Jessie Ware
is a British pop singer who spent the last decade being labeled as a "mature" answer to other contemporary pop voices. On her 4th album, she leaned into the role more than ever before with a classic disco-inspired pop record packed full of great hooks and instrumentation that garnered her massive critical acclaim. That! Feels Good! is a follow-up three years later that leans even heavier into the disco and classic dance influences.
Review by Lav:
I knew this album was going to be great, the question was just how great. Even before Jessie was the critical darling I was a big fan of her albums and when What's Your Pleasure? came out in 2020 I was the first to dump praise all over it. That's why I was so excited about a potential follow-up even before she dropped one great single after another. So I knew this record was going to be great the only question was how great. Turns out it's easily my favorite album of the year so far and another world-class outing from one of pop's brightest stars.
I've already been pretty extensive of my praise of the album's first two singles. Last year the soaring positivity anthem Free Yourself landed pretty high on my singles of the year list and at the end of this year the elegantly danceable Peals is a sure bet to do the same. When the third single Begin Again came out I said I liked it, but wasn't quite as head over heels for it. Turns out I was completely wrong because this song is also fucking amazing. I love the slightly darker instrumentation and absolutely pinpoint supporting vocals throughout. The combination of keys and horns in the instrumental is absolutely perfect and it's been stuck in my head for weeks.
That's about as great a pedestal as any record can have to start on and the album just keeps climbing from there. The opening track is funkier than I ever expected to hear on the record and while the title phrase obviously has its erotic implications but it also sets up the album's pinpoint stylistic execution which makes all of these songs sound like they belong together. From the moment the song starts it's one great refrain after another with a lively instrumental that's completely irresistible. Hello Love is the first song on the record to dial it back a bit though you could certainly still find a way to dance to it even if what results may be better described as a sway. The chorus does a perfect job of capturing the overwhelming joy of seeing someone you love and being instantly reminded of just how much you love them.
That's the first half of the record and it is flat-out perfect, 10/10, an energy the album keeps going for another pair of tracks in the second half. Beautiful People is the record's fiercest song with an instrumental whose bassline and percussion strangely remind me of the amazing Parquet Courts song Wide Awake. Jessie's personality takes over the song and by the time the hook comes on you not only believe her claim that there are beautiful people everywhere, you feel like one of them. Freak Me Now kicks off with a Discovery era Daft Punk vintage flavor that grabs me right out of the gate and follows it up with an absolutely classic disco sound. Jessie absolutely delivers both the lethal intimacy and arena-sized grandeur of a classic disco queen which compliments the track's slick refrains perfectly.
The last two tracks on the album are the final supplement for the album starting with Lightning another one of the more reserved moments. Its more muted synth arrangement and stark drum pattern serves as the primary instrumentation for most of the song. It also has a great hook that turns the volume up just a dial at the right moment with the backing vocals and romantic sentiment all coming together to make a memorable moment. I wish the song didn't just fade out at the end but it's a relatively minor complaint. I also quite enjoy These Lips which thrusts the record back into the world of classic disco for a finale. It's another moment of direct horniness as well which I'm not complaining about because as usual, Jessie's delivery oozes authenticity into every single believable word.
There is one song on the record that I have a bit of an issue with and unsurprisingly it's the least Jessie-sounding song here Shake The Bottle. It has a Paul Simon 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover type songwriting gimmick which you REALLY need to nail if you're going to try it and I think this song falls short. While I think the hook is still decent it's also one of the weaker ones here and the second verse in particular is just far too corny for me.
This album is spectacular. Not only does it present one great explosion of dancy pop bliss after another but it does it in a way that's impressively cohesive, something that pop albums so often overlook. The music is irresistible in every sense of the word with lively infectious instrumentation that is guaranteed to get you out of your seat and evocatively detailed lyrics that sell every ounce of Jessie's intimate musings perfectly. This is the best-case scenario for a horny Jessie Ware disco album and the resulting set of tracks easily makes for one of the best albums of 2023, period. 9/10
For more great pop music check out my review of Lana Del Rey's Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd