‘Say You Love Me’ is the sensual second single from Jessie Ware’s sophomore album, Tough Love, and it’s clear that Ware has mastered the art of the modern love song. Her breathy vocals wash over a soft soundscape complete with the modern twist of a bassy synth backbone. As the gentle guitar strums uplifts, and the choir takes the mood to empyrean heights in a breakdown, you can’t help but be glad you made it this far into the track. You can almost imagine it pasted into any romantic/inspirational moment in a film.
Its downfall is that despite having mastered plucking at our heartstrings, Ware has yet to show us anything else. Devotion showed she has the versatility to bring funk and hip-hop elements into her music, so ‘Say You Love Me’ isn’t a very daring start. If the album is as down tempo as the singles so far, it could get old very fast.
Hopefully, the album will feature tracks that challenge her status quo and recapture the magic of singles like ‘If You’re Never Gonna Move’.
‘Say You Love Me’ will be released on September 28 on PMR.
