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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Tara Joshi

Jessie Ware: What's Your Pleasure? review – rooted in lustful disco

‘A cornerstone of contemporary pop’: Jessie Ware performing on The Late Late Show with James Corden
‘A cornerstone of contemporary pop’: Jessie Ware performing on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Photograph: CBS Photo Archive/CBS/Getty Images

Jessie Ware emerged in 2010, lending her silken vocals to electro producer SBTRKT. A solo career followed but, while the London singer-songwriter’s first three albums contained garage inflections, the focus was on luxe pop. In the years since her last set, 2017’s Glasshouse, she has had her second child and started a food podcast with her mum – but album number four doesn’t champion domesticity. Featuring credits from the likes of Metronomy’s Joe Mount and producer/songwriter Kindness, What’s Your Pleasure is full of dancefloor energy instead, with careening strings, uplifting percussion and spiky licks of synth and guitar. Mirage (Don’t Stop) is slinky and seductive (“I know I said it before, but you can do what you want”, Ware croons over sleek bass), while the title track and the glorious Ooh La La bask in the glow of a fun night out. Heady and rooted in lustful disco, this album proves that the singer is a cornerstone of contemporary pop.

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