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Apr 16, 2026 Issue #75 - The ’90s Issue Part 2 Featuring Pulp and Suede By Kyle Mullin

Jessie Ware impressively seeds and prunes a lush garden metaphor on the opening tracks of Superbloom, so much so that it feels like a concept album. And yet, a different focus on a back end track makes the alt-pop artist—who is a fixture on the albums and singles charts in her native UK—poised for an even bigger crossover hit.

“Ride” will startle you and elicit a smile thanks to its sudden, unexpected and undeniably catchy synth and throbbing drum reinterpretation of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’s iconic theme song. Once Ware gleefully sings “giddy up!” as part of the song’s innuendo, “Ride’s” concept becomes clear and all the more fun, which is saying something given its already propulsive rhythm.

“Sauna” achieves equally creative imagery as Ware sings about a steamy dance floor. Its tightly looped key refrain all but hisses with fitting delight.

But before all that, Ware deftly digs into the roots of love. And she’s unafraid to get her hands dirty. “I Could Get Used to This” is a string-laced, swaggering, ready-made rug-cutter that’ll compel anyone with a pulse to leap up and strut their stuff. Even more compelling than the instrumental: Ware’s lyrics about refusing to settle for less, and enjoying so much more as a result. She heightens that theme with spot-on lines about blooming and “everyone deserving their flowers,” all aligning with the album’s title, cover art, and overarching concept. Same goes for “Superbloom,” on which Ware sings about enjoying enough spring and summer rain to satiate from pedals all the way to the roots.

Ware’s vocal flourishes are every bit as inventive as her lyricism. On “Sauna” she shifts from swaggering singing to sudden spoken asides about how such high heat is good for the body. The result is both affirming and delightfully cheeky. What’s more: on “Mr. Valentine” Ware flits from smoldering singing about ideal love to an unexpected, and singular, high pitched border-line squeal on the chorus. The latter evokes the ecstasy, and often unabashed earnestness, of true passion.

From her ambitious concepts and lyricism, to her spot-on singing, Superbloom finds Jessie Ware flourishing. On this LP replete with gleaming greenery imagery and lyrics about hard earned sunny ways, Ware doesn’t just sound like a natural dancefloor maestro. She proves to be a force of nature. (www.jessieware.com)

Author rating: 8/10