Jessie Ware - 110% (and everything else she's done)

I'm the opposite - "Free Yourself" still stands out after 1.5 listens.

The lack of an exclamation mark between "Feels" and "Good" is really distracting me.

makes sense with how it's phrased in two parts in the song

i'm going on amazon US and it looks like a lot of Jessie's music is filed under "Gov't Mule"

Tried to get Chicago tix this morning 15 min. after they went on sale and got a 'no tix' available message. Going on Vivid for well over a hundred now.

tix still available for the Toronto show, come hang w me

Love the la la las in "Pearls"

"Freak Me Now" is great! Very Daft Punk bassline.

this is her worst album, which is (isn't?) saying much bc it's still v much wonderful, just that I like Glasshouse a lot and this album leans too far into kitsch for my tastes but she's good at it so w/e

Jesus, she's playing the Vic here?!

This is album is very Girls Aloud to me. There's three or four songs I can imagine them singing.

Toro is vibing HARD to the new @JessieWare album 🦜 🎵 pic.twitter.com/T3B8yRMzXG

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) April 29, 2023

adore "lightning" but can't quite get with the rest of the record. i wish it were less tasteful tbh

"Lightning" has the whispery-scratchy vocal she should use more often.

I agree this is a disappointment: she's willing herself to be frivolous.

I still like the album (not nearly as much as WYP though), but feel you on that last point, Alfred

HI I AM JESSIE WARE AND I'M AVAILABLE TO DANCE

I'm not sure I follow the criticism myself. Maybe I'm misunderstanding it, but is it something about her delivery that seems inauthentic or is it that you think she's trying too hard. Like, did you have the same issue with Future Nostalgia or Kylie's Disco which are similar in feel to me.

Generally think this album rules, feels like a pretty natural and not strained move to me. Not quite at the level of WYP but few are.

This is a rather buttoned-up album compared to its predecessor; other than on "Free Yourself" and a couple others the rhythms don't leap, which creates a tension between them and her uninhibited vocals. I like a couple tracks on Future Nostalgia without loving it either. Kylie's Disco bored me other than "Say Something," my favorite single of 2020.

You should give Infinite Disco a listen, her excellent livestream concert album. Though I think Disco is miles better than I thought first time around, the songs burrowed in deep.

Thanks for clarifying Alfred. I'm fascinated by the mixed reaction to this album so far. Crazy high score on RYM, some of the best reviews of her career, but a few people on here and a bunch of posters on Popjustice are really disappointed. I'm with omar on how this feels like a natural step for her and also it not being as good as WYP (which is probably still my favourite album of the decade). Songs like Lightning and Hello Love work well as breathers without reverting to the faceless ballads that made Glasshouse such a slog (I revisited that recently and time has not been kind). There really aren't any songs that aren't working for me right now. As I mentioned earlier, it gives me strong Girls Aloud Chemistry vibes, especially songs like Models when they went full on kitsch. To me sounding like peak Girls Aloud or even Danni Minogue's underrated Neon Nights isn't a bad thing.

The genius of WYP is that after ten excellent songs, it ends with two of the best songs her career which were totally unexpected and stand out on the album. This album is missing those unexpected moments. It's my only complaint though. I had this on repeat over the weekend and I'm having to ration my plays.

Though I think Disco is miles better than I thought first time around, the songs burrowed in deep.

― omar little

Disco has stayed with me a lot. I did an article where I ranked her albums last year and was surprised how much I still rated it.

It took infinite Disco to open up the songs for me a bit more, and also hearing a few of them every other time I pop into a CVS or Target

going for a more playful vibe on this doesn't really play to her strengths but she still basically manages fine. it's remarkably bold compared back-to-back with what's your pleasure, quite a shift. i do like the lush boogie sound on most of the album though, that's a good fit for her.

"begin again" and "these lips" are both fantastic but the rest of the album isn't quite that great. the weakest track is probably "pearls" which is fine but completely forgettable.

i still don't get why "lightning" is on the album, it's fine but it's wildly out of place since the rest of the album is so committed to specific retro palette. "freak me now" deviates from that a little too but fits in much more naturally

She sounds like a Pilates instructor on too many tracks.

lol i'm not that harsh on her

She sounds like a Pilates instructor on too many tracks.

― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

Lol

Yeah I’m also not feeling this one, I was really excited for it as WYP? was easily one of my favorite albums that year but there’s something missing here. It feels tacky where WYP? feels sophisticated. And there’s an artificiality to it, like she went this route because it felt it was what people wanted.

I can’t say it’s a bad album, it sounds extremely competent and I think every song “sounds” great but I’m not connecting with it.

i think she just felt more confident after wyp's success and wanted to try something bolder

I find the criticisms a little mystifying, i think it sounds good. And I think it's absolutely clear that this is what she wanted to do versus previous albums where she felt perhaps like she was in fact doing what people wanted her to do, or becoming someone they wanted her to become when it's not what she herself wanted.

I mean I don't think she's not telling the truth in interviews when she says exactly this

I agree: this is the album she wanted to record.

I think it's quite solidly her third best album. Ahead of tough love, which I do like a lot, and way ahead of glasshouse, which has a couple highlights but otherwise really does sound like her trying to be someone she's not.

WYP
Devotion
TFG
Tough Love
Glasshouse

Glasshouse is my favorite

wyp
devotion
tfg/tough love
glass house

idk which i prefer of this & tough love, both are solid but a little lacking compared to what came prior, though still some great moments

Team Moka / ufo on first listen

Tough Love has "You and I, Forever," "Sweetest Song," "Champagne Kisses," "Midnight Caller" -- love'em.

The bonus version has some extra gems

Tough love my fav

I think it's quite solidly her third best album. Ahead of tough love, which I do like a lot, and way ahead of glasshouse, which has a couple highlights but otherwise really does sound like her trying to be someone she's not.

― omar little

This is exactly where I'm at. Glasshouse is the album where she lost her identity. I listened to it recently and only Your Domino (which doesn't fit on the album at all), Midnight and Last Of The True Believers stood out. The two bonus tracks should have been on there over things like Hearts, Thinking Of You and Sam which are the weakest songs she's done.

Damn, loving this whole album.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Curjn2WoP93/

Jessie Ware and Roisin Murphy together. ILM might break.

we're already broken

:’(

seriously though, cautiously excited

burned enough by anticipation for dream collaborations before to know that I shouldn't get my hopes up too high

was hoping it would be a new track but this is pretty cool too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1pOvK9URyU