Warm Chris

Aldous Harding

Warm Chris

Fourth album from the New Zealand-born gothic folk singer-songwriter

ADM rating[?]

7.5

Label
4AD
UK Release date
25/03/2022
US Release date
25/03/2022
  1. 9.0 |   Clash

    The variety in the instrumentation is only met by the variety in her voice; going through registers, accents and even characters, 'Warm Chris' is an album covering the complex and enigmatic voices of a supremely singular talent
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  2. 9.0 |   XS Noize

    No matter what your musical preference is, the sweet charm of these songs and the record has the power to leave anyone with a genuine fondness for it, and I have absolutely no difficulty in saying that
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  3. 9.0 |   God Is In The TV

    A genuinely interesting, absorbing and sometimes unsettling experience. It’s another remarkable puzzle piece in Aldous Harding’s career, offered to us without pretense or expectation or fanfare
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  4. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    The irresistible Warm Chris is proof Aldous Harding is at the top of her game
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  5. 8.5 |   Under The Radar

    A declaration that Harding has no intention of letting her maverick ways ever be shepherded, in life or in song
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  6. 8.3 |   Paste Magazine

    On her new album, the New Zealand folk auteur uses an expanded sonic palette to consider intimacy and performance
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  7. 8.2 |   Pitchfork

    The New Zealand songwriter returns with a sparse and oblique album whose gentle psychedelic folk and beguiling free association proudly resist interpretation
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  8. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    The New Zealander’s latest is beautiful on the surface, yet becomes even more wonderful when given a chance, staking its claim as the first great album of the coming summer
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  9. 8.0 |   The Independent

    It’s delightfully weird
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  10. 8.0 |   NME

    The New Zealand singer-songwriter's rich fourth album takes time to sink in, but your patience will be rewarded several times over
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  11. 8.0 |   DIY

    As much a great musician as she is an illusionist who dazzles the listener with stylish tricks
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  12. 8.0 |   Uncut

    These songs command close attention but – like the messy universe around them – do not necessarily beg to be decoded. Print edition only

  13. 8.0 |   Mojo

    On first listen, warm Chris is les obviously immediate than Designer, though the songs don't take long t worm their way into the mind. Print edition only

  14. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    Aldous Harding's many voices and personas are in full effect on Warm Chris, but what she says isn’t as important as how she wants you to feel
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  15. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    Warm Chris is neither refined nor contained: it wanders and wonders, affirming the sheer joy of curiosity
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  16. 8.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Aldous Harding’s Warm Chris invites close attention and rewards it with understated surprises
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  17. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Off-kilter lyricism and a winning sense of playfulness pervade the singer-songwriter’s hugely satisfying fourth album
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  18. 7.5 |   Northern Transmissions

    “Bubbles” is probably the strongest track on Warm Chris. It has the vibe of holding hands with a complete stranger you just met on the road
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  19. 6.5 |   Beats Per Minute

    It’s an album that could be played on shuffle with the same end result for the listener as there’s no flow, no sense of connection across the tracks. But maybe that’s the point
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  20. 6.0 |   No Ripcord

    Her sturdy craftsmanship makes for an incredibly compelling listen, demonstrating how far she's gone from early, understated outings like 2017's Party
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  21. 6.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Although there’s much to love in Warm Chris’s more full-throated moments, and it’s those which will doubtless continue to bring her the success she so richly deserves, it’s hard not to occasionally pine for the transcendental sparseness of her earlier work
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  22. 6.0 |   The Arts Desk

    Her songs are strange little worlds you get lost in without quite knowing why
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  23. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    Despite some successes, including song-of-the-year contender “Leathery Whip”, Warm Chris mostly shows the gifted Aldous Harding trying to navigate a troublesome limbo
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  24. 6.0 |   Dork

    Unfurls like a long-buried memory, shaking off its dust motes and cranking into life
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  25. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    There’s a skittish ambiguity throughout that somehow leaves Harding anchorless and distanced – not least from herself and the listener
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  26. 5.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Quirky voices interchange with somber ones on Warm Chris as Aldous Harding seems to choose musical phrases on the spot, and hesitant piano and guitar lines follow suit, resulting in an album that sounds equally alluring and unfinished
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