Aldous Harding – ‘Train on the Island’ album review: Emotive indie-folk of ever-increasing magnitude
For a nation with more sheep than people, New Zealand continues to prove itself as a musical haven as far as the indie realm is concerned, and Aldous Harding continues to establish herself as one of the nation’s greatest songwriting exports.
The Skinny: Now on her fifth record, the realm of Aldous Harding’s output has long since outgrown the ‘indie-folk’ tag with which she is often branded. Admittedly, and expectedly, Train on the Island maintains the songwriter’s unwavering debt to the folk sound of years gone by, spurred along by the production qualities of John Parish, who has been a core part of carving out her distinctive sound over the past decade. However, if you gain nothing else from the record than its folk slant, then you may require a hearing test.
Regular listeners of Harding’s work will already be well aware of the kind of cryptic world she creates, layered in philosophical musings, throwaway satirical lines, and moments of profound personal exploration. Even still, Train on the Island seems to add a multitude of new layers to that ever-expanding universe. Her stripped-back sound can rarely be described as overly grandiose, but there is certainly a sense of magnitude on this record that is far less prevalent on some of her earlier works.
As for the compositions themselves, Harding appears to have freed herself from the shackles of time, as the tracklisting flows effortlessly from a feeling of old-school English folk to electronic experimentation and brooding prog-pop at varying points. Throughout it all, her voice acts as a consistent throughline, prevailing against whatever sonic landscapes it comes up against.
That voice covers a wealth of different topics over the course of the album’s runtime, from meeting The Velvet Underground’s John Cale while the Welsh experimental master was preoccupied by a bowl of rice, to deeply melancholic recollections of time spent in San Francisco. Each recollection, whether rooted in reality or the expansive imagination of the New Zealand songwriter, draws the listener into her world like an indie siren, comforting, heartbreaking, and inspiring in equal measure.
Standout Track: ‘Venus In The Zinnia’
The Verdict: A long-awaited new chapter in the life and times of New Zealand’s Aldous Harding, Train on the Island, reaffirms her well-earned reputation among the most individual voices in the modern folk scene, exemplifying the pulchritudinous, endlessly emotive nature of her vocals and marking some of her greatest songwriting triumphs thus far.
Release date: May 8th, 2026 | Producer: John Parish | Label: 4AD
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