Artist: Jessie Ware
Song: Pearls
Album: That! Feels Good!
Time: 4:03
Genre: pop
BPM: 123
Category: climb
Available: Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify
Break out your hot pants and leisure suits because disco is back, baby. The most recent revival of disco began at the end of 2019 with Dua Lipa’s release of her single “Don’t Start Now.” Shortly after the album featuring that song, Future Nostalgia, was released, the world shut down due to the pandemic. We all just wanted to go out to clubs and dance but we couldn’t. So instead we listened to dance albums strongly influenced by ’70s era disco, including Disco by Kylie Minogue and Roison Machine by Roison Murphy. At the same time, Jessie Ware pivoted from an electro-pop musician to a straight-up disco queen with her album What’s Your Pleasure? After hearing it, I jumped on the disco revival bandwagon as well. Although Beyoncé’s Renaissance was widely considered a tribute to house music in 2022, its celebration of queer culture in dance music was also a nod to disco.
As we entered 2023, Jessie Ware continued pushing the revival forward with her excellent album That! Feels Good! The lead single, “Free Your Self,” started me moving to the disco beat but the standout track, “Pearls,” really got me dancing. Then I transitioned my dancing to my indoor cycling classes. The track works really well for a steady Zone 3 climb with its “four on the floor” disco beat. Riders can alternate sitting on the verse with standing on the chorus. Let them shake it till the pearls fall off. After class, you can probably find them at Studio 54 because disco is definitely back.