27-year-old Aldous Harding’s latest album Party, contrary to what it’s title might suggest, is a refreshingly poignant acoustic reprieve from most of the ear crushing computer-generated electronic noise and mind-numbing beats that make up much of the soundtrack to the twerk infested bump and grind of today’s popular music. Quiet, meditative and thoughtful without being insular, earnest and boring, Harding, discovered while busking on the streets of her native New Zealand, has come up with an album that is an absolute throwback to a previous golden era of acoustic folk music, one that produced the first wondrous albums by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins and a host of others. Add a dash of Nico along with a touch of menace and just a hint of danger and there you have it; not only the self admitted gothic folk singer’s second album in three years, but hopefully, the beginning of a long and storied career in the business of music in the 21st century.
Rating: 8/10
