Well, I’m finally getting round to my Mercury Music album nomination reviews…better late than never eh!  To keep things fair and unbiased, I’ve enlisted the help of Hetty the desk hoover as (I’m far too cool for my own good….) and am picking out the nominees at random.

Names out of a Hetty, if you will…

So – first up: Jessie Ware’s  “Devotion”.   There’s a slight 80s/90s tinge to her music – I’d even dare to say there are hints of Toni Braxton and maybe even Whitney hidden in there. However, the influences (of which it sounds like there are many) don’t change the fact that Jessie has very much coined her own sound and style, leaving her influences as no more than inspiration.

I’ll admit that on the first listen I didn’t quite ‘get’ the opening track – without wanting to sound completely ridiculous, you do need to (quite literally) get into the groove. The first half of the album occasionally left my finger hovering over the ‘skip’ button (especially on “No To Love” – sorry!) but there’s something almost hypnotic about the combination of the production and her vocals that made me carry on.  “Night Light” comes at just the right moment in the album, moving it on with a welcome change of pace, propelling the album in a gradual acceleration towards the end.

Yes – there’s the odd moment that might make you go “eh, what?!” (the synths on “Sweet Talk”…) and yet it’s somehow the odd moments that give the album it’s charm.  It’s very cleverly structured – “Talking In Water”  leaving you hanging until “Something Inside” wraps up the album with the class and style it has oozed from track 1.

I may not have been sure at the beginning of the album, but by the end…well, I quite liked it. It’s definitely a grower – and I’m sure after I’ve listened to it a couple more times, I’ll be booking my ticket to see her live…

7/10…for now…

Standout tracks:  Wildest Moments,  Night Light, 110%, Something Inside