A followthrough to her isolated 2020 disco ball of a record, ‘That! Feels Good!’ essentially enriches Jessie Ware with a thrilling flash whose triumphant display of poise in this rich disco soundscape is straight-up inviting and alluring.
In the disco daze without the actual availability of dance floors in 2020, Jessie Ware spun around and made a second wind for herself with the release of ‘What’s Your Pleasure’, her entry into the world of disco music as she participated in the 12 set cuts that explore the various eras of the genre. A different turning point for her as she first started in the 2010s collaborating with SBTRKT and then working on her solo outputs that centralize her in her sophistic-pop / R&B sound that has been her hallmark for the last decade, focusing a lot on romantic yearning that she may sell well but musically just doesn’t enamor in the same way. Hence, when Jessie Ware put ‘What’s Your Pleasure’ in mid-2020, it showcased her romance peeking out in the open as she embraced those disco grooves that allowed her presence to be a bit more showstopping than before.
And in just 2 years after that project, ‘That! Feels Good!’ is a maturation of that disco sound that Jessie Ware stepped foot in, where it not only brings her deeper into the depths of that wonderful genre, but it changes how she presents herself on the dance floor - posh and confident, yet cheerful to bring others along the way to the lively party and still retains that romantic side where she now embraces with a flashy flourish. The way she performs amidst the opulent production shows a much more expansive approach to her expressiveness and her range. On ‘Pearls’, Jessie Ware’s grandeur vocal belting is just one of that expansiveness shown through, so does her classy sweet talks on ‘Shake The Bottle’ and ‘Beautiful People’, and even her romantic passion now burst into flames on songs like ‘That! Feels Good!’ and ‘These Lips’ where that confidence she exudes just allows every romantic and sensual wink to be even more alluring and pounding.
It’s worth noting the production and instrumentation that amps up that lush 70’s disco and funk grooves from producers Stewart Price and James Ford, as well as afrobeat and jazz band KOKOROKO that’s a lot more grand, superb, and energetic, a complete turnaround from ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’s tentative melodic glides. The introduction of ‘That! Feels Good!’ is immense with all of that bubbly funk grooves, later tossed in these dramatic violin swings with a gleaming guitar passage to boot. ‘Free Yourself’ and ‘Pearls’ amps that confident magnetism, where the former’s brighter piano chords lead to the intense chorus with the backing vocals - an essential element that allows the rest of the tracks to sound impressive and huge - charging it up is endlessly joyous and the latter’s buzzy synths amidst chipper melodies just allows the listener to embrace their confidence hidden within. Even the slower cuts such as ‘Hello Love’ and ‘Begin Again’ are just momentously grand, full of sweeping strings and brass horns that will move the room in its entirety. Then there are the three absolute back-to-back stunners of ‘Beautiful People’, ‘Freak Me Now’, and ‘Shake The Bottle’ where the grooves and melodic stickiness are amped up beyond 11 from the ridiculous low-end romp of ‘Beautiful People’, the sharp house rumble of ‘Freak Me Now’, and the playful to-and-fro of ‘Shake The Bottle’. And while ‘Lightning’ with the production callbacks to Jessie Ware’s previous musical ventures may feel awkward at first due to the more digital beats amidst resolute strings and backing vocals, it still provides a remarkable pace leading up to ‘These Lips’, the absolutely stunning finale where the sensual quality has blossomed with the intimate emotions from the horns and strings amidst a palpable low-end.
That confidence also exudes even further within Jessie Ware’s poetry. If her last couple of projects - ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’ Included - is her tiptoeing around where she keeps creating a dreamy yearning for the romance in question that may seem a little isolated in most of her projects, ‘That! Feels Good!’ is her feeling a lot freer, a characteristic that makes her sensuality showcase a lot more passion and her willingness to cheer up people to exude their confidence helps out in making her and everybody else feel satisfied and charmed. That communal aspect is shown directly in ‘Free Yourself’ and ‘Beautiful People’ where she acts as a hypeman to other people, convincing them to let loose and invite their friends to the dance floor from which Jessie Ware is moving along with the others, allowing a mutual kinship that makes the project even more approachable. And on cuts like ‘Pearls’, ‘Freak Me Now’, and ‘Shake The Bottle’ now show Jessie Ware’s sensual side where the horniness is just glorious on display, after all, on the title track itself she literally shouts ‘Freedom is a sound / and Pleasure is a right!’ as a declaration to be unabashed in one’s own sexuality. Yet there are also a few wistful aspects of ‘Hello Love’, ‘Begin Again’, and ‘Lightning’ where the reflective aspects of life, work, and love provide some more earnest humanity to the core of that flashy romp that also recognizes the growth and strength Jessie Ware has mustered over the years. And on ‘These Lips’, Jessie Ware’s newfound poise allows her to be the one to allure and control that magnetism instead of being the one to yearn for that romance, where she’s able to convince that there’s so much more that she can do to profess that passionate flair of hers.
A spin around and a development from ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’ in everything production, melodies, performances, and songwriting, ‘That! Feels Good!’ is an affirmative mating call from ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’s tentative hesitance. It uses Jessie Ware’s poise and flash that allows her to ramp up the fiery passion that she now puts out with a lot of spectacular displays of expressive winks and pirouettes alongside gorgeous arrangements, remarkable songwriting, and communal backed melodies that are endlessly remarkable and approachable. A dance floor with decadence on sight that you just cannot miss, ‘That! Feels Good!’ is correct in its title, as it is indeed a continuously gratifying project where even with all the pomp and the flash that might turn you away, it never forgets to invite you to that dance floor and make everyone’s infectious charm turn your hidden confidence into something so special.
Favorite Tracks: ‘That! Feels Good’, ‘Free Yourself’, ‘Pearls’, ‘Begin Again’, ‘These Lips’, ‘Hello Love’, ‘Freak Me Now’, ‘Shake The Bottle’, ‘Beautiful People’
Least Favorite Track: ‘Lightning’