ALDOUS HARDING – Live at the Locomotiv Club, Bologna 15th November 2019
Aldous Harding – an icy stare and a precocious talent.
By common consensus Aldous Harding is seriously weird; a woman who boldly wears her eccentricity on her sleeve. Watch any of the New Zealander’s captivating videos for evidence of this and her only concert date in Italy this year provided further proof.
She has a distinctive way of gurning and grinning that looks faintly ridiculous but demands attention and manages to communicate by body language alone.
She adopts a theatrical air of aloofness with every move appearing to be considered and/or choreographed even when simply tuning her guitar or adjusting the microphone stand.
Dressed from head to toe in plain black, she gives a sense of being a woman wound so tightly as to be constantly on the brink of throwing a wild tantrum. No one in the audience dares break the silence between songs for fear of being on the receiving end of one of her icy stares.
Her voice ranges from that of a petulant schoolgirl to a hardened femme fatale; a cross between early Joanna Newsom and late Nico. She’s backed by a four piece band but remains the centre of attention throughout.
The theatrical mask never slips; not stepping out of character even when receiving a bouquet of roses from a smitten fan. The mannered stage persona exudes supreme self assurance but the play acting also conveniently distracts from any hints of shyness or nervousness.
Most of the songs in her relatively short set come from the latest album, ‘Designer’, although she ends with ‘Blend’ from her second album, ‘Party’ and for the encore performs a similarly upbeat new song, ‘Old Peel’ . Both these tunes suggest that her music is moving beyond traditional folk towards a playful disco-pop sound.
Whatever direction she takes she has already established herself as a unique talent and I can only imagine her going from strength to strength.
