Night Reign - Arooj Aftab: Review
Review by Lavender:
Arooj Aftab is a singer and composer who was one of the best-kept secrets of neoclassical music fans for years. Her breakthrough into the broader music scene came in 2021 when she released her album Vulture Prince. The album was a massive critical darling and one that I liked more and more every time I heard it. She followed it up last year with Love In Exile, an experimental jazz collaboration that played with spacious compositions and live performance, which I also enjoyed. But now Night Reign, her 4th album and the proper follow-up to Vulture Prince has arrived on the back of quite a bit of hype.
That hype was generated largely by two great singles that pop up on the second half of the record. Raat Ki Rani came first and I liked it at the time. It has one of the closest things to a true hook on the record and it does a great job reinforcing the song. It's also one of the only Urdu tracks here with actual translations available online and after realizing the way it adds to the record's flower motif I think I like it even more. I'm even more fond of the second single Whiskey. It's probably the greatest achievement in both storytelling and vocal performance that I've ever heard from Arooj. She details the story of a relationship that is compelling in the very fact that it leads both people involved towards some of their most toxic instincts. She performs it with the depth of emotion the subject matter deserves and it's a masterful moment.
As you'd expect from Arooj's background in neoclassical, the instrumentals on this record are consistently wonderful. The tone of the record is on the more spacious and minimal side, but it often makes the most of the instrumentation it deploys. Aey Nehin is a lovely folky start to the record with strings backed by icy bells and whistles that add both texture and detail to the song. That's followed by Na Gul which weaves subtly through a pretty gentle instrumental until it takes over on a delightful bridge. I did my best to translate the song, which serves up a perhaps purposefully vague lyrical impression of moving on. It's hard to tell without understanding the language if the song is meant to be vindictive in the way some of the lyrics read or apologetic in the way the performance sounds, but it's compelling either way.
When the album allows itself to wander towards instrumentation with a bit more presence it's often quite interesting. Bolo Na features an appearance from Moor Mother and if you read my review of her new album you'll know that had me thrilled. Her commending demeanor contrasts really well with Arooj's expansive, distant vocalizations. The song deploys quite a bit of compositional space between them but it makes the moments when either return into the fold so satisfying. It also has an instrumental that occasionally creeps towards being confrontational in a way nothing else on the record does.
Last Night Reprise features the most playful instrumental on the record with a touchy little bassline and fluttering harp playing off of Arooj's great calls into the open space. It's a great addition to the record slotting between more stark songs very well and letting her play vocally in a more dynamic space. The album closes with Zameen which is a strong conclusion. Though it's just a simple piano ballad packed full of extended vocalizations it feels like a fittingly gentle walk toward the end of the record.
Sometimes when the record is more instrumentally playful it doesn't always go flawlessly. Autumn Leaves has a great songwriting hook as Arooj uses the changing season as a metaphor for someone who is no longer in her life. She muses on their summer kisses and sunburnt hands feeling extra distant as summer becomes autumn. Strangely the second half of the song is a loungey keyboard passage from James Francies. While I do like what he delivers and find it interesting it feels like it has absolutely nothing to do with the earnest piece of gentle composed singer-songwriter music that preceded it.
I was excited for Saaqi as well because it features Vijay Iyer who worked on Love In Exile. The song certainly does have a beautiful moment or two in the first half when Iyer's off-kilter piano cuts in alongside Arooj's vocalizations. But at a full 7 minutes long the song feels like it wears thin its welcome long before it's over, something the spacious composition doesn't help.
Thankfully those few complaints are very minor compared to the extensive list of things I love about this record. Arooj Aftab builds on the fundamental highs of Vulture Prince and delivers an even better album in its wake. She continues to use her mystifying vocals to fill expansive sonic spaces and her naturalistic metaphors to weave together dynamic emotional palettes. Plenty of singer-songwriter records released this year will attempt to strike the same balance, though it's hard to imagine any of them pulling it off quite this well. 8/10
For more singer-songwriter music check out my review of Waxahatchee's Tigers Blood
