• Record Label: 4AD
  • Release Date: Apr 26, 2019
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 48 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 48
  2. Negative: 1 out of 48
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  1. May 4, 2019
    10
    I grew up feeding on great music - The Smiths, Fairport Convention, Talking Heads, Joni Mitchell, XTC, The Pixies, but at a young hearted 49 years old I find it harder and harder to find music that grabs my intellect and soul. Then I discover Miss Harding.. and there is that magic again. Her previous albums have been spell-binding, stylish, captivating - but also dense and sometimesI grew up feeding on great music - The Smiths, Fairport Convention, Talking Heads, Joni Mitchell, XTC, The Pixies, but at a young hearted 49 years old I find it harder and harder to find music that grabs my intellect and soul. Then I discover Miss Harding.. and there is that magic again. Her previous albums have been spell-binding, stylish, captivating - but also dense and sometimes difficult to listen to (unless one is in a dense and difficult mood). Designer is a somewhat different proposition. It is lighter, more precise, less murky. Musical passages are pristine, stripped back - each section of instrumentation fitting neatly in place. There is a sparseness that throws gorgeous little details into relief…. The isolated sassy little bent string note in “Weight of the Planets” for example. The consistency in songwriting is highly notable... The melodies are wonderful throughout - some (such as found in the Barrel) are instantaneously catchy, addictive and joyfully funky and odd, Others reveal themselves more slowly and subtly, but are no less rewarding… in fact they might be even more so in the long term. Lyrically the album is a surreal cut and paste of memorable phrases. At times similar to David Byrne - the oblique lyrical snippets create an impressionistic playground in which the listener can formulate their own meanings and feelings (if they want to) - regardless the lyrics are fascinating and enigmatic throughout. Miss Harding’s voice is astonishing in it’s flexibility emotional clout, and range… I have not heard an album before with such a diverse selection of styles from a single vocalist… From deep sonorous Weimar cabaret style chanteuse to the flute like sugary sweet laurel Canyon angels choir found on “Zoo eyes” the listener is delightfully disoriented at every turn. “Designer” is an album of wonders that deserves to top the end of years polls. Packed full of strong melodies, deft minimalist arrangements full of air and light... and a delightfully subtle production, it’s bloody good. Expand
  2. Nov 20, 2021
    7
    Quietly impressive no filler . Consistent to a key feeling very genuine and calming. With julia holter weirdness.
  3. Nov 21, 2019
    9
    A beautiful album from start to finish with some standout songs which I won’t mention as not to bias anyone. This is an album you listen to on a long car ride with winding roads as you roll by beautiful scenery or in an intimate gathering with friends over a nice bottle of red wine.
  4. Jul 9, 2020
    10
    Designer is a great album for listening to when you simply want to exist on your own. It is through and through intimate; at some points it conjures feelings of standing alone in a field on a lazy summer day, at other points it's like sitting in the dark with a single candle to light your world. A perfect album to enjoy being in your own company.
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 18
  2. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. May 10, 2019
    70
    There's a marked inconsistency in her voice—something lilting, sometimes guttural--navigating her usual distress with a presence that is as hammy as it is heartfelt.
  2. May 1, 2019
    90
    Designer is both self-referential and evolutionary. ... There's more to chew on here than you'll find in many records released this year. It's with one eye staring into the past and the other firmly fixed on the future that Aldous Harding presents this mysterious, complex and intelligent work--a third essential in as many albums.
  3. Apr 30, 2019
    80
    Harding continues to keep listeners on their toes with Designer which, overall, is a unique, luminous record that's about whatever you need it to be about.