Glasshouse is a triumphant return to music that will likely send fans into ecstasy, critics into raptures, and her competitors back to the drawing board.
She could’ve been forgiven for taking her time with this third record, but when you hear it, you can tell that these songs were bursting to get out of Ware; that she’s delivered them with such nuance and intelligence lends considerable credence to the idea that her more devoted followers have proposed ever since Devotion. She is, by a distance, Britain’s most underrated pop star.
Each song on Glasshouse has its own distinct aesthetic; unlike her previous albums, 2012’s Devotion and 2014’s Tough Love, there are no songs here that could be confused for each other, none that seem an afterthought carved from the greater mood of the album.
Jessie Ware's third album is packed with finely woven adult-pop ballads about lust, longing, commitment, and reassurance -- all traits shared with Devotion and Tough Love -- but it couldn't have been made at any other point in the artist's life.
With affectionate stability at home, perhaps she'll be emboldened to take greater risks as an artist, marking the polished, pleasurable Glasshouse not as a culminating point, but the start of a bold, new direction. For the singer-songwriter, contentment need not equal complacency.
On Glasshouse, she manages to harness her rarely seen diva mode in among the pared-back hallmarks, but the result is a mixed one.
The 33-year-old has described Glasshouse ... as “an album for my husband and my baby”. If that conjures images of drippy ballads and nursery rhymes, the resulting record is much more enjoyable than that.
Glasshouse has more focus and consistency than Tough Love, but few moments herein match her earlier heights.
I first started getting into Jessie with 'Glasshouse'. All her main features are present here but in a delicate and elegantly different manner. To me, this album has always radiated an energy that's hard for me to put into words. While every song has its own character, they are as bound together as they are torn apart from each other. They seem to dialogue in a strange yet fascinating way. I'm not sure if that helps or dismantles the project, but if one thing's for sure, "Midnight", ... read more
a pleasant surprise that I liked this record, considering her early work is ass to me, this feels more alive than those projects
Midnight — 9.3
Thinking About You — 8.4
Stay Awake, Wait For Me — 7.5
Your Domino — 8.7
Alone — 9.7
Selfish Love — 7.7
First Time — 8.5
Hearts — 8.1
Slow Me Down — 6.7
Finish What We Started — 9.3
Last Of The True Believers — 7.8
Sam — 6.2
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likes: 10/12
overall final score: 81.583
favs: Alone • Midnight • Finish What We Started • Your Domino
least fav: Stay Awake, Wait For Me
worst: Sam
skips: Slow Me Down ... read more
-Midnight 8/10
-Thinking About You 7/10
-Stay Awake, Love Me 7/10
-Your Domino 7/10
-Alone 6/10
-Selfish Love 7/10
-First Time 7/10
-Hearts 6/10
-Slow Me Down 6/10
-Finish What We Started 7/10
-Last Of The True Believers 7/10
-Sam 6/10
-Til The End 7/10
-Love To Love 7/10
Favorite: Midnight
Least Favorited: Sam
Average: 67.857
Overall: 7/10
1 | Midnight 3:57 | 87 |
2 | Thinking About You 3:28 | 75 |
3 | Stay Awake, Wait For Me 3:35 | 73 |
4 | Your Domino 3:47 | 81 |
5 | Alone 3:36 | 78 |
6 | Selfish Love 3:57 | 84 |
7 | First Time 4:05 | 77 |
8 | Hearts 3:33 | 70 |
9 | Slow Me Down 3:24 | 70 |
10 | Finish What We Started 3:49 | 72 |
11 | Last of the True Believers 3:53 feat. Paul Buchanan | 71 |
12 | Sam 5:15 | 70 |
#9 | / | The Independent |
#10 | / | Fuse |
#15 | / | Albumism |
#17 | / | Entertainment Weekly |
#20 | / | ABC News |
#28 | / | The Wild Honey Pie |
#31 | / | SPIN |
#71 | / | Under the Radar |
/ | GQ [UK] |