Aldous Harding – Hollywood Cinema February 10, 2017

 

With her second album just about ready for release, Aldous Harding treated the crowd at Avondale’s Hollywood Cinema to an evening of musical surprises, performing solo and with a small, but perfectly-formed band.

There is much anticipation for the new record, titled Party, especially as it was just announced that Aldous had signed with the 4AD label in the UK. Also, the fact that Party was produced by PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish has got folks talking.

I last saw Aldous perform this past June at Whammy when she opened for Eleanor Friedberger. It was at that show that Aldous gave a few clues as to what Party might sound like, performing several new songs. That was a (mostly) solo performance, with Jonathan Pearce sitting in on keyboards for just a couple of tunes.

On this brief tour Aldous is playing with a full band, Joining Pearce, who plays guitar and keyboards, is drummer Tristan Deck and Callum Passells, an Auckland-based jazz musician who plays bass clarinet, sax and bass guitar.

The evening began with solo set from The Bats’ Robert Scott who sounded in remarkably good voice as he played tunes from all phases of his career…solo, The Bats, The Clean and Magick Heads.

Next up was acclaimed Kiwi poet Hera Lindsay Bird who held the audience’s attention with poems about Keats and Monica from Friends.

Finally, at 10pm, Aldous Harding, dressed in white, took the stage and sat down with her acoustic guitar and immediately stunned the assembled fans with her solo version of Swell Does The Skull. It seemed that everyone in the venue was holding their breath throughout the six minute performance, afraid to break the spell Harding was casting over the room. When it was over, you could feel the release of energy as the audience members chattered among themselves…such was the power Aldous held over the crowd.

For anyone who has her Harding’s first album, this was the type of sound one would expect to hear. But as the band members fell in during I’m So Sorry, it was clear that there was going to be much more happening musically than simply a rippling acoustic guitar and a stunning voice.

The first clue was the sound of Callum Passells’ bass clarinet as it crept into I’m So Sorry. The next surprise was the electronic loop that accompanied another new song, Blend. The audience was clearly thrilled by Harding’s musical exploits, whooping and hollering when the drum loop made itself known and giving Blend a huge round of applause when it was over.

But there was more…

Next came Weight Of The Planets, a song so new that it won’t feature on Party, but most likely on the third album. Again, the full band was involved with this one with Passells’ clarinet giving it a Tom Waits-like feel.

Imagining My Man, another new song that will be on Party, showed the band giving plenty of space for Harding’s vocal, which often burst into loud spasms, as the song eventually receded with repeated ooo’s during the outro.

We were six songs in before we heard something from the first album.

Beast was beautiful, but fairly straightforward. But Hunter was a different beast altogether.

“Here’s an old one but you won’t have heard it like this before”, Harding warned before she and the band broke out into a full-on rocking version of the song.

The audience seemed thrilled…dancing and generally rocking out to this unexpected electric performance.

Afterwards, Harding declared, “I’m a folk singer!” as if to remind both the fans and herself.

After the dreamy, angelic Elation, another surprise, a cover of a rather obscure Paul McCartney tune. Single Pigeon is from Wings’ 1973 album Red Rose Speedway and Harding claimed that the tune was her “favourite song in the world”.

She sang the ditty in a lower register, with spare accompaniment from Pearce on keys and backing vocals.

The set wrapped up with the song Party, which Harding sang in a much higher, thinner voice, not unlike Joanna Newsome. This was followed by the somewhat terrifying What If Birds Aren’t Singing, They’re Screaming. For this one, Aldous was out front, giving a very physical performance in lower voice that reminded me of Marlene Dietrich.

For the encore we were first treated to a solo version of another new song, Living The Classics, which Harding said was, “About how I want to make it as a singer”.

Then after a brief discussion with the drummer, the evening wrapped with Horizon, steeped in big, dark dramatic chords and another very powerful vocal from Aldous. It seemed both cathartic for her and breath-taking for the audience, bringing to mind folks like Kate Bush, David Bowie and Martha Wainwright, while establishing herself as someone who is determined to approach music on her own terms.

After hearing these new tunes performed with such diversity and spontaneity, I’m still not sure I have an idea what to expect when Party is finally released. That’s another surprise to look forward to.

Marty Duda

A quick note about the venue…The Hollywood Cinema felt like a more intimate version of The Powerstation…you could choose to sit downstairs or upstairs or stand in the front. There was a food stand set up outside and a bar next to that. The vibe was very chilled and the “classic” film trailers that ran in between musical performances fit very much into the vintage look and feel of the place. And the sound was excellent.

Aldous performs at the Hollywood Cinema again tonight with Soccer Practise and Oscar Dowling.

Click on any image to view a gallery of photos by Ivan Karczewski:

Aldous Harding set list:

1. Swell Does The Skull
2. I’m So Sorry
3. Blend
4. Weight Of The Planets
5. Imagining My Man
6. Beast
7. Hunter
8. Elation
9. Single Pigeon
10. Party
11. What If Birds Aren’t Singing, They’re Screaming
12. Living The Classics
13. Horizon