Designer

Designer is the third album by singer-songwriter Aldous Harding. I saw her performing a week ago and her songs are far more "normal" than her stage act. The songs are great folky indie pop with a twist. I think this album is less experimental than "Warm Chris" and "Train on the Island". That makes it less surprising, but also easier to listen to. "Fixture Picture" and "The Barrel" are the top tracks.

This album has a nice energy. Comfortable and smooth, worked well as a soundtrack for my work today. Kind of a female Jack Johnson vibe going on here with some creative songwriting. Great!

New Zealand singer-songwriter that captures the introspective energy of Joan as Police Woman but with a more minimalistic, spacious sound. Every song on Designer is given room to breathe and tell its own story, with Harding carefully crafting subtle meaning into her lyrical offerings. This album is best understood as a literary exercise in tandem with tender acoustic folk arrangements. This an artistic treasure trove for those who wish to slow down and further inspect the details of such a wonderful album. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: Too niche I feel, but a great choice for the user's list.

Very strong music and singing. Lyrically I didn't connect with a lot of it, or to maybe to put it bluntly the words didn't make a lot of sense to me. I have an impression I might come more around on that if I spent more time with it. Damn John Parish gets around huh?

I find this album a bit hard to describe, but I liked it overall. She has a beautiful voice, and the production really works well with it. The music is interesting enough, but isn't the main feature here. There were times when the album faded into the background a bit for me, but overall I really enjoyed it 4/5

Quirky - both in voice and composition. It literally sounds like multiple vocalists on the album - the light and airy vocals near the top of the album are in stark contrast to the deep baritone later on (just listen to the first and last songs for greatest contrast - I had to check the credits to confirm it was the same singer) so it's an odd listen in some ways. I think the fact that I can't tell if I like it or not but wanted to listen to it again is a good sign? A little outside my norms but there was something about this that would make me come back to it. 7/10 4 stars IMO: Belonged in the book? No.

Pretty cool folk album, not too standout but enjoyable

Indie-folk as advertised. Perhaps played out, but had a nice moment listening through it. It sat right

This woman has a great vocal range. The music is very calm and minimalist.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Fixture picture, The barrel, Weight of the planets

Jack Johnson meets Joni Mitchell? Smooth and calming.

Oh no! Another album that has got it's hooks into me. I played it a few times- just couldn't get it out of my head. The videos are pretty bizarre but the musics itself is hypnotic. Submitter what have you done!?

This is really nice. At times reminded me a bit of Sufjan Stevens, but overall it felt fully original. 4 stars.

I've been meaning to listen to more Aldous Harding and this reminded me she has a new album out that I haven't listened to yet. I think it's really good indie folk but not something that is essential listening. My personal rating: 4/5 My rating relative to the list: 4.5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No

Nice album this one I’ll hopefully come back to.

Very pleasant. I didn't really listen so this is 3 to 5 stars, but it made charming sounds to my afternoon.

Nicely chilled album , bit too slow for me on occasion but an enjoyable listen overall

It was ok. Nothing bad. .

Some odd compositions in here, but it shows they are thinking about it and not just churning a record out. Shades of Alanis Morrisette, a bit Norah Jones coffee table sound here and there. Stand out: Fixture Picture is a nice opener, with a chorus you could cover and use in pretty much any other genre. (Damn was also another, where they slowed right down)

Det är fin musik på alla sätt och vis men det är inga låtar som fastnar. Lite småtråkigt album om jag ska vara ärlig.

Nice

I have some exposure to this material through the Spotify algorithm but I’ve never put on a full album before. I enjoyed it. I would love to hear from the person who nominated this for the list why they thought it rose to 1001 level.

Kiinnostava ääni, mutta sovituksellisesti ei säväytä tämmönen näin riisuttu meno. 3/5

This was a pleasant alt / indie use of my time

Somewhat atypical indie folk. Something about her singing style hits my ears kind of weird, but it enhances the experience

Folksy indie, which sounds very English - I didn't get "kiwi" at all! Nothing particularly exciting or innovative, but pleasant enough

what a voice HL: title track, "Zoo Eyes", "Damn", "Weight of the Planets" June 25, 2026

Designer is an album that has stayed with me ever since I discovered it during the Covid years. Aldous Harding distinguishes herself from the average singer-songwriter by adding just enough stubbornness to otherwise conventional songs. The title track is a good example. It constantly shifts between featherlight pop and melancholic folk, with subtle tempo changes that keep it slightly off balance. Elsewhere, the appeal comes from her melodic instincts and a delightfully dry, understated production that leaves plenty of room for the songs to breathe. "Weight of the Planets" remains the standout for me, a genuinely beautiful piece of music. Yet I can't quite get to four stars. For every moment of invention, there's another where the songwriting feels surprisingly lazy. "Pilot," "Treasure," and "Damn" never quite develop beyond their initial ideas. A good album, sometimes a very good one, but not quite consistent enough to reach the level its best moments promise.

Middle of the road

Pretty nice

Indie folk. Ni fu ni fa.

An interesting singer-songwriter LP with some inherent verve that elevates its above its contemporaries. While on the slower side, I appreciated the variation in tempos and instrumentation – each track felt distinct, and usually added to the album’s personality. Does get repetitive in spots, and the back half feels a little limp compared to the first’s energy. A decent listen, regardless, and a more worthy modern singer-songwriter addition than some other albums on the user list.

Mid.

I don’t want to say anything bad about this because I do feel there is some integrity in this choice. But….i found it dull and depressing.

Some nice harmonies at first. It felt like the voice was way too much more focused on than the music and it was a little frustrating. There was no variety and it lowkey sucked BLAHHHH