Album Review: Hannah Jadagu, Aperture

Two years ago, when she was barely out of high school, Hannah Jadagu released a five-track EP recorded entirely on an iPhone 7. What Is Going On? firmly established the Texas-raised, New York-based artist – who, following some notable success on Soundcloud, had recently signed to Sub Pop – as a special force, combining both a crucial DIY ethos and the potential for genuine mass appeal.

Aperture, Jadagu’s debut album, continues her upward trajectory, though it also finds her moving away from the raw bedroom-pop of her earlier releases into something decidedly more polished – having headed into the studio this time, with French producer Max Robert Baby. The bigger, more immediately accessible sound is deeply informed by both the throwback and contemporary indie-pop and rock artists that soundtracked her teenage years. But there are experimental touches peppered throughout too, with ‘Warning Sign’ and ‘Your Thoughts Are Ur Biggest Obstacle’ exploring captivating, soulful new spaces.

Lyrically, Aperture finds Jadagu looking inwards, as she navigates the uneven terrains of young adulthood – with coming-of-age reflections that often feel like they’ve come straight from late night conversations in her college dorm.

At just 20-years-old, there’s clearly so much more to come from Jadagu, who is at the forefront of a wave of young artists who are boldly disrupting the established norms of indie – in her own endearingly easy-going way.

Out now