Jessie Ware - 110% (and everything else she's done)

i wonder if i'm the only person on earth who feels sorry for jamie woon

haha the first thing i thought of when i heard "110%" was "aw, poor jamie woon"

jamie woon's album did decently, didn't it? and now he's just between albums.

capture the true desired lisa stansfield realness

i don't care man i'll take the imitation

sade is the real oak real and stansfield is the real plastic real tho, there's levels mayne

i guess what i'm saying is i am enjoying the video

yeah i dont actually know how woon's sold on the low but i dont feel his album was ever really in the air once it dropped, even in the liminal circles we're talking about. just seemed to drop and disappear

anyway i wouldnt care to speculate on what he deserved but it was definitely more than what he got. i felt like he made brave-ish decisions on that album he didnt have to if he was just playing to the gallery and it's a shame they werent acknowledged at very least

ok maybe brave is too strong but whatever, he stuck to his guns somewhat and i respect that

Produced by Julio Bashmore if you were wondering. It's blowing up, just an hour ago I heard it on a radio station in Mexico City and was wondering what ILM thought about it.

For all the reference points being thrown around here, and I know Jessie Ware's coming from a completely different place, but you could put 110% on the Grimes album and no one would notice. Its level of base competency is higher and it's a good song but I'm not sure the production does it many favours. I listened to Running straight afterwards and liked that one more.

Bit disappointed that so many of these jobbing post-dubstep vocalists seem to be defaulting to a very similar soft-rock middle ground, and yeah while it might be a brave decision up against whatever the FACT-reading bores are clamouring for, you need serious songwriting ability to pull of that aesthetic well and I dunno if any of these guys do.

Does Roses Gabor have a post-guest-vocalist career yet? That might be promising.

"running" is as good as "110%"... this might be my most anticipated album of the year atm

assuming d'angelo isn't putting an album out

Running > 110% for me, but just barely.

I hadn't been slotting Woon into this space in my brain, but now that it's been mentioned it totally makes sense.

No clue what he sold, but that album was mad underrated even on ILM, given the love for 'Night Air'. There were a LARGE number of jams there.

I love the video for 110% almost as much as the song. I can't figure out what the muffled sample in the background is saying, "carving my initials on your forehead" I think?

― boxedjoy, Friday, June 8, 2012 5:57 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

You heard it right - it's a sample from Big Pun's Dream Shatterer, I think.

hmmm, not so sure about this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=FnOBjARwNi0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnOBjARwNi0

baby in our wildest moomins

i like this a lot

http://vimeo.com/38905074

hadnt seen it before but this song off the alb is the real deal

"wildest moments" is amazing

fully in love with all the singles now. i think "running" might have shaken out as my favourite so far

think i might be talking to her next week

i'm really taken with how - similar to wynter gordon's newest stuff - ware's vocal strategy is a perfect midpoint between r&b and female singer-songwriter

hmm...I heard "Stimela" and wasn't impressed.

Holy fuck her album is going to be amazing. "Sweet Talk," the latest track to be released, is ANOTHER great track. When the guitars drop in at 2:30... one of the best musical moments of the year. Man this girl's on a roll.

Can we change this thread to "general jessie ware thread" btw i think it's about time

As requested, kinda.

that works. thanks ned!

+1 for Running. Shades of Sade, tasteful trip-hop, etc.

Still I actually liked tasteful trip-hop. Makes me want to go listen to a Moloko record.

That was a good interview BTW, Lex. I wouldn't mind seeing dance music in the UK go classy again like back in the 2-step heyday.

I wouldn't mind seeing dance music in the UK go classy again like back in the 2-step heyday.

I'm not sure this sentence makes sense really? Unless by "2-step" you basically mean MJ Cole and Wookie?

Yeah, and some Dem 2 tracks and Tuff Jam.

And Craig David.

"Wildest Dreams" has insinuated itself into my life so shrewdly.

"Wildest Moments" of course

I love all the singles so far, and I'm hardly into vocal pop, so she must be doing something right (or disastrously wrong).

110% is lovely!

reminds me of Mr Fingers oddly enough

is it in the charts?

the album is really great btw

the beats and production are great but for the most part you don't really think of it as a "uk dance" album - even bashmore's tracks, despite his distinct and characterful style, aren't recognisably him. it's more great production in the fleetwood mac sense, except from the obvious perspective of someone who grew up on ukg and hip-hop coming through in the rhythms and occasional sample. she's great at BIG CHORUSES. she's kinda annie lennoxy in a good way.

I like that description.

It makes me anticipate that this is to UK beats as Bedtime Stories largely is to US beats...? Is that off base?

maybe if i think about it that might make sense but the key difference is that bedtime stories was a very intimate and obviously carnal album, whereas devotion is all sweeping grandeur and emotions writ large and jessie being imperious, and in fact my only (not v meaningful) quibble is that she can't really do lustful very well (like, "running" is superb and all but when i listened to the lyrics i couldn't help but feel it needed a touch more of that about it)

oh i'm relistening now, i forgot how much "sweet talk" reminds me of dâm-funk

ha that's interesting

i'm on my toes waiting for this to leak.

i think my favourite non-single is "night light"

or maybe "taking in water"

of all available stocks and shares on the market 'run to love' sounding v much like loose ends or whatever (plus the bobby caldwell cover i guess) had me most down for a kinda uk boogie britsoul update thing

60% less enthused by other framings

I heard "Wildest Moments" last month when it made the blog rounds, but I'm just now catching up with all the rest. I'm not completely off base by hearing a little Sade in some of this, am I?

ctrl+f tells me no.

wildest moomins is probably her least sade number however just in case you were feeling perceptive there

srsly why does she sing it like that

is it a reflex morrissey tribute thing like what tarrus riley also sometimes does

I still like the album (not nearly as much as WYP though), but feel you on that last point, Alfred

HI I AM JESSIE WARE AND I'M AVAILABLE TO DANCE

I'm not sure I follow the criticism myself. Maybe I'm misunderstanding it, but is it something about her delivery that seems inauthentic or is it that you think she's trying too hard. Like, did you have the same issue with Future Nostalgia or Kylie's Disco which are similar in feel to me.

Generally think this album rules, feels like a pretty natural and not strained move to me. Not quite at the level of WYP but few are.

This is a rather buttoned-up album compared to its predecessor; other than on "Free Yourself" and a couple others the rhythms don't leap, which creates a tension between them and her uninhibited vocals. I like a couple tracks on Future Nostalgia without loving it either. Kylie's Disco bored me other than "Say Something," my favorite single of 2020.

You should give Infinite Disco a listen, her excellent livestream concert album. Though I think Disco is miles better than I thought first time around, the songs burrowed in deep.

Thanks for clarifying Alfred. I'm fascinated by the mixed reaction to this album so far. Crazy high score on RYM, some of the best reviews of her career, but a few people on here and a bunch of posters on Popjustice are really disappointed. I'm with omar on how this feels like a natural step for her and also it not being as good as WYP (which is probably still my favourite album of the decade). Songs like Lightning and Hello Love work well as breathers without reverting to the faceless ballads that made Glasshouse such a slog (I revisited that recently and time has not been kind). There really aren't any songs that aren't working for me right now. As I mentioned earlier, it gives me strong Girls Aloud Chemistry vibes, especially songs like Models when they went full on kitsch. To me sounding like peak Girls Aloud or even Danni Minogue's underrated Neon Nights isn't a bad thing.

The genius of WYP is that after ten excellent songs, it ends with two of the best songs her career which were totally unexpected and stand out on the album. This album is missing those unexpected moments. It's my only complaint though. I had this on repeat over the weekend and I'm having to ration my plays.

Though I think Disco is miles better than I thought first time around, the songs burrowed in deep.

― omar little

Disco has stayed with me a lot. I did an article where I ranked her albums last year and was surprised how much I still rated it.

It took infinite Disco to open up the songs for me a bit more, and also hearing a few of them every other time I pop into a CVS or Target

going for a more playful vibe on this doesn't really play to her strengths but she still basically manages fine. it's remarkably bold compared back-to-back with what's your pleasure, quite a shift. i do like the lush boogie sound on most of the album though, that's a good fit for her.

"begin again" and "these lips" are both fantastic but the rest of the album isn't quite that great. the weakest track is probably "pearls" which is fine but completely forgettable.

i still don't get why "lightning" is on the album, it's fine but it's wildly out of place since the rest of the album is so committed to specific retro palette. "freak me now" deviates from that a little too but fits in much more naturally

She sounds like a Pilates instructor on too many tracks.

lol i'm not that harsh on her

She sounds like a Pilates instructor on too many tracks.

― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

Lol

Yeah I’m also not feeling this one, I was really excited for it as WYP? was easily one of my favorite albums that year but there’s something missing here. It feels tacky where WYP? feels sophisticated. And there’s an artificiality to it, like she went this route because it felt it was what people wanted.

I can’t say it’s a bad album, it sounds extremely competent and I think every song “sounds” great but I’m not connecting with it.

i think she just felt more confident after wyp's success and wanted to try something bolder

I find the criticisms a little mystifying, i think it sounds good. And I think it's absolutely clear that this is what she wanted to do versus previous albums where she felt perhaps like she was in fact doing what people wanted her to do, or becoming someone they wanted her to become when it's not what she herself wanted.

I mean I don't think she's not telling the truth in interviews when she says exactly this

I agree: this is the album she wanted to record.

I think it's quite solidly her third best album. Ahead of tough love, which I do like a lot, and way ahead of glasshouse, which has a couple highlights but otherwise really does sound like her trying to be someone she's not.

WYP
Devotion
TFG
Tough Love
Glasshouse

Glasshouse is my favorite

wyp
devotion
tfg/tough love
glass house

idk which i prefer of this & tough love, both are solid but a little lacking compared to what came prior, though still some great moments

Team Moka / ufo on first listen

Tough Love has "You and I, Forever," "Sweetest Song," "Champagne Kisses," "Midnight Caller" -- love'em.

The bonus version has some extra gems

Tough love my fav

I think it's quite solidly her third best album. Ahead of tough love, which I do like a lot, and way ahead of glasshouse, which has a couple highlights but otherwise really does sound like her trying to be someone she's not.

― omar little

This is exactly where I'm at. Glasshouse is the album where she lost her identity. I listened to it recently and only Your Domino (which doesn't fit on the album at all), Midnight and Last Of The True Believers stood out. The two bonus tracks should have been on there over things like Hearts, Thinking Of You and Sam which are the weakest songs she's done.

Damn, loving this whole album.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Curjn2WoP93/

Jessie Ware and Roisin Murphy together. ILM might break.

we're already broken

:’(

seriously though, cautiously excited

burned enough by anticipation for dream collaborations before to know that I shouldn't get my hopes up too high

was hoping it would be a new track but this is pretty cool too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1pOvK9URyU