With a voice like blue velvet, Jessie Ware has captivated the ears of many since early 2012 when her warm and gentle tones were accompanied by the sophisticated Synthpop of her début single, ‘Running‘.
Later in the year, she proved herself as a skilled artist with the release of her critically-acclaimed début album, ‘Devotion’; a curious and lovelorn anomaly with a roaring confidence lurking beneath it’s delicate and silky exterior.
Two years later, Jessie releases another tactile seductress whose touch is as soft as a satin-bowed cloud gliding gently in the breeze, this time named ‘Tough Love’. Much like it’s predecessor, ‘Tough Love’ feels like an album borne from the aura of a romantic evening of fire-side wine and candlelit slow dancing. Full of dulcet declarations of desire and dove-like sonic embraces. However, unlike it’s predecessor, ‘Tough Love’ is a more nonchalant outfit.
Where Devotion is full of rich productions topped with samples to add to it’s edges, ‘Tough Love’ is a more organic collection brimming with warm and affectionate textures.
‘Tough Love’ begins it’s many miles with it’s title track and lead single. ‘Tough Love‘ finds Jessie exploring the higher notes of her range, while Pop-Producer Benny Blanco finds himself drawn into the songstress’ ethereal wonderland and paints a luscious landscape of aural luxury. The track’s best feature is the chorus; where the heavenly instrumentation is stripped away to create a space of silence akin to a moment of realisation as Jessie croons “That’s called Tough Love…”
There’s a vague essence of the 1980’s skulking in the outlines of ‘You & I (Forever)‘. The bass commands an uncontrollable bodily grooving like a puppeteer guiding it’s puppet in a dance, while the chorus’ serene guitar licks allow the listener to fall into a state of ethereal bliss.
“Actions speak louder than the words you sowed”, Jessie mourns over the hand-clap groove of ‘Cruel‘. ‘Cruel‘ see’s the return of Dave Okumu (Jessie’s primary collaborator on Devotion), and it’s easy to detect his presence on this mellifluous Synth-Soul gem. The production wanders through more Siberian temperatures than the majority of the album, as Jessie’s lamenting lyrics are backed with sorrow-stained strings. A welcome reminder of what a fine début album Devotion was.
One contender for the most unusual track comes in the form of the ballad ‘Say You Love Me‘. This Ed Sheeran co-write is bizarrely disarming, mainly because of it’s contrast to Jessie’s signature sound; placing aside the synths for an Acoustic slow jam. Her voice remains every bit as gripping, only the emotion feels purer and proves she’s anything but a one-trick pony.
On ‘Sweetest Song‘, we’re thrown another curve ball, as it’s misleading name disguises a midnight steam jam filled with a dark sensuality that would make Prince break out in a sweat. The lyrics find Jessie lost in obsession over someone and likening them to a song you can’t get out of your head.
‘Kind Of… Sometimes… Maybe‘ incorporates the sleek-yet-fidgeting Neo-Soul of co-writer Miguel. The music is a rather anxious affair; full of twists and twitches, not unlike the indecisive lyrics. Despite the uneasy behaviour, the song is sewn together with the emotional fortitude behind Jessie’s whiskey-warm vocals.
We all remember Dev Hynes, AKA Blood Orange, as the producer-to-have on any Indie release of 2013. Jessie employs Dev and his penchant for rich electronic subtleties on the silky Disco of ‘Want Your Feeling‘. Jessie’s ear for a memorable melody shines on the chorus which rings on the ear like musical cashmere.
‘Pieces‘ is a soaring, string-soaked power ballad the packs an emotional punch, with a chorus strong enough to shake the hardest of hearts.
Sparse electronics scan the contours of ‘Keep On Lying‘, the other contender for the album’s most unusual track. Producer Julio Bashmore provides a very skittish beat on what sounds like a toy Casio keyboard with an influence of Bossa Nova. Elsewhere on the track, Jessie laments “If this isn’t love, then I don’t want to know” and is backed by a Lauryn Hill-inspired gospel chorus.
‘Champagne Kisses‘ is every bit as charming and tender as it’s title suggests; a sugary-sweet chorus that sparkles like an early morning frost with vocals as beautiful as the vulnerable intimacy of a wedding’s first dance.
There’s a strange vibe of the “Ol’ West” on the closing ‘Desire‘. Electronic hits provide the beat and are contorted in a way that they almost become echoing gunshots while a subtle western guitar that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Lana Del Rey record accompanies Jessie sings her lyrical tale of cinematic love.
Captivating and deeply intimate, ‘Tough Love’ is a success as a second album. While it doesn’t pack the immediate punch of her début album, Jessie has crafted an hypnotic album that could match even Sade at their most personal moments.
Tough Love is out now
Watch the music video for ‘Say You Love Me’ below: