Board 8 > Rank the Tracks 135: Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good! (+ Sufjan Stevens results)

(+) Yeah! (+)

RyoCaliente's week:
Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
vs.
dEUS - In a Bar, Under the Sea
vs.
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_2
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_3

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, October 8th at 4:00 PM Central Time; the future week poll will close earlier, when I am putting up the next topic
7. You can sign up to be added to the user cycle (a new user will be added to the end of the current cycle as long as there are four weeks remaining) - the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).
7c. I have added a tiered vote structure - the least popular album will be removed and its backup votes distributed to the other two entrants.
8. Starting with the next cycle, every four weeks will be a competitive week where those listed choose a single album to face off against others.
9. Skits and tracks under 40 seconds will be excluded from the rankings unless argued otherwise

Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good! track list:
1. That! Feels Good!
2. Free Yourself
3. Pearls
4. Hello Love
5. Begin Again
6. Beautiful People
7. Freak Me Now
8. Shake the Bottle
9. Lightning
10. These Lips

Current cycle:
10/8: rwlh's bonus (Sade - Love Deluxe)
10/15: Giggsalot (FKA twigs - Magdalene)
10/22: RyoCaliente
10/29: darkx
11/5: Steiner/Giggsalot/jcgamer107
11/12: neonreaper
11/19: Great_Paul
11/26: jcgamer107
12/3: Snake5555555555/RyoCaliente/BlueCrystalTear
12/10: ChichiriMuyo
12/17: BlueCrystalTear
12/24: rwlh
12/31: NFUN/Fluttershy_Pony/ChichiriMuyo
1/7: NFUN
1/14: StifledSilence
1/21: MaxGalactica
1/28: ZaziGuado/HBJDubs
2/4: Sheep007

Future Cycle:
2/11: HBJDubs
2/18: Fluttershy_Pony
2/25: Steiner
3/3: competitive week
3/10: Snake5555555555
3/17: ZaziGuado
3/24: firefdr
3/31: competitive week
4/7: Johnbobb
4/14: FoolFantastic
4/21: Seanchan
4/28: competitive week

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights > Arcade Fire - The Suburbs > dEUS - In a Bar, Under the Sea

Really don't want to cover The Suburbs before Funeral (which I'm really surprised has not come up yet)

This is a nice bit of relief after two emotional epics. The two most recent Jessie Ware albums are among the greatest pop records ever and make a perfect pair. What's Your Pleasure? is the chill to That! Feels Good!'s all-night party energy. Both feel like pretty much nothing but hits. I do slightly prefer WYP (the songs there cover more ground), but That! Feels Good! helps solidify Ware as possible the greatest disco artist, several decades after the genre supposedly died. And, despite feeling like an extension of her previous album, TFG also feels like the beginning of a new phase of her career; from the beginning, no matter the genre, Ware has been defined by a downtempo, sophisticated sound. That! Feels Good! shows she can also party with the best of them.

Free Yourself
Freak Me Now
Pearls
Begin Again
Beautiful People
These Lips
Hello Love
Lightning
That! Feels Good!
Shake the Bottle

Interpol - Obstacle 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC5zHACynR4

Interpol is a post-punk band that exudes cool and a darkness without really being oppressive or depressing.

dEUS - Little Arithmetics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPsvlDMwbVg

Last time I nominated The Ideal Crash by dEUS, which is basically a perfect alt-rock indie album. In a Bar, Under the Sea is more experimental; there's a wider variety of sounds in the album, a wider variety of styles that make it a cool journey to experience.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Euj9f3gdyM

I was expecting a comment like FoolFantastic's and I have to be honest: Funeral has never really done anything for me. It's definitely THE Arcade Fire album, and Rebellion (Lies) is phenomenal and 3 of the Neighborhoods are really good but...yeah I just don't care much for it.

The Suburbs however is just one of those albums that feels like it was written for me. Especially the title track just always hits me like a truck. Arcade Fire is one of those great experiences in my opinion, a band not everyone needs to like, but should have heard at least once.

Arcade Fire > Interpol > dEUS

Mostly just a vote for Arcade Fire, as I've heard that album before and enjoyed it.

On my first listen through, and I know I'm going to be listening to this album a good deal this week. Not surprised, though, since I love her previous album. Jessie Ware takes genres that are often derided and elevates them to a level that I suspect the naysayers would have a hard time speaking ill of.

Turn on the Bright Lights > The Suburbs > In a Bar, Under the Sea

I've had Shake the Bottle stuck in my head all morning. Even the weakest song here is extremely catchy; there are just a few elements that don't work for me in that one.

Being my nomination, I think this album is great. While What's Your Pleasure took me a while to warm up to the whole album, That! Feels Good! was immediate fire. But that's only natural given the general difference in sound between the two albums.

Question for FoolFantastic, do you think overall this is a better or worse album that Future Nostalgia?

I definitely prefer the two Jessie Ware albums to Future Nostalgia, which I feel has some weaker tracks.

1: Pearls
2: Lightning
3: Hello Love
4: That! Feels Good!
5: Freak Me Now
6: Free Yourself
7: These Lips
8: Begin Again
9: Beautiful People
10: Shake the Bottle

dEUS - In a Bar, Under the Sea > Arcade Fire - The Suburbs > Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights

Bump.

And one more.

I don't know if I'll have time to do this this week, but posting just in case.

-hotdogturtle-- posted...

I don't know if I'll have time to do this this week, but posting just in case.

It's a pretty quick, breezy album. I'd say you could come up with a decent list even with just 1 listen.

Finally bought a turntable so I can be one of those people (bump)

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs > dEUS - In a Bar, Under the Sea > Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights

1. Freak Me Now
2. Begin Again
3. Free Yourself
4. These Lips
5. Beautiful People
6. Pearls
7. That! Feels Good!
8. Hello Love
9. Lightning
10. Shake the Bottle

Great follow-up to What's Your Pleasure? Although not as strong as its predecessor, it's still extremely competent. Jessie Ware has carried out about as good of a modernized disco pop revival as you can get. The top 5 songs on my ranking are the big highlights for me (Freak Me Now, Begin Again, Free Yourself, These Lips, and Beautiful People). Great album, and I'm glad Jessie is getting her opportunity to shine after several failed attempts.

1. Begin Again
2. Pearls
3. Hello Love
4. Beautiful People
5. Freak Me Now
6. These Lips
7. Free Yourself
8. That! Feels Good!
9. Lightning
10. Shake the Bottle

Not a bad song on the album, though I'll say the start and end are not as strong as the middle, which is just banger and banger. Well, okay, Hello Love isn't a "banger" in that sense but I really enjoy that song. Jessie has such a wonderful voice and I like that she's able to sing her butt off in her breathy, sultry kind of style and then pivot to bringing the big disco infused pop hits.

After listening to this I had to go back to What's Your Pleasure again and I'm kind of still undecided which one I like more. I feel like That! Feels Good! is an "easier" album to listen to and to sell someone on Jessie. On the other side, there's no song here I'd put above Spotlight and then I'd really have to think about it for songs like What's Your Pleasure, Adore You, Mirage, and The Kill. Of course, I know myself and I always tend to err on the side of the big, more upbeat songs, so yeah, who knows.

I also listened to Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia again, as I tried to place That! Feels Good! within my larger list of album rankings. That feels like more of a pure pop album than either of Jessie's 2 albums I've talked about. Still great, though much like That! Feels Good! it's the super strong middle that carries the album. I was also trying to reconcile why that album is SO high up in my rankings. I did end up moving it down a bit, because I felt like all 3 of these mentioned albums are inexorably tied together in my mind.

But yeah, much like Max, I'm glad we FINALLY got to give Jessie her due. And I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but go back and listen to What's Your Pleasure too!

Did a listen last night so I should be able to get a ranking tonight.

1) Begin Again
2) Beautiful People
3) Free Yourself
4) Pearls
5) These Lips
6) Hello Love
7) Lightning
8) Freak Me Now
9) That! Feels Good!
10) Shake The Bottle

Jessie Ware's sound in this album is so upbeat and fun. I'm a bit meh on the lyrics through most of the songs, but I think that's because it's an album that mostly covers sex via innuendos or metaphors that I find kinda bland or grating. Not a huge deal, she's got a great voice and it's a good enough vibe that they can take a backseat.

Free Yourself
Beautiful People
Freak Me Now
Begin Again
Pearls
These Lips
That! Feels Good!
Hello Love
Shake The Bottle
Lightning

(Album) - Echoing what several people have said but this sounds like an authentic attempt at making a "disco" album in a way that people don't do anymore. A lot of times people start making disco-inspired albums but don't fully commit to it so it ends up sounding like a cheap imitation. This album could probably pass for being a few decades old if you played it for someone who didn't know.

That! Feels Good! (song) - Not a fan of all the extra speaking voices. Just let me listen to the singer please. I do like the SOUND of the song but not the contents of the song, including the lyrics. It is a good start to the album though because it sets the mood (with the help of the backing instrumentals) and gives a clear idea of what you're about to listen to.

Arcade Fire > Interpol > dEUS

Free Yourself
Begin Again
These Lips
That! Feels Good!
Pearls
Lightning
Freak Me Now
Beautiful People
Shake The Bottle
Hello Love

I'd definitely be bumpin' to this album if it was played at a club

This is a very good album. I still like What's Your Pleasure? more, but this is a clear sign that she is evolving as an artist. I'm also of the opinion that some of the lyrics are subpar, but the beats themselves sound even more refined.

That! Feels Good!
Free Yourself
Begin Again
Lightning
Shake the Bottle
Beautiful People
Freak Me Now
These Lips
Hello Love
Pearls