Hannah Jadagu – Aperture

Jadagu's captivatingly atmospheric debut brings contemporary flair to age-old themes of love, loss and longing

Album Review by Anita Bhadani | 17 May 2023
  • Hannah Jadagu - Aperture
Album title: Aperture
Artist: Hannah Jadagu
Label: Sub Pop
Release date: 19 May

Aperture is a captivatingly atmospheric debut from Hannah Jadagu. As indie, bedroom pop, and shoegaze entwine, her softly powerful vocals guide us as her lyrics span dreamy reverie to longing; love to liminality. “The blanket of synths I use throughout helps me move between sensibilities”, says Jadagu. 

Uncertainties and angst are not just things to get through, but worthy of exploration and feeling in and of themselves. Here, Jadagu’s diary-like lyricism melds with creative instrumentation and a markedly indie sensibility to do just so. Standout track Warning Sign sees alternating piano riffs, crunchy guitar and drum beats peek out through synth-saturated haze as she introspectively laments: 'Every time I get this far it always falls apart / Shouldn’t even try my luck / Maybe it’s not enough'.

Bringing a contemporary and fresh flair to age-old universal themes of love, loss and longing, it's easy to imagine any song on this album transposed onto the soundtrack of a coming-of-age film. Understated but never dreary, on Aperture Jadagu invites us into her inner world with refreshing vulnerability – to feel as she feels, dream as she dreams, and ultimately, to hold hope at the end of it all.

Listen to: Say It Now, Warning Sign, Dreaming

http://hannahjadagu.com