE BOOK PARTNER LOOK

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United by the bonds of love, sisterhood and friendship, Partner Look – out of Melbourne and Germany – possess a connection that makes their straightforward yet affecting indie-pop gleam. Named after the German phrase for two people who wear matching clothes, the band’s debut record possesses an unforced charm that only years of performing in bands – Cool Sounds and Studio Magic – can bring. Opening track ‘Partner Look’ kicks things off with an infectious sense of fun, its repeated refrain giving the band its first of many earworms. This playfulness is captured again on the Ambrin Hasnain-led ‘Rodeo Tragic’ and ‘Grasshopper’, the latter a whimsical tribute to a grasshopper who meets its end. The band tackle more personal subject matter too, with Lachlan Denton and Ambrin’s sister Anila exploring their sense of home on ‘Geelong’ and ‘Endless Plains’, while Dainis Lacey offers an endearing romantic sentiment on ‘Chipsy’. By the Book showcases four songwriters who bring out the best in