Aldous Harding has published this year ‘Train on the Island’, which is being the Record of the Week in JENESAISPOP. ‘Train on the Island’ is being considered their best album, and one of the reasons is that it includes peculiar gems like ‘One Stop’ or the song at hand today.
There are other reasons too: it’s one of his most accessible albums – which, in the world of Aldous Harding, doesn’t mean exactly the same as it does in other artists. ‘Venus in the Zinnia’, the second single, is committed to the American tradition in formal matters, resulting in one of its most luminous and immediate songs. There are calm acoustic guitar chords, flashes of keyboard, jazzy piano and, in addition, the song works as a duet between Harding and Welsh singer-songwriter H. Hawkline, who brings a different perspective to the piece.
But, looking closely, the song becomes rarer. The title, by bringing together the images of “Venus” and the zinnia – a particularly colorful flower – conveys an exaggerated, almost dreamlike sensation. The melody of “I love what you’re wearing” is almost childish and, although Harding’s voice sounds clear and pristine, the lyrics again make use of fragmented and surreal images, transmitting a kind of emotional dissociation (“It’s too late you’re right on time”), performative discomfort (“Dishonest art in me”) and even a certain darkness. The reference to the “redrum” of ‘The Shining’ contributes to this, which introduces an element of threat and concern beneath what, on the surface, seems like a happy song. Seems.
