Album Review: Jessie Ware, Superbloom

Following on from the acclaimed, ecstasy-inducing That! Feels Good, the newest addition to Jessie Ware’s discography continues her thread of crafting sublime disco-pop tunes.

There’s a long line of inspirations in Jessie Ware’s vault. Her music is a scrupulous homage to the ‘70s that usually falls somewhere between Studio 54 and Soul Train, channelling the likes of Chaka Khan, Chic and Donna Summer.

Ware’s pivot towards a disco sound in 2020 – which offered up the incredible one-two punch of What’s Your Pleasure and That! Feels Good – cultivated a mythic diva persona for the singer, but on Superbloom, the gaze turns more inward. At once, the singer’s sixth album is a raw exploration of selfhood that locates itself on the dancefloor.

The infectious resplendence of Superbloom kicks off from the first note of ‘I Could Get Used To This’. Over a bed of dreamy orchestral swirls and rousing percussion, Ware invites the listener to “step into my secret garden”, before the track blooms into a radiant funk fantasia.

Stitched into the seams of Superbloom are various interludes where you can hear laughter or children playing, offering brief glimpses into the singer’s life beyond pop stardom.

The album’s bent towards introspection comes with ‘16 Summers’, as Ware observes a family having fun and ponders “Where am I?”

Other highlights include the hypnotically soulful ‘Automatic’ and ‘Ride’, which lifts the theme from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly and fuses it with a seductive club-ready soundscape.

Across 13 delightful tracks, Superbloom sees Jessie Ware at her most radiant, and keeps up the incredible momentum she’s built with her previous disco-inflected output. A work that’s equal parts soul-stirring and head-spinning.

8/10