Describe

After Hannah Jadagu released her debut album, a remarkable set of dreamy alternative pop titled Aperture, in 2023, she found herself focusing on her career more than her budding relationship. The songs on her second record, Describe, express her feelings of longing, uncertainty, and missing ones presence as she found herself relocating to different parts of the world. As she worked in different locations with new collaborators, she was able to explore different sounds and settings, using different instruments than she was previously used to. Aperture was highly atmospheric and textural, but it still largely felt like an album filled with rock songs. Describe isnt nearly as guitar-based, and it mixes analog synths and drum machines with experimental sound design, occasionally departing from structured pop songs for more abstract interludes. The title track opens the album with grainy tape warble, distorted glitches, and trickling pianos, as Jadagu considers moving back to a familiar climate while yearning to get a faltering relationship back on track. On "Gimme Time," she apologizes for not communicating with her partner enough while shes away, and asks for patience while she needs time to grow. Songs like "More" and "Tell Me That !!!!" use heavy drum machine kicks and almost industrial synth noises in order to express deep emotional hunger. "My Love" is easily the albums centerpiece, perfectly encapsulating the feeling of finding the right person ("someone sent me you, now I think Im alright") and wanting to devote all of their time to being together. "Normal Today" has crisp, choppy drums and sharp strings, while the lyrics are about how conflict in a relationship still seems worth the trouble. "Doing Now" and "Miracles" both settle into a more relaxed pop/rock sound, while the more melancholy "Bergamont" isnt quite as comfortable, with icy electronics and starkly honest lyrics about letting someone go and hoping theyll remember her. Describe contains some of Jadagus most personal songwriting, while the arrangements show that shes constantly looking to push her sound forward. ~ Paul Simpson

NY在住の自作自演シンガーによる2年ぶり2作目。アンニュイなベッドルーム・ポップという大枠は変わらないものの、音の厚みが格段に増した印象です。生声と加工声、アナログ楽器とデジタル音を複雑に重ね、テイム・インパラ的なサイケ感を構築。もしも彼女の敬愛するクレイロが初期のスタイルを突き詰めていたら、いま頃はこういうサウンドを作っていた気がします。
bounce (C)山西絵美