13th August 2012 06:00:00
Jessie Ware - Devotion
"I didn’t know how to write a fucking song," Jessie Ware recently recalled when asked about the initial penning of her debut album, Devotion. The statement is a reminder of her musical infancy: once an aspiring football journalist and backing singer for Jack Peñate, now a pop fledgling with a love for the greats: Whitney, Grace, Sade. In recent months she has become something of a golden girl, with a string of guest spots to her name on tracks by the likes of Joker, SBTRKT and Sampha. Now, keen to cast aside the Katy B comparisons as just a collaborator, she is going it alone with an album of entirely solo ventures.
Devotion sees Ware embracing the R&B genre in its unadulterated form, a far cry from the seedy modernity it has become in recent years. ‘Running’ showcases her vocal diversity, moving from husky to heated all over a slinky guitar lick and meticulous percussion, whilst the Julio Bashmore produced ‘110%’ is an out and out belter. It’s not quite Whitney, but it’s as loud as she’s gonna get; blasting lyrics about dancing on her own over a down-pitched Big Pun sample. The result is an excellent juxtapositioning of elegance and the unsettling, Ware delicately harmonising over aggressive cuts of ‘carving my initials on your forehead’ by Pun.
It is not however, all about the pre-released singles. ‘Swan Song’ boasts understated vocals and carefully crafted lyrics, whilst ‘No to Love’ has a syrupy R&B goodness oozing all over it. There has always been a distinct essence of Aaliyah about Ware, and undoubtedly this album will bring about further comparisons. Yes, there are lulls – it’s only natural in a debut, (indeed Aaliyah’s best album was arguably her last) – but for someone who publicly declared their inability to write a song some months ago, it’s pretty impressive. Ware’s employment of traditional vocals, regenerated with modern production, elaborates on a distinctive 90s sound, creating an album that is both nostalgic, yet simultaneously innovative. In with the old, in with the new, we say.
Devotion sees Ware embracing the R&B genre in its unadulterated form, a far cry from the seedy modernity it has become in recent years. ‘Running’ showcases her vocal diversity, moving from husky to heated all over a slinky guitar lick and meticulous percussion, whilst the Julio Bashmore produced ‘110%’ is an out and out belter. It’s not quite Whitney, but it’s as loud as she’s gonna get; blasting lyrics about dancing on her own over a down-pitched Big Pun sample. The result is an excellent juxtapositioning of elegance and the unsettling, Ware delicately harmonising over aggressive cuts of ‘carving my initials on your forehead’ by Pun.
It is not however, all about the pre-released singles. ‘Swan Song’ boasts understated vocals and carefully crafted lyrics, whilst ‘No to Love’ has a syrupy R&B goodness oozing all over it. There has always been a distinct essence of Aaliyah about Ware, and undoubtedly this album will bring about further comparisons. Yes, there are lulls – it’s only natural in a debut, (indeed Aaliyah’s best album was arguably her last) – but for someone who publicly declared their inability to write a song some months ago, it’s pretty impressive. Ware’s employment of traditional vocals, regenerated with modern production, elaborates on a distinctive 90s sound, creating an album that is both nostalgic, yet simultaneously innovative. In with the old, in with the new, we say.
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Track List
1. Devotion
2. Wildest Moments
3. Running
4. Still Love Me
5. No To Love
6. Night Light
2. Wildest Moments
3. Running
4. Still Love Me
5. No To Love
6. Night Light
7. Swan Song
8. Sweet Talk
9. 110%
10. Taking In Water
11. Something Inside
8. Sweet Talk
9. 110%
10. Taking In Water
11. Something Inside
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