A New Chapter in Jessie Ware’s Musical Journey
Slip into something slinky, grab a glass of bubbly and take up an invitation to Jessie Ware’s fun, flirtatious, grown-up pop record. With the release of Superbloom, the British singer continues to solidify her place as a leading voice in contemporary pop music.
The Evolution of a Pop Powerhouse
Superbloom loosely concludes a trilogy that began in 2020 with What’s Your Pleasure? and continued with 2023’s That! Feels Good!. Both albums were among the best of their respective years, and together they redefined the British artist as a powerhouse vocalist hosting a confident, campy after-hours dancefloor.
Fans familiar with the 1970s disco and house glamour of those records (think Chic, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Chaka Khan) will find plenty more to love on Superbloom. However, the album also expands its influences, drawing from a broader range of musical styles.
A Tapestry of Influences
ABBA, Grace Jones, ESG, Minnie Riperton’s Le Fleurs, musical theatre melodrama, and even an obscure Pet Shop Boys and Liza Minnelli collaboration are all embedded in the DNA of these songs. From the opulent euphoria of “I Could Get Used To This” to “Don’t You Know Who I Am?”, which sounds like Barbara Streisand doing a James Bond theme in Studio 54, the grooves will get bodies moving while the key changes and lush, orchestral palette hearken back to a more sophisticated era of pop songwriting.
A Voice That Captivates
Ware’s vocals — exquisitely simmering, crooning or soaring for the rafters — are a treat. But so too is her lyrical innuendo, best heard on the suggestive heavy breathing and pulsing synths of the suitably steamy “Sauna”.
The 41-year-old singer, hit podcaster and mother-of-three also finds space for sentimentality. “16 Summers” is a sweeping strings-and-piano ballad about savouring the present as Ware watches her kids growing up too fast. “I want the hourglass to stop / or at least slow down,” she croons in a song likely to make any parent’s eyes wet.
Collaborations That Elevate
Reuniting with British super producer James Ford, with assistance from frequent collaborators — Karma Kid, Stuart Price, and Jack Peñate among them — Ware has crafted another luscious listening experience. She’s still cruising in a very familiar lane, but in a crowded field of modernised disco and feel-good funk-pop, Ware still stands apart. Rather than settle for kitsch pastiche, she truly appreciates her source material while finding new gears to explore with her sound and voice.
A Personal Reflection
“Superbloom is this record that feels like I’ve finally kind of been able to put everything in the melting pot,” Ware recently told Double J, from the sophisticated electronic pop of 2012 debut Devotion through to her 2020s resurgence. “It just feels like I finally know what I’m doing as an artist.”
Hard agree, and we’re grateful to be along for the lively, liberating ride. Now, who’s up for a martini? Cheers, Jessie.
