Train On The Island is a chameleon: playful, harmonious, melancholic and quirky. The fifth studio album by New Zealand artist Aldous Harding shows once again that she cannot be placed in any convenient box. Some tracks, in their suppleness – »Train On The Island«, for instance – recall Harding’s 2022 predecessor Warm Chris. Elsewhere, indie rock and folk shine through, then art-pop again. Harding does not let anyone tell her what to do, and says herself: »I’ve been away too long.« Those, at least, are the first words on »One Stop«, the first single from Train On The Island – well aware that four long, sluggish years have passed since Warm Chris. And dear God, how sluggish the world has been in recent years.
Harding produced the album once again together with John Parish. The two are well attuned to one another – and one can hear it, given that they have been working closely together for years. Parish already produced Harding’s albums Designer and Warm Chris.
»I met the real John Cale, he had no words, but I don’t mind, I packed the stage while he ate rice«, Harding continues on »One Stop«, hiding plenty of irony here and there across the ten songs, and perhaps even a touch of sarcasm. As usual, she leaves ample room for interpretation in her lyrics. Harding also uses her voice theatrically like few others: she does not simply sing, but slips into roles – at times fragile, at times tough, at times conciliatory, at times provocative.
