When Aldous Harding debuted on 4AD in 2017 with her second album, "Party," she was likely only known to true insiders of the indie-folk scene. Discovered as a street musician, the New Zealander quickly rose to prominence with her albums, demonstrating a clear and steep learning curve in her songwriting from her first to her second. All the more reason to celebrate her third album, "Designer," once again produced by John Parish (PJ Harvey, Sparklehorse). Aldous Harding's music is not for the faint of heart; disarming in its bleak imagery and captivating instrumentation, her songs address life's core themes: death, birth, suffering, and love. While there are a few happy endings in her stories, they primarily focus on her strength, how she enters the fray—with the grace of a dancer and the grit of a boxer.
