As the Beacon filled, Aldous Harding wanders onstage and took her place at the centre of a neat semicircle
of musicians, all facing her with quiet reverence. The return of the punk rock stare and cowboy postures,
this time seemingly at the peak of her powers. The room fell into a polite hush, broken only by the
occasional rogue whoop,
Bathed in blue light she drew breath, pulled the mic towards her and opened with Train on the Island, the
title track of her latest album which has received widespread critical delight .
Now we all know, give or take a reviewer from Bristol who actually enjoyed the support band, (couldn’t
find anyone else who did) that this was not going to be a casual singersongwriter set. As she twitched,
blinked, and shimmies with skittish grooves and mellifluous melodies accompanying disorientating
fluctuations in tone and warping of her voice as the songs seemed to be passing through her body
unfiltered, acting purely on instinct. Aldous Harding is undoubtedly surreal, enthralling, and entirely
herself, famous for intense performance drawing attention to its own artifice and garnering comparisons
to uncompromising auteurs such as Kate Bush, Joanna Newsome and Cate Le Bon.
I Ate the Most followed, stark and blunt in its portrayal of anorexia and family trauma, followed by an
impromptu silent break ( sound adjustment), broken with a hard stare at the crowd to make us chuckle.
One Stop completed a perfect opening trio, its tumbling piano and streamofconsciousness lyrics delivered
with her trademark raised inflections and quivering, desperate tones. Her eyes rolled back, her body still,
her voice bold and pure, often finishing songs as if waking from a dream, smiling at the audience like
she’d just had the best night’s sleep ever.
“It’s like my living room,” she volunteered apropos of nothing at one point, waving vaguely at individuals
she clearly wasn’t actually picking out. Brilliantly surreal, she promised “the funny quips will arrive later”.
‘we love you Aldous’ some buffoon shouts from the seats, ‘my name is Hannah’ she mumbles…ouch!
This was set of shifting voices and shifting moods. Her voice is legion, at times sounding like a child, others
sounding lugubrious, recalling a dissipated emigre Nico (Worms); each different enough that you could
believe a new performer had walked onstage. Venus in the Zinnia seemed to more sense live the duet with
H. Hawkline perfectly pitched.
If Lady Does lifts the tempo, giving the crowd a momentary release from the intensity. What Am I Gonna
Do brought with it double drums and a moment where she simply lay on the stage, perhaps to give her
brilliant band some much deserved limelight, or maybe she just fancied a lie down?
Warm Chris tracks that I had perhaps undervalued came to the fore including Passion Babe and a
storming leathery whip with H. Hawkline taking over the duties from Sleaford Mods Jason Williamson
Fever from the brilliant Designer next a perfect slice of alternative pop, skittish grooves and mellifluous
melodies all at once.
The set moved fluidly between strippedback acoustic moments and fullband beauty, (harp included) all
the time understated, but the insistent quirks accumulate to something truly fascinating.
Closing the set with Coats they all depart the stage but don’t worry, unlike my trip to see Rickie Lee Jones
at a steaming hot Gate in Cardiff last month there is time for more.
A solo Riding that Symbol then the band return to perform a spell binding Imagining My Man probably
the most joyous moment of the night, (Hannah with maracas in hand). Finally, Designer shimmered its
way to the finish, sending everyone out smiling.
Those funny quips, I think, got lost in the melee of this highly eccentric blisteringly beautiful performance.
I didn’t miss them one bit. Hannah is a star, her band excellent. The new album is great too btw if you
were in any doubt.
Setlist
- Train on the Island
- I Ate the Most
- One Stop
- Treasure
- Venus In The Zinnia
- If Lady Does It
- Worms
- Passion Babe
- Leathery Whip
- San Francisco
- What Am I Gonna Do?
- Fever
- Warm Chris
- Coats
Encore: - Riding That Symbol(Solo)
- Imagining My Man
- Designer
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