Jessie Ware - Devotion
Critic Score
Based on 35 reviews
2012 Ratings: #49 / 1118
Year End Rank: #12
User Score
Based on 514 ratings
2012 Rank: #168
Liked by 44 people
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

100
AllMusic

An album of uncommon depth, a sophisticated but stimulating hybrid of pop, soul, and adult contemporary.

100
NOW Magazine

Her debut is a sonic amalgam of dusky 80s R&B and pristine 90s Brit soul. It's lush, sophisticated pastiche.

90
The Line of Best Fit

Devotion is such a strong début from such a promising talent that offers qualities and sounds we all forgot we liked.

90
PopMatters

In an industry of singers defined by the music behind them, Jessie Ware can only be defined as the best voice of 2012.

90
The Fly
This debut’s sophistication might mean Jessie slinks to the forefront rather than shoving her way to the top, but however long it takes, ‘Devotion’ marks a new chapter in this future-pop superstar’s journey.
86
Paste

Devotion is not composed of club bangers, but subtle, textural and groove-focused beats. They provide enough to keep the album fresh and forward-thinking, but never really remove the focus from Ware’s voice, words and melodies.

85
Pitchfork

Devotion ... marries her natural gift with throbbing instrumentation that breathes life into every single turn of phrase or sensitive vocal embellishment.

83
Beats Per Minute

Ware might still be feeling out her surroundings, but considering the results, getting to see that evolution take place is an exciting and exceedingly worthwhile prospect

83
A.V. Club

there’s a youthful, warm energy emanating from Ware’s vocals that enervates Devotion, making it more than a mere exercise in restrained, sophisticated sexiness. 

80
Resident Advisor

Devotion is a classy affair that delights in its own refinement yet stays pinned to the earth, a talented singer and songwriter realizing her potential at just the right moment.

80
The Guardian

Throughout Devotion you're never told to sit up and pay attention. Instead it quietly works its magic, a genuinely individual statement by an artist who didn't expect to become a pop star, but might struggle to stop it happening anyway – after all, the groove is in her heart.

80
The Arts Desk
There's one way to transcend retro, and that's by being timelessly brilliant. Which this is. Hooray.
80
Mixmag
The middle section may lean a little too heavily on balladry, but if you’re looking for 2012’s most sophisticated pop star, you may just have found her.
80
Slant Magazine
Jessie Ware can speak volumes about love and fear with just one repeated refrain.
80
The Irish Times

Devotion is an album of smart, superbly realised, nuanced pop music, a record Sade could conceivably have made if she was still running with the club crowd.

80
DIY

‘Devotion’ is the sound of modern pop, modern love - and heartbreak.

80
FACT Magazine

Despite the occasional tendency to soar above when her songs could benefit from some earthiness, in the main Ware’s sheer, confident boldness carries the day.

80
Consequence of Sound

Ware has the pipes to come out on top of a TV singing competition, but it’s her control, style, and musical choices that make Devotion so interesting.

80
NME

Like all the great British pop records of the past five years, ‘Devotion’ combines the present and the past to make a record that sounds both contemporary and timeless.

80
musicOMH

Any quibbles are minor here though, for Devotion is a truly impressive debut album from yet another talented British singer.

80
Drowned in Sound

She captures the emotion, without the shmaltz and in doing so, she neatly elevates her work above that of countless other mainstream pop singers.

75
The 405

Devotion is a forward-looking, soulful pop record. A definite classic pop star in the making.

70
Rolling Stone
This is not an age of great subtlety in dance pop, generally speaking, but just try telling that to Jessie Ware.
70
Clash

‘Devotion’ is effectively a cross between bass-heavy dance and sleek music to be played in upmarket wine bars. When this unlikely pairing works ... it’s a thing of wonder.

70
No Ripcord

Devotion isn’t what you’d necessarily expect from Jessie Ware, it’s not what you’d expect from pop music and it’s not really anything you’d expect from anyone in 2012.

60
The Independent
Not that her marriage of 1980s soul and cavernous electronics is ever less than well-manicured. But the more you listen, the less the album reveals.
60
Spectrum Culture

Devotion is a strong debut whose power doesn’t come from being some sort of game-changer or innovator, but rather being a lonely satellite, creating its own orbit.

40
The Needle Drop

On her full-length debut, UK singer-songwriter Jessie Ware brings a somewhat modern approach to embracing the kinds of contemporary R&B sounds that were pretty hot in the 80s.

ImpalaLT
90

This is an album swap with my good friend @UltimateLifeFrm, who will hopefully review Tame Impala’s “Lonerism” during the weekend.

I’m very familiar with pop music in general, but I’m not very familiar with sophisti-pop. How did this album turn out to be?

Giving you inner calm is what this album is great at. The singing, the lyrics, and the production all come together and make you feel like you’re at peace in an otherwise horrible setting.

This is ... read more

halbery
53

Yeah, I gotta agree with Fantano on this one somewhat; this album is a snoozer. Maybe my expectations were just too high, considering I've enjoyed some of Ware's other work, but damn, NONE of this hits. The majority of it genuinely just kinda sounds like really uninteresting radio pop fodder that I'd be hearing around the time the album was released. It does have its cool moments, but overall, I don't see myself coming back to any of this.

lucasfalmeida
82

This album is more Sophisti-Pop than anything else, i liked a lot.

SEIS
40

Unenjoyable.

Siberian
58

The first fourth is so strong, I was disappointed the more I advanced.
You can hear the future powerhouse on disco that Jessie Ware would become, but just not yet.

HIGHLIGHTS: DEVOTION, WILDEST MOMENTS, RUNNING, SWEET TALK

WORST TRACK: STILL LOVE ME

hojj
80

i love jessie ware

edit: wildest moments so good

Purchasing Devotion from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement

Track List

1Devotion
3:24
84
2Wildest Moments
3:42
88
3Running
4:28
85
4Still Love Me
3:56
71
5No to Love
3:33
73
6Night Light
4:13
83
7Swan Song
3:43
73
8Sweet Talk
3:37
81
9If You're Never Gonna Move
3:27
78
10Taking In Water
4:27
81
11Something Inside
3:34
76
Total Length: 42 minutes
Comments (1)
Sign in to comment
1y


Added on: June 19, 2012