Album Review: Jessie Ware – Superbloom

Rating: 7/10

Following her superb 2020 album What’s Your Pleasure?, singer/songwriter Jessie Ware has maintained a consistent sound that celebrates the many forms of Disco. Post-disco, Italo Disco, Funk, Nu-Disco, you name it, she’s done it, and though this risk-free approach of staying in the lane that has garnered her much success can feel a bit safe, she’s still crafting catchy tunes just begging to be played on the dance floor. These songs tackle themes such as sensuality, sexuality, and the yearning for connection and touch. In other words, this music is horny, but what I’ve always liked about Ware’s music is that it’s a sophisticated kind of horny, as opposed to some of the more vulgar horny music out there. Her music is a positive all-inclusive celebration of feeling good. Her new album Superbloom continues down that trajectory, but this time around leans heavily into the 70’s Disco she flirted with on her previous album That! Feels Good! However, the album suffers with the same issue That! Feels Good! had, and that issue is that the album falters a bit toward the end, with some tracks being a slog to get through, but that issue is excusable considering the BANGERS this album has. “Ride” is a sexed-up cowboy Disco track that interpolates Ennio Morricone’s “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,” “I Could Get Used To This” is a smooth feel good introduction to the album, and “Sauna” scratches that Italo Disco itch. Jessie Ware is pretty good at this Disco stuff. Moving forward, I would like her to experiment a bit more and take more risks musically, but with this album it’s evident there’s much life left in her Disco era, despite its predictability. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 

Written By: Steven Sandoval

Xeno & Oaklander Share New Single “Poison”

Reveling in the retro nostalgia of Italo-disco, Synth-pop/Cold Wave duo “Xeno & Oaklander’s new single “Poison” is a celebration of a sub-genre of Electronic music that isn’t exactly fresh and new, but my God isn’t it nice to revisit what once was an emerging music scene, and to be reminded of the impact short-lived and obscure music can have on a genre so ever-changing and vast such as EDM. “Poison” is undeniably catchy, and the music video which was co-directed by visual artist Scott Kiernan evokes the spirit of Giallo Horror with Suspiria-influenced visuals that compliment the nature of the music quite well. The track will appear on the duo’s upcoming album Vi/deo, which is scheduled to be released on October 22nd via “Dais Records.” You can watch the music video for “Poison” below: