Jessie Ware
Devotion

When the intoxicating and sublime warmth of a female soul voice marries the surreal freshness of perfect synth-ambient alchemy, the final ratatouille on the score can only appear on the menu of a five-star album. No quirky dance tracks, no sudden sonic cataclysms like a magnitude 9.9 on the Richter scale, just the gentle flow of warm and enveloping tracks, downtempo immersed in the enigmatic fragrance of the unfinished leap between nature and artifice. This is the case with Jessie Ware, an English girl born in '84, debuting with Devotion, an album that has managed to adequately introduce her into a rather confused and partially heterogeneous musical-recording context.

Devotion is an album that attempts - and I would say with good results - to blend acoustic, instrumental, and classic-traditional with the creativity of soft-spiritual electronics, without getting lost in uncongenial destinations. In this conjunction of creativity and lightness, Jessie triumphantly brings in old-school soul-R&B, the hypnotic groove of black divas, the creaminess of not overly-sweetened ballads, and, as the essential final touch of the work, synth-ambient nuances to crown it all. And so it is that the "alternative" reproduction of the ethereal effervescence of the Bjork-like nature meets and envelops the immortality of the "beautiful voice", describing this union in a work that is complete, compact, coherent, and extremely relaxing and satisfying.

The album starts with the title track Devotion and immediately immerses you in pure sonic asceticism, savoring the perfect marriage between soul and synth; next comes Running, a piece that seems to blend the timbre of Whitney Houston at her best, the Bjork of the Post-Homogenic-Vespertine trilogy, innocent hard rock guitar riffs, and even the almost defunct Motown tradition, before reaching the reggae digression in Night Light and the substantial electro-ambient-trance experiments in the haunting Still Love Me. Also deep are the retro soundtrack ballad Wildest Moments, the vibrant 80s funky of Sweet Talk, the ambient music box Something Inside and 110%, melodic downtempo R&B.

Miss Ware started with more than good results with her Devotion, also commercially welcomed with a decent chart placement, at least regarding Her Majesty's context. Simple yet refined sounds and an atmosphere not excessively spiritual-ascetic have indeed (semi) rewarded a work of style and commendable effectiveness, far from what the masses currently propose and yet with an eye also on the pop-mainstream stage that currently seems interested in a soft turn against the exaggeration and the monumentalism of the rock-solid and imposing starlets. Who knows what the future will hold for our lovely Jessie, a young and interesting promise (and proposal) of anti-flamboyance and moderate sobriety, set in defense against the latest offensives and remaining cartridges of glitter, insignias, fluorescent strobes, and acoustic dynamites.

Jessie Ware, Devotion

Devotion - Wildest Moments - Running - Still Love Me - Not To Love - Night Light - Swan Song - Sweet Talk - 110% - Taking In Water - Something Inside.