Hannah Jadagu understood she needed to push herself.
The 23-year-old Mesquite native was preparing to record Describe, the follow-up to her acclaimed Sub Pop debut, Aperture, and the singer-songwriter was not content to rehash the past.
“I just felt like I needed to try something that would inspire me in a new way,” Jadagu said during a recent conversation. “I found when I started doing the demos for this new album, I wasn’t really picking up the guitar as much. I was picking up, like, a MIDI keyboard and droning notes. I would practice playing notes and trying one note the whole time, trying to come up with new melodies. It was super freeing.”
Describe, which will be released Oct. 24, is indeed a departure in ways large and small for Jadagu, who embraces a more eclectic sonic palette — an almost-candy-coated, ‘50s pop sensibility on “Tell Me That!!!” or the lush, soft focus of lead single “Gimme Time” — while retaining the appealing lyrical vulnerability she showcased on Aperture.
Jadagu will soon be back on her home turf for a pair of shows, opening for Gigi Perez in Dallas (Oct. 8) and Fort Worth (Oct. 9). The newly minted New York University grad — she matriculated over the summer — is thrilled to be back in the Lone Star State: “I feel like I know people who actually live out in Fort Worth, and then, my family is really near Dallas, so it’s cool — I’ve got people coming to both shows,” she said.
The vocalist, songwriter and producer had more to say — our conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
It seemed like there was a series of things you were throwing at yourself in making Describe — were you thinking, “Oh, I don’t want to get too comfortable?”
Jadagu: That’s literally it. I said it to my manager; I said it to my co-producer, Sora [Lopez] — the whole point of this album was to not be complacent and to grow. I feel like a lot of times I grow best whenever I’m in new situations, new environments. It’s just a great learning experience to be able to try something new. I feel like it helps keep the songwriting sharp, it allows the songwriting to grow.
The other thing I thought of was, you got everybody’s attention with the first record, and there’s pressure for the second one. This is a neat way of throwing that off — like, forget pressure, I’m gonna completely turn all the tables over.
Yes, and that was intentional. That was another thing where it’s like — I already made Aperture, right? So why would I make another one?
That would be the easy thing to do, right? Obviously, you couldn’t anticipate going in, because you don’t know, but on the other side of it, is there anything that surprised you?
This album definitely took a lot longer — that surprised me. Usually, I work pretty quickly, and prefer to put stuff out relatively quickly, and that just dates back to when I was doing stuff on Soundcloud. When we started working on this album for real, it was probably July 2024 and August 2024. We didn’t finish this album and have it fully mixed and mastered until April 2025, and for me, that’s a long time. I know for some artists — like, if you’re Rosalia, you’re gonna take five years. But for me, I’m not her and that was a long time. So that was a learning curve. Every song on the record has like 10 different versions, because we just wanted to get the best version of the songs.
Did that teach you anything in sitting with all the songs for that long?
Oh, my goodness, yeah. I think it teaches you a lot, because we kept working on the album throughout the fall of 2024 and, like I said, spring of 2025. What I learned was, sometimes, you got to give it a rest, because there were moments of where I was like, “You know what? I’ve sent so many notes back and forth that I don’t even know.”
It definitely was uncomfortable. I think I learned so much about finding security in those original bones around the song, and knowing when to stop, and also knowing when to keep going, when to try to push the song to its best form.
What are you hoping people take away from Describe?
I definitely hope people take away just — we’ve been talking about the growth — and that people can appreciate it. There’s also a little bit of something for everyone on this album. I think people can hear the vulnerability coming across, but also the fun we were having in the studio while making this one, and I hope they can live with it, and the songs can take on their own meaning.
Hannah Jadagu at House of Blues, Dallas. 8 p.m. Oct. 8. Tickets are $29-$125.
Hannah Jadagu at Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall, Fort Worth. 8 p.m. Oct. 9. Tickets are $49.25.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
