Exploring the themes of growing pains, Jetcetera’s “Suratan Masa Depan” is no longer about rectifying regrets from a past love. Instead, it’s a letter written by Aida Rashid, its vocalist and songwriter, to her old self. The track reveals a commonplace in Aida’s life — writing songs in her bedroom when the world came to a halt during the pandemic. Veering from your typical clichés of heartbreak, she introduces a layered lens to the track.

“It’s open to interpretation,” she replied in a brief Instagram chat, shedding light on her lyrical motives. “Initially, it might sound like a love song, but it genuinely reflects conflicted feelings about being confined to my room,” she added. Rather than challenging her vocal range, the production replicates a resonant, achy and airy sound instead, reminiscent of Yuna’s ‘Camaraderie,’ especially noted when the track ends with “Kan ku ukir bintang / Hilang semua resah / Hariku takkan berubah / Adakah cinta itu saksama?” This is a testament to their textural change, away from the major chord progressions, punchy riffs, and sharp percussions of their previous singles ‘Damn Johnny’ or ‘Tickets.’

As they stray from their old sound, Jetcetera now embraces the folk-like production style of their main composer, Megat Fazly, known better for his work in the siblings-trio folk band Mafidz. With Megat’s expertise involved, there’s a tangible improvement in the band’s technical quality. They finally grew out of the seemingly amateurish, lo-fi “bedroom-born” vocals overwhelmed by instrumentals at first. Aida ventures out of her comfort zone by writing in her native language while acknowledging the challenges of avoiding clichés in Malay songwriting. We see more of her inner reflections to reconcile with her past self: “Mungkin hatimu tak mengenaliku / Sebagaimana aku mengenalimu,” contrasting to the bite-sized lyrics from their first single, ‘Hear Me Out.’

When we think of ballads, there’s ‘Sempurna’ by the Insomniacks, or ‘Sial’ by Mahalini, all traditionally slow and expressive. Suratan Masa Depan, however, is nostalgic, dream-like, and dynamic. Embracing the uncertainty — “Adakah ini pengakhirannya? / Adakah ini penentu masa?” — Jetcetera’s musical shift feels like a refresh, fluent of its inspiration from the rich tapestry of Nusantara indie folk music.

Watch Jetcetera’s official music video for ‘Suratan Masa Depan’ here:

‘Suratan Masa Depan’ is also available on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Deezer, TIDAL and other streaming platforms.