Jessie Ware

DevotionPMR ****

One-time football journalist Jessie Ware came to prominence as a guest vocalist for electronic producers such as SBTRKT, Sampha and Joker. Add in the presence of Julio Bashmore and The Invisible's Dave Okumu on the credits for Devotion and you might be expecting an album rich with sounds and bleeps from the bassier side of the fence. But Ware had other designs in mind for her solo bow and she had the foresight, vision and persistence to put her own shape on proceedings. 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. Ware's emphatic, natural, impulsive appreciation for what club life is all about energises songs like 110% without becoming stranded on the side of the dancefloor. Elsewhere, Wildest Moments, Running and Sweet Talk are sophisticated and effortlessly cool, in the old- fashioned sense of the terms. jessieware.com

Download tracks:110%, Wildest Moments