Water Made Us
Studio album by
Jamila Woods
ReleasedOctober 13, 2023 (2023-10-13)
GenreR&B,[1] neo soul[2]
Length45:01
LabelJagjaguwar
Producer
  • Wynne Ashley Bennett
  • Biako
  • Grades
  • Chris McClenney
  • George Moore
  • Nao
Jamila Woods chronology
Legacy! Legacy!
(2019)		 Water Made Us
(2023)
Singles from Water Made Us
  1. "Tiny Garden"
    Released: July 11, 2023
  2. "Boomerang"
    Released: August 16, 2023
  3. "Good News"
    Released: September 13, 2023

Water Made Us is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter and poet Jamila Woods. It was released on October 13, 2023, through Jagjaguwar.

Background and composition

Water Made Us was born out of a period of "intense self-reflection and creative expression" during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] As she "sat in the house for 2 years" she became her own "source material", of which she loves to draw inspiration from.[4] In a statement, Woods described the project as "the most personal and vulnerable piece of art" she has ever created. She personally wished for the album to become a playlist that carries one through a "life cycle of a relationship",[5] as she and co-producer Chris McClenney tried to narrow the tracklist down to 17 tracks. McClenney praised her "amazing sense of language and a way with words" that puts "so much weight" on every lyric of the album.[6]

The project was described as her own "search for love". While the first few tracks capture the "fluttery apprehension of a new connection", the ballads "Wreckage Room" and "Thermostat" reflect on motifs such as "conflict" and heartbreak. Finally, the songs concluding the album are seen as "mantra songs" by Woods due to their "expressions of accumulated wisdom".[6]

Release and promotion

The lead single "Tiny Garden" was released on July 11 and features New York singer Duendita. A "nourishing, uplifting" track with "hip-hop instrumentation"[7] that sees another chapter of her signature "spirit of benevolence", Pitchfork writer Dylan Green awarded it "Best New Music" upon release.[8] Woods explained that the song is about the way her heart works in "the slow and steady way" she loves. An accompanying music video sees her directorial debut, as she expresses how she oftentimes feels about relationships.[9] On August 16, Woods released the single "Boomerang", co-written by Nao, London producers Grades and George Moore. The singer revealed that the song talks about the kind of relationship "keeps popping back up throughout your life" and the feelings that come with wondering "will we or won't we?"[10] A third single titled "Good News" came out on September 13. The song was integral to the determination of what the album title would be, as it arose from a lyric of the track.[11]

In October 2023, Woods announced The Water Made Us Tour in support of the album. The tour is set to begin on February 1, 2024 in Seattle and end on April 30, 2024 in Copenhagen.[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic85/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Beats Per Minute85%[15]
Clash9/10[16]
HipHopDX4.2/5[2]
Exclaim!8/10[17]
The Guardian[1]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[18]
Pitchfork8/10[19]
PopMatters8/10[20]
Slant Magazine[21]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Water Made Us received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 from 11 critic scores.[13]

Writing for AllMusic, Andy Kellman praised the album as "unique in the way it examines and reflects on love with its philosophical and patient yet unconcealed perspective."[14] HipHopDX's Alec Siegel praised the album as "bursting with intimate details on a diorama-sized scale that loosely trace the relationship lifecycle: the boundless beginning, the comfortable middle, the abrupt end, and, crucially, the reflective aftermath."[2] Robin Murray of Clash described the album as "lavish in scope but touchingly personal."[16] Writing for Beats Per Minute, Steve Forstneger praised the album as "possibly the most intelligent album about love this decade."[15] Pitchfork's Tarisai Ngangura praised Woods' writing as having "irreverence, flexibility, and discipline."[19] Writing for The Guardian, Rachel Aroesti described the album as "hook-filled" and "restlessly genre-blending."[1] Noah Barker of The Line of Best Fit praised the album's themes as "pair[ing] harmony with righteousness."[18] In his review for PopMatters, Steve Horowitz described Woods' as having "a good sense of humor and engag[ing] in wordplay and childlike melodies to affect a mood or make a point."[20] Slant Magazine's Dana Poland described the album as a "radically honest journey through the complexities of love."[21] Safiya Hopfe of Exclaim! described the album as "densely poetic and sonically diverse."[17]

Track listing

Water Made Us track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Bugs"
Alissia Benveniste3:21
2."Tiny Garden" (featuring duendita)
  • Woods
  • Chris McClenney
  • Candace Camacho
  • Wynne Ashley Bennett
  • McClenney
  • Bennett
4:11
3."Practice" (featuring Saba)
McClenney3:14
4."Let the Cards Fall"WoodsWoods0:43
5."Send a Dove"
  • Woods
  • McClenney
  • Peter Wilkins
  • Woods
  • McClenney
  • Peter CottonTale
3:56
6."Wreckage Room"
  • Woods
  • Julian Davis Reed
  • Wilkins
CottonTale3:19
7."Thermostat" (featuring Peter CottonTale)
  • Woods
  • Justin Canavan
  • Nate Fox
  • Wilkins
  • Shaan Ramaprasad
CottonTale3:01
8."Out of the Doldrums"WoodsWoods0:35
9."Wolfsheep"
  • Woods
  • McClenney
McClenney2:57
10."I Miss All My Exes" (featuring Gia Margaret)
1:57
11."Backburner"
  • Woods
  • McClenney
McClenney3:29
12."Libra Intuition"WoodsWoods0:14
13."Boomerang"
3:02
14."Still"
  • Woods
  • McClenney
  • Bennett
  • McClenney
  • Bennett
3:02
15."The Best Thing"WoodsWoods0:33
16."Good News"
  • Woods
  • Itai David Shapira
  • Jean Placide
Biako3:03
17."Headfirst"
  • McClenney
  • Bennett
4:24
Total length:45:01

References

  1. 1 2 3 Aroesti, Rachel (October 13, 2023). "Jamila Woods: Water Made Us review – tracing a relationship's painful arc". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Siegel, Alec (November 3, 2023). "Jamila Woods Lets Go & Finds Solace On 'Water Made Us'". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  3. ↑ Richardson-Dupuis, Emilie (July 11, 2023). "Jamila Woods Announces New Album 'Water Made Us,' Shares Lead Single "Tiny Garden"". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  4. ↑ Paul, Larisha (July 11, 2023). "Jamila Woods Previews New Album 'Water Made Us' With 'Tiny Garden'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  5. ↑ Pappis, Konstantinos (July 11, 2023). "Jamila Woods Announces New Album 'Water Made Us', Releases New Single". Our Culture Mag. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Zoladz, Lindsay (September 11, 2023). "Jamila Woods's Songs Have Many Loves". The New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Jamila Woods Announces New Album Water Made Us". Paste. July 11, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  8. ↑ Green, Dylan (July 11, 2023). "Jamila Woods: "Tiny Garden" [ft. Duendita] Track Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  9. ↑ Kelly, Tyler Damara (July 11, 2023). "Jamila Woods has announced the new album Water Made Us". Line of Best Fit. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  10. ↑ Hussey, Allison (August 16, 2023). "Jamila Woods Shares Video for New Song "Boomerang": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  11. ↑ Strauss, Matthew (September 13, 2023). "Listen to Jamila Woods' New Song "Good News"". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  12. ↑ Samuels, Keithan (October 16, 2023). "Jamila Woods Releases New Album 'Water Made Us,' Announces 2024 Tour". Rated R&B. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Water Made Us by Jamila Woods", Metacritic, retrieved October 22, 2023
  14. 1 2 Kellman, Andy. "Jamila Woods – Water Made Us Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Forstneger, Steve (October 16, 2023). "Album Review: Jamila Woods – Water Made Us". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  16. 1 2 Murray, Robin (October 12, 2023). "Jamila Woods – Water Made Us Reviews". Clash. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  17. 1 2 Hopfe, Safiya (October 11, 2023). "Jamila Woods Bravely Explores the Tributaries of Selfhood on Water Made Us". Exclaim!.
  18. 1 2 Barker, Noah. "Jamila Woods pairs harmony with righteousness throughout Water Made Us". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  19. 1 2 Ngangura, Tarisai. "Jamila Woods: Water Made Us". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  20. 1 2 Horowitz, Steve (October 12, 2023). "Jamila Woods Finds Water Made Us While Seeking Love in Her". PopMatters. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  21. 1 2 Poland, Dana (October 9, 2023). "Jamila Woods Water Made Us Review: Radical Self-Reflection". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
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