Aldous Harding - Warm Chris - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

An artist of rare calibre, Aldous Harding does more than sing; she conjures a singular intensity. Her body and face a weapon of theatre, Harding dances with steeled fervor, baring her teeth like a Bunraku puppet's gnashing grin. Her debut with 4AD, 2017's Party (produced with the award-winning John Parish (PJ Harvey, Sparklehorse) introduced a new pulse to the stark and unpopulated dramatic realm where the likes of Kate Bush and Scott Walker reside.

New Zealand based musician and songwriter Aldous Harding's fifth album, Train on the Island, arrives on May 8. The 10-track record was co-produced with long-time collaborator John Parish (PJ Harvey, Dry Cleaning, Sparklehorse) at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, where the pair recorded Harding's previous albums Party (2017), Designer (2019) and Warm Chris (2022). Musical contributions to the new recordings come from pedal steel player Joe Harvey-Whyte; harpist Mali Llywelyn; synth artist Thomas Poli; drummer Sebastian Rochford (Polar Bear); and Huw Evans (H. Hawkline), across bass, vocals, acoustic/electric guitar, and organ.

Alasdair Roberts' approach as a singer and songwriter, now halfway through it's third decade, has been devoted to the history of traditional songs, playing them forward into our ever-evolving world as their meanings continue to evolve as well. Whether singing the auld songs, using inspiration from a line of text, or taking a time-honoured air as a starting point to a new song, he has pushed the tradition ahead in ways that few other singers and writers have approached. On The Fiery Margin, he taps the percussive elan of Alex Neilson (Trembling BellsInch) and the expansive bass playing of Stevie Jones, who have paired together with him on a couple of previous albums. On their previous encounter, Pangs, Alasdair focused on electric guitar, which gave the music a lean and wild quality that drew comparisons to the British folk scene of the classic rock era. The Fiery Margin moves fluidly from acoustic to electric guitars while adding the nimble playing of Irish violist Ailbhe nic Oireachtaigh to embody and expand the parameters of the material. Additional players bring touches of accordion, pedal steel guitar, saxophone and barbershop vocals (!), aiding Alasdair's process of excavating the mysterious roots of our shared music from a consonant, yet still enigmatic depth.1. False Flesh2. The Evernew Tongue3. Europe4. Comments5. A Keen6. The Stranger With the Scythe7. Actors8. Common Clay9. Learning Is Eternal10. The Untrue Womb