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Review: Aldous Harding, Bristol Beacon – ‘Surreal, enthralling and entirely herself’
Five albums in, and somehow I’ve never managed to see Aldous Harding live.
But after hearing her new album’s first single One Stop I finally committed, headed to the Beacon and joined a devoted crowd.
It was all Kiwi‑no filler from the start, with fellow New Zealanders and label‑mates Vera Ellen opening the night. They were a revelation. The songwriting, the passion, the performance were all delivered with confidence wrapped up in a bundle of alternative indie pop rock.
“We are Vera Ellen, and that’s my name too,” Ellen quipped, neatly placing her DMs beside the mic stand. The bass sat high in the mix, harmonies even higher, and the band swapped instruments with such ease that I’m fairly sure every member played bass at some point.
Standout track Broadway Junction is a banger‑ballad that deserves karaoke‑classic status.
Everything I Touch Turns to Shit is raw, direct and delivered with such intense pacing that Ellen ended up singing right into the guitarist’s face before turning that same energy onto the audience.
When It’s Over builds into a frantic refrain of “You don’t want to love, you just want to be right,” before collapsing into a gentle finish. A perfect start and a support act that felt like a discovery.
It was a New Zealand double bill with Vera Ellen supporting Harding
As the Beacon filled, Aldous Harding wandered onstage and took her place at the centre of a neat semi‑circle of musicians, all facing her with quiet reverence. The room fell into a polite hush, broken only by the occasional rogue whoop.
Bathed in blue light she drew breath, took in the grandeur of the space, pulled the mic towards her and opened with Train on the Island, the title track of her latest album.
Within seconds it was clear: this was not going to be a casual singer‑songwriter set. She twitched, blinked, and moved as if the songs were passing through her body unfiltered, acting purely on instinct. Aldous Harding is surreal, enthralling, and entirely herself.
The indie-folk songwriter is touring in her support of latest album Train on the Island
I Ate the Most followed, stark and blunt in its portrayal of anorexia and family trauma, then brief sound mishap prompted a long silent break, broken with a stare at the crowd to make us giggle.
One Stop completed a perfect opening trio, its tumbling piano and stream‑of‑consciousness lyrics delivered with her trademark raised inflections and quivering, desperate tones.
Her eyes rolled back, her body stilled, her voice bold and pure, often Harding finished songs as if waking from a dream, smiling at the audience like she’d just had the best sleep of her life.
“It’s like my living room,” she said at one point, waving vaguely at individuals she clearly wasn’t actually picking out. Brilliantly surreal, she promised “the funny quips will arrive later”.
This was set of shifting voices and shifting moods. Harding has at least four separate vocal styles, each different enough that you could believe a new performer had walked onstage. She is as versatile as she is distinctive and talented.
If Lady Does lifts the tempo, giving the crowd a momentary release from the intensity, and What Am I Gonna Do brought double drums and a moment where Harding simply lay down on the stage, as if to give her brilliant band some much deserved limelight. Fever is a perfect slice of alternative pop, breezy and edgy all at once.
The set moved fluidly between stripped‑back acoustic moments and full‑band beauty, harp included, closing with Coats.
But of course there is time for more. The crowd quietly willed Imagining My Man into existence, and she obliged, delivering the most joyous moment of the night, maracas in hand.
Then Designer shimmered its way to the finish, sending us out smiling. I’m still waiting for those funny quips.
All images: Matt Barnes
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