That! Feels Good! is an emphatic answer to 2020's
What's Your Pleasure? in more than one way. The dialogue evoked by the titles translates to how
Jessie Ware's fifth album relates to her fourth, as this moves the party into a bigger and more opulent disco with a laser focus on fevered physical gratification. Continuing to work with primary
What's Your Pleasure? collaborator
James Ford,
Ware also pairs here with
Stuart Price -- who reached out after helping
Pet Shop Boys and
Dua Lipa make other dancefloor bombs dropped in 2020 -- to assist in turning up the heat. Somewhat surprisingly, this set is considerably less electronic, more "Relight My Fire" than "I Feel Love." The dashing '70s flashback on the previous LP's "Step into My Life" was a kind of precursor to the wider use of robust brass and strings, and pianos skip and rollick through a few especially potent songs such as "Free Yourself" and "Begin Again."
Ware and company cleverly twist tried-and-true lyrical themes present throughout the history of dance music -- rebirth, independence, communal celebration, the quest for release after being overworked and, of course, the desire for passionate intimate connection. Vocally,
Ware has somehow found another gear, turning in her most commanding performances while having what sounds like a ball with her background singers. She isn't above supplementing her unmistakable smoldering and blazing leads with clear references to inspirations, recalling effervescent
Teena Marie (again) and authoritative
Grace Jones at points in the title song, and striking a pose like
Madonna in "Shake the Bottle." The
Ford and
Price collaborations are almost evenly split and easily commingle, so it's only right that the producers each assist with a slower number. "Hello Love," modeled on lavish late-'70s soul with a warm zephyr from
Chelsea Carmichael's saxophone, delights in an unexpected rekindling, while "Lightning," a spacious and pulsing slow jam, basks in a blooming romance. These two ballads don't have the feel of afterthoughts on an album fizzing with wholly liberated and exhilarating grooves. ~ Andy Kellman
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