''Party'' is the second studio album by New Zealand folk singer-songwriter

Aldous Harding Hannah Sian Topp (born 1990), known professionally as Aldous Harding, is a New Zealand folk singer-songwriter, based in Lyttelton, New Zealand. Biography Harding comes from a musical family in Lyttelton, New Zealand. Her mother is folk singer ...

, released on 19 May 2017 by

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the Hendrix album) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD af ...

. The album was recorded in Bristol with John Parish, who produced the album, and features contributions from Parish, Fenne Lily, and

Mike Hadreas Michael Alden Hadreas (born September 25, 1981), better known by his stage name Perfume Genius, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Hadreas's music explores topics including sexuality, his personal struggle with Crohn's disease, dom ...

. The album was nominated for

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

at the

2017 New Zealand Music Awards The 2017 New Zealand Music Awards was the 52nd holding of the annual ceremony featuring awards for musical recording artists based in or originating from New Zealand. It took place on 16 November 2017 at Spark Arena in Auckland and it was hosted ...

. It was also nominated for

IMPALA The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...

's European Album of the Year Award.

Release

"I'm So Sorry" was premiered through '' The 405'' on 17 March 2016. "Horizon" was released as a single on 10 February 2017 with an accompanying music video directed by Charlotte Evans. The album was detailed the same day. "Imagining My Man" was released as a single on 29 March 2017 with an accompanying music video, also directed by Charlotte Evans. A music video for "Blend" was released on 12 June 2017, also directed by Charlotte Evans.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 83, based on 11 reviews. Kitty Empire of '' The Observer'' gave ''Party'' a positive review, commenting, "Harding is her own woman, an arresting vocalist whose mannered deliveries – from chanteuse to jazzy – and intense themes defy obvious influence." Rob Mesure of ''

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

'' praised the album, saying, "Shifting moods and voices effortlessly, Harding is an often technically astonishing performer, and ''Party'' is a work of quiet power. An inviting, captivating darkness."

Haydon Spenceley Haydon Spenceley (born 3 July 1984) is an English Christian musician and worship leader, who plays a Christian pop and EDM style of worship music. He has released three studio albums: ''Circles'' (2008), ''Heart Strings'' (2010), and ''Mirror ...

of ''

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

'' gave the album a favourable review, saying, "There is something both abstract and individual and yet universal about the way that Harding writes and presents her trials and triumphs of the heart." James Christopher Monger of AllMusic said, "''Party'' finds the sweet spot between raw and refined, and in doing so, feels very real." Jon Pareles of '' The New York Times'' said "her exposed voice is riveting, changing character from song to song. It’s piping and childlike in "Party," while it's low and poised in "Imagining My Man" except for sudden, vehement interruptions: "I do not have the answer," she cries with cutting dissonance." Kelsey J. Waite of '' The A.V. Club'' described the album as evidence of Harding's "command of her craft" but lamented that "the fantastic background experimentation, bleating wind instruments, and appearances by Mike Hadreas (Perfume Genius) are ultimately too slight to lend the record much in the way of dynamics."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. *

– vocals, guitar, piano, art direction * John Parish – guitar, piano, drums, synth, backing vocals, production, mixing *

– vocals * Fenne Lily – vocals * Enrico Gabrielli – Rhodes electric piano, saxophone, bass clarinet * Ali Chant – mixing * Oliver Baldwin – recording * Chris Bigg – design * Hannah – photography * Liv – photography Choir * Bess Manley * Helen Cockill * Jamileh Ravaan * Jennifer Bell * Judith Jung * Nulla Honan

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums Aldous Harding albums 4AD albums Flying Nun Records albums Albums produced by John Parish