Last Wednesday night, Allston Pudding went to see Aldous Harding perform at The Sinclair in Cambridge. Four albums into her career, Harding has become known for her varied vocal styles. The last two albums Designer and Warm Chris find Harding deepening the groove. To generate the energy to drive these newer alt-folk-rock tracks, she employed four talented multi-instrumentalist musicians. This includes Mali Llywelyn, who expertly supported with keys, guitar, and backing vocals. Also notable was backing guitarist, singer, and banjoist H. Hawkline.
Hawkline was also the opening act of the night. He performed on his own, sort of. H. crooned next to a reel-to-reel tape machine that loomed large on stage. The two track was placed prominently next to the performer, playing Baroque pop backing tracks. The massive machine proved to be a clever visual and sonic companion piece for his sky high vocals, which sailed into a vibey Sennheiser 441 microphone. The Welsh songwriter looked very comfortable sitting next to the reels – the seated backtrack arrangement lent a busking quality to the performance, with a careful eye for the aesthetics of his gear.
H. Hawkline (photo by Dan Moffat)
Hawkline’s finale was unfortunately anticlimactic as he lost his mark in the tape. He stood up and fast-forwarded and then rewound the machine back-and-forth, trying to find the start of the backing track, before finally punching into the correct starting place. Eyes closed, he awkwardly danced and sang “karaoke-style” to the disco inflected “Last Thing on Your Mind.”
Like the artist herself, the Aldous Harding performance on Wednesday was unlike any other. Her voice is an avatar for myriad styles and deliveries. Harding donned a french affectation and “Un Deux Trois Quatre” count-off for “Passion Babe” and an Appalachian twang for “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain” (not the traditional folk song, but an original). Her enunciation was tight and then slurred for “Tick Tock.” Aldous Harding is able to change into these guises seamlessly, sometimes mid-song, darkly strutting around the stage and contorting her face and body. She held a faraway look in her eyes that seemed to bore deeply into our souls.
Aldous Harding (photo by Dan Moffat)
We last saw Aldous Harding at Berklee’s tiny (and dry) Red Room in 2019 and before that at Great Scott in 2017. Although a step up in capacity, lighting, and soundsystem, The Sinclair unfortunately failed as a venue for Ms. Harding. The Sinclair has an HVAC system that could drown out The Greenline T at Boylston station. For seeing Pile the air-con is not such a problem – but for an alt-folk concert, I found it unforgivable that the soft music had to compete with ventilation. The encore in particular was fraught, since it featured the quietest arrangements. The finale was also botched by a microphone shorting out on “Blend,” which continued after the song ended. While Harding fastidiously worked to fix the buzzing cable issue on stage, a fan shouted ‘in your own time’ to which she mocked the statement right back at him. Prior to that, another guy yelled a request for song “Titus Groan,” to which Harding didn’t appear to respond, then after a full minute of air conditioning-infused silence, Harding retorted with an ice-cold “NO.” This is the summation of her banter.
Despite her lack of conversation, Harding captivated her audience into silence, leaving us spellbound, hanging on her oblique lyrics. A palpable tension formed in the otherwise very chilled out crowd. The lack of chat in between the songs created a quiet nothing that increased the audience’s anticipation for another melody. We waited impatiently in the darkness, longing for the next song to fill the void.
The high point of the concert came at the end of the main set, before the encore, when Harding engaged in circular breathing techniques to carry what seemed like two voices at the same time during “Leathery Whip,” with Hawkline adding a deft counter vocal.
Listen below.