Jessie Ware’s 2020 launch What’s Your Pleasure was one of many early pandemic’s nice revelations — a pop album that efficiently introduced the motion, craving, and euphoria of the dance membership into everybody’s properties. It was an ideal setting for the British singer and songwriter’s voice, luxurious and complex however nonetheless extremely accessible.
Ware’s follow-up to that achievement, titled That! Feels Good! in Shania Twain home punctuation fashion, zeroes in on the various pleasures of dance music. Our bodies and bodily sensations are emphasised, whereas inhibitions are shaken off in pursuit of ecstasy, even when meaning merely disappearing (together with one’s ego) right into a mass of dancing our bodies. It’s additionally brighter and funkier than its predecessor, full of massive brass and grooves that amplify the sensation of pleasure.
The title monitor, penned by Ware with collaborators together with Shungudzo, Daniel Ford, and Simian Cell Disco’s James Ford, is an ideal instance. It opens with an orgy of breathy voices uttering the title phrase earlier than remodeling right into a limber disco-funk jam that lands someplace between Prince and Stevie Marvel, filled with scratchy guitar, blaring horn hits, and a supple, syncopated bassline. “Simply keep in mind: pleasure is a proper,” Ware sings. It’s each affirmation and rallying cry: don’t be ashamed to ask for what you need.
That’s a recurring theme all through the album. Within the single “Free Your self,” Ware flips into disco diva mode with an anthem of sexual liberation for queer and straight folks alike. “Free your self, carry on transferring up that mountaintop/Why don’t you please your self?” she sings. She seemingly runs the complete size of her appreciable vary, belting the choruses and nodding to Donna Summer time’s everlasting “I Really feel Love” because the tune shifts from piano-driven disco to piano-driven home after which again once more for its satisfying ultimate vamp.
Generally Ware simply embraces the sensation of being unabashedly sexy. “Freak Me Now” opens with some porn-worthy moaning earlier than turning into sticky electro-funk. In “Shake the Bottle,” she presents a sly instruction guide on the right way to get her off. And within the velvety disco tune “These Lips,” she describes a sensation of erotic intrigue: “These two lips may achieve this way more,” she purrs.
It’s definitely not overlong at 10 tracks, however That! Feels Good! does appear frontloaded with its punchiest tunes. Nonetheless, there are moments within the again half that actually work, just like the lithe, ethereal “These Lips,” and the body-positive “Stunning Individuals.” After some cheeky rapping from Ware, it calls to thoughts the cowbell-friendly period of LCD Soundsystem, however with all of the punk angularity changed by horns and a celebratory message. “Arise, flip round, take a bow, since you look so good,” she sings.
That! Feels Good! is at its very best when it pinpoints that intoxicating connection between physique and emotion. “Start Once more” seems like one thing out of the basic Salsoul catalog, all groove-heavy with lush, choral melodies that cascade off of each other. “Why does all of the purest love get filtered by machines?” she wonders. It’s a plea for renewal and human connection, the type that the dance ground is uniquely outfitted to offer.
