Our culture has a tendency of flattening women into one-dimensional characters. You have the youthful innocent and the old cat lady. You can be wild and sexy, or you can be a doting mother. That's what we're told.
But on her new album, Superbloom, Jessie Ware reminds us that women are much more complicated than that.
"You can be a sensual and confident pop star, but also want to talk about those little moments with your children. It doesn't have to be one or the other."
Superbloom is the third album in a trilogy from Ware. In 2020, she released What's Your Pleasure?, followed by That! Feels Good! in 2023. Together, these records celebrated joy and pleasure, while also diving into questions of empowerment and self-expression.
Her sixth studio album continues her exploration of joy, pleasure, desire and connection — themes, she says, that have defined this era of her work.
"There's a feeling of empowerment and taking back ownership of your sexual identity and wants and needs."
Today, Ware joins us to talk about the books that inspired Superbloom; creating a glamorous alter ego named Shirley Bloom; and why she wanted to share more of her personal life on the album.
This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.
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