After waiting three years for a new album, fans of Aldous Harding will be excited to hear her impressive new record, 'Warm Chris'. Millie Hopcott reports.
With many songs, it is clear it was written as a song: something to be sung, something to be catchy and easy to remember. The same cannot be said for Aldous Harding and her new album Warm Chris. Her songs could be spoken as poetry, as an elusive abstract speech that moves you when you listen to it. Out on March the 25th, Warm Chris is the New Zealander’s fourth album, three years after her very popular last album, Designer.
The first two tracks, Ennui and Tick Tock, are a good opener into the vocal talent of Aldous, a real range of sounds and softness. I think she has a very beautiful and unique voice. She doesn’t sound like your typical singer; she sounds arguably quite unusual sometimes when singing, but it is nevertheless impressive.
"I love the repeating lyrics, “I still stare at you in the dark”, as I think it conveys a feeling of innocence and hope that things will work out."
I don’t think I will be alone in this feeling, but often, I really have no idea what Aldous Harding is singing about! I think that is part of the beauty of her music, though it is elusive and incredibly mysterious. Her unique voice also adds to this, making her music always interesting.
Tick Tock is a favourite of mine off the album; it is very catchy and has a pleasing sound, yet I can’t quite put my finger on its meaning. The same can be said for the album’s title track, Warm Chris. A lovely number with beautiful musical interludes dedicated to a girl called Crystal, but the meaning is elusive to me.
Fever, the third track and second single released from the upcoming record, is a story of love. The feeling of chasing the thrill of being lovers and being connected in a way that may be detrimental to each other but continuing regardless. I love the repeating lyrics, “I still stare at you in the dark”, as I think it conveys a feeling of innocence and hope that things will work out.
The first single released from the album is Lawn. Accompanying the track is a bizarre music video, where Aldous and another person are covered in prosthetics to make them look like lizards… yes, it is as odd as it sounds. Despite this, the track is very catchy. I think the reasoning behind the lizard-look was from the song’s imagery of a lawn and lamps in the garden, with talk about seeds and growing. The nature emphasis is a common theme in the album with reference to nature and being free to do whatever you wish.
Another personal favourite from the album is Staring At The Henry Moore. It is a very peaceful and charming song, one you may listen to if you’re walking across fields of green grass in the summertime! The lyrics keep referring back to ‘sugar’, sung so lovely in Aldous’ unique voice. Like the rest of the album, this song is very calming to listen to. The song is talking about Henry Moore, an abstract sculpture artist; someone whose work is clearly important to the very abstract Aldous Harding. Of course, she’s drawn to the abstract and unusual!
Ultimately, I think what can be gathered from this is that we don’t have to understand precisely what the artist is singing about in a song to be able to enjoy it. It is like art; we might not understand what we see in a painting, but it is still captivating nevertheless. This is Aldous Harding in a nutshell.
Millie Hopcott
Edited by: Elliot Fox
In article images courtesy of Aldous Harding via press release. Video courtesy of Aldous Harding via YouTube.
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