An impeccably polished fusion of modern disco and pop: What’s Your Pleasure? by Jessie Ware review
I hadn’t heard of Jessie Ware until last year. Broadly speaking, her creations flew under the radar.
ENTERTAINMENTREVIEW
Cadellin Thomas
7/21/20262 min read
Whats your pleasure? - By Jessie Ware [Image: Genius]
I hadn’t heard of Jessie Ware until last year. Broadly speaking, her creations flew under the radar. Her earlier works tied in sophisticated levels of R&B and alternative styles, but plenty of British artists were churning out soulful pop in the early 2010s, and Ware couldn’t quite break through. The earlier albums ‘Devotion’, ‘Tough Love’ and ‘Glasshouse’ were met with moderate commercial and critical success, and I’ve not gotten around to listening to much in full.
All things changed in 2020, when Ware released ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’ A string of singles for an album that was supposed to be a “last hurrah”, transfigured into a glistening reignition of Ware’s music career. I’ve seen plenty of praise of this album on the internet for me not to check it out.
In the years since its release, this album has gained notoriety for being one of this century's classiest takes on dance music. Its opening track, ‘Spotlight’, tells you exactly why. Ware’s silky smooth vocals are lined by a well-executed orchestral instrumental, supporting an immaculate lyrical display of emotion, then later accompanied by rhythmic synth chords and a funky beat.
This instrumental and musical style is woven throughout each track on ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’ – Nevertheless, each track feels like an unveiling of another grand dish at Ware’s surprisingly tasteful evening dinner.
Ware established herself as one of the first artists of the 2020s who can create a nostalgic feeling that still feels fresh. On ‘Save A Kiss’, you almost wax poetic about some 1990s soul gem that you play when nobody’s around; in the end, you play it at a friend's house party. Tracks like ‘Ooh La La' and ‘Read My Lips' drift away from the ballad-esque soul vocals of other tracks, and playfully dip into an almost-sordid style that drifts into the idea of sex.
I found the memorability of the last few tracks doesn't compare to the rest of the album. Regardless, Ware drives home her talent with great songwriting in the instrumentals, justifying the flower she receives for this album.
Very very few artists can create a disco-inspired album that’s so cool – so decadent, groovy and natural. What’s Your Pleasure? was a joy to listen to, and I'll be taking some tracks from it to have a permanent place in many playlists of mine.