Aperture

Album review

On her full-length debut, Hannah Jadagu has moved out of the bedroom and away from the DIY approach of What Is Going On?, the MIDI-driven EP that got her noticed in 2021, and into a studio to expand her dreamy sound. But two things remain the same: She’s still in charge, playing guitar, synth, piano, and a slew of percussion instruments (with help from French producer Max Robert Baby) and her incisive lyrics slice through the vibey haze like a finely honed blade. "Why try/ To be the one that you can fall on? … Act like it's best if we make amends/ But I don't wanna talk to you again," she proclaims on "What You Did," with its crunchy '90s guitar and Faye Webster echoes, before chanting the title in a way that isn’t smug so much as disappointed. Unintentional isolation, crossed signals, and mixed messages add up to a theme that carries throughout Aperture, including on the big but chill "Say It Now," which features a satisfying drum build and the lines "Should I have called? Nervousness won/ Now I'm picking up the pieces, something went wrong/ And I won't ask twice, but are we alright?/ Been around enough to tell your distance is a sign." It’s there, too, on the dreamy, 808 bass–driven "Admit It," which Jadagu has said is about her older sister and, seemingly, the weirdness of leaving home at 18 and how that changes the closest of relationships (metaphorically illustrated here by the occasional percussive glitch). "All of my friends ask where you've been/ Should I think of a lie when I try to tell them?/ Why is it our conversation еasily comes to an end?" Jadagu sings. Now 22, Jadagu grew up with her Zimbabwean immigrant parents in the "super religious" town of Mesquite, Texas, listening to the Black Eyed Peas (who she credits for her love of the vocoder) and Young Money rappers such as Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj before discovering EDM pop, quirky bands like the 1975 and, eventually, the DIY world of Clairo, Beabadoobee, and Steve Lacy. It’s all informed who she is, but it’s those later influences that shine most brightly on Aperture. You can hear the playful but cautious whimsy of Beabadoobee on tracks like "Six Months," the dance floor glow-up of "Lose" and "Dreaming," which swings and sways until it warps and woozes, proving Jadagu’s refreshing willingness to not always be pretty. Lacy’s sunniness is matched on songs like the free-floating "Explanation" and "Your Thoughts Are Ur Biggest Obstacle," and there’s a soulful Arlo Parks vibe to "Warning Sign," with its cool, downbeat jazz piano and funky guitar. And "Letter to Myself" shows what the future might hold for Jadagu, with a John Lennon-esque vocal melody and low background hum that tantalizes before finally exploding in a seismic wash of Stratocaster guitar. "I wrote a letter to myself and watched it all come true," she sings, willing her next act into being. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz