What We Drew

When Yaeji released her first two EPs and performed a buzzed-about Boiler Room session in 2017, her witty, alluring blend of deep house and hip-hop became an instant hit with fans of club music as well as left-field pop. Collaborations with Charli XCX, Robyn, and Clairo followed, and with her first full-length release, she's reached a new level of pop sophistication. Her productions have become far more ambitious, abandoning the straightforward house beats of much of her earlier material in favor of more expansive, detailed arrangements that incorporate trip-hop, electro, and drum'n'bass. Her lyrics are significantly more personal this time, and a far cry from the club-dwelling, cheekily hedonistic persona of earlier hits like "Raingurl" and "Drink I'm Sippin On." Tracks like "What We Drew" and "Money Can't Buy" (with a guest verse by rapper Nappy Nina) acknowledge the importance of friendship and family, while the irresistible single "Waking Up Down" celebrates the victories of everyday tasks, like staying properly hydrated and being an attentive listener. Yaeji designates What We Drew as a mixtape rather than a studio album, likening it to a series of journalistic reflections. This is most obvious on "Free Interlude," a goofy set of loose freestyle raps containing an off-handed reference to Steve Urkel after one of the emcees needs to find a rhyme for purple. On "Spell," Yaeji describes the nervous excitement of performing her music, and she channels the intense feeling of being alone in a club over the crashing breaks of "In the Mirror." The most existentialist track is "The Th1ng," which features spoken verses by Victoria Sin, philosophizing that "We're all the same thing" over fractured but smoothly shuffling beat patterns. On "Never Settling Down," Yaeji's calmly defiant lyrics float atop rattling breakbeats, building up to a shot of junglist ecstasy at the end. ~ Paul Simpson