On her remarkable new album Party (4AD), New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding manages to further strip down an already minimal sound while dramatically extending her range. There are a few songs on the new album—magnificently and resourcefully produced by frequent PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish—where the diaphanous, eerie folk of her striking eponymous debut remains, but on most of it she uses her voice to create a dazzling variety of musical personas, cumulatively offering a richness and depth I didn’t expect even given how much I loved her first album.…
On her remarkable new album Party (4AD), New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding manages to further strip down an already minimal sound while dramatically extending her range. There are a few songs on the new album—magnificently and resourcefully produced by frequent PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish—where the diaphanous, eerie folk of her striking eponymous debut remains, but on most of it she uses her voice to create a dazzling variety of musical personas, cumulatively offering a richness and depth I didn’t expect even given how much I loved her first album.…