There's a particular range of emotions that arrive before the party, at the party, after the party: excitement, anxiety, vulnerability. Ordinary moments are elevated and by contrast our everyday lives are brought into focus. So too with Party, the new album from Aldous Harding. It's a rare artistic achievement, to evoke these heightened feelings and capture with poetry and precision something of our interior lives. But Aldous makes it appear effortless with her finger picked guitar melodies, slow deliberate piano chords, commanding, uniquely phrased vocals, strings, and subtle saxophone interludes. In this space the usual rules don't apply, and songs such as Imagining Your Man are punctuated with unexpected moments that thrill with playful boldness. Deep feelings and details that usually hide in the silence are amplified. And like the best parties it's a completely transporting experience.
Party
Aldous Harding