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Music Review: Jessie Ware

“I’ve got a thing for you, and I can’t let go.” A lyric from the first track on Jessie Ware’s If You’re Never Gonna Move EP, “What you Won’t Do For Love,” expresses just how her latest work makes listeners feel. Pick up a copy and you won’t let it go — even better— you won’t stop moving.

This sultry UK artist is the climax in the chemical reaction of Adele and Sade. Pulling samples from famous ‘90’s hip-hop and R&B singles like Tatyana Ali’s “Boy You Knock Me Out,” something that sounds like Big Punisher’s “100%” and 2pac’s “Do For Love,” she’s managed a jazzy indie-pop sound.

This EP is a mixture of songs from her 2012 UK Debut, Devotion and new tracks she released for this project, which is her introduction to the U.S.

The entire record is an audio representation of the Kinetic Theory. All it’s particles are moving, and just when Ware gives the vocal cue for heat, it slowly turns into something else and reaches another state.

For example, tracks like “Sweet Talk” begin in a smooth and solid manner and gently crescendo until they reach what sounds like the aural equivalent of spontaneous combustion. “Devotion” does the exact opposite in an equally pleasurable way. Call it the cool down track. It’s musical condensation.

She finishes strong on the EP with the very same song that got us stuck on her in first place — only a better version. After “If You’re Never Gonna Move” the remix, listeners realize not only is Ware preserving the UK’s legacy of explosive and skilled singers, she sure knows how to seal the deal.

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