JESSIE WARE IN FULL BLOOM

Jack Grange

20 April 2026

Joshua Magazzu

The queen of disco is back. Jessie Ware’s new record Superbloom is here — her first release since the 2023 pleasure-positive That! Feels Good! — and it is sexy, powerful and polished. It sounds exactly like its album cover looks and feels. It is luxurious, decadent, and deeply rich. The record is wrapped in velvet-like vocals that seem to bloom from somewhere warm within Ware. There is a sense of careful craftsmanship and confidence. The record is rooted in the world of Soulful Disco, which Ware is no stranger to. Every element feels thoughtfully crafted and considered: the instrumentation lush but never cluttered, the arrangements spacious yet full. Jessie Ware has always had an instinct for atmosphere, but here that instinct feels fully realised.

Very early on in the record, we hear the lead single “I Could Get Used to This” — the track that kicked off the Superbloom campaign earlier this year, and an immediate statement of intent. It has a distinct disco-flute sound that runs throughout: immediately recognisable and era-defining. From the moment it opens, you know exactly where Ware is taking you. There is a looseness to it, a breezy confidence that makes it feel effortless. It sets the tone for everything that follows: an album that is unashamedly fun, deeply musical, and completely in command of its own identity. It is SO Jessie Ware — fun, sexy, and gloriously groovy.

A few tracks in, “Sauna” hits you right in the face! CAMP, HOT, GAY! This track, as the title suggests, is steamy. It is the kind of song that doesn’t ease you in: it opens the door, lets the steam pour out, and pulls you inside. The production is slick and playful, with a pulse that feels designed for dark rooms and sweaty dancefloors. Ware leans fully into the fantasy here. It is a fun pop song that every gay will get around, the kind of track that earns its place on a Pride playlist. But Sauna is more than just a crowd-pleaser — it is a statement. It is Ware signalling, with total confidence, exactly who she is making music for and why. It is tracks like these that have cemented her status as a genuine LGBTQIA+ icon, an artist who doesn’t just entertain that audience but truly belongs to it.

“Ride” sounds like an instant classic in Ware’s discography. From the moment it opens, there is a sense that something special is building. The beat, fun and irresistible. Her vocal delivery in the chorus of the song is powerful, it's rich and driven. There is a grandeur to “Ride”, a cinematic sweep that sets it apart from the rest of the record. If Superbloom is Ware at her most fully realised, then Ride is the moment that realisation peaks — a song that reminds you exactly why she is one of the finest vocalists working today.

Towards the end of the record, the listener encounters “16 Summers,” a gorgeous piano-driven ballad that stands as the emotional heart of Superbloom. Where much of the album revels in disco and movement, this track strips everything back — just Ware, the piano, and something achingly honest. It is a song about the tenderness of motherhood, about watching time pass in the faces of the people you love most, and the quiet grief that comes with knowing you cannot slow it down. Ware sings it with a vulnerability that feels entirely unguarded, her voice carrying the full weight of what it means to love someone unconditionally. It is the kind of song that doesn’t ask for your attention — it simply earns it.

Superbloom is the older sister of everything Jessie Ware has made before. It carries the DNA of What’s Your Pleasure ? and That! Feels Good! — the disco instincts, the dancefloor devotion, the sheer love of a groove — but it wears it all with a greater sense of authority. This is a record that knows exactly what it is. It is more mature, more enriched, more fully realised. Where her previous albums felt like an artist discovering and refining her sound, Superbloom feels like an artist who has arrived. There is nothing left to prove here, and that freedom is felt on every track.

This is Jessie Ware in full bloom, and it is an extraordinary thing to witness.

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️