Aldous Harding’s odd brand of uneasy listening is unpindownable. Simultaneously familiar and alien, like a childhood home remembered in a dream, the New Zealand folk singer/songwriter seems to be sending dispatches from a sideways world, one where Nick Drake’s lilt and Marlene Dietrich’s growl live in glorious accord. Her latest album, Designer, doesn’t contain anything as immediately thrilling as “Blend” or “Living the Classics”—both of which appeared on 2017’s Party—but a slow reveal suits Harding. When she clobbers you with the stark and stunning penultimate track, “Heaven Is Empty,” you’ll be too turned around by her strange magic to see it coming.

by Chris Stamm