Jamila Woods - "Water Made Us"

Rhythm and Poetry

Jamila Woods - Water Made Us

Good R&B has been difficult to find in recent years, but I try to keep my ears out for it. When done right, it’s hard to beat.

Chicago’s Jamila Woods does it right. Water Made Us is Woods’ third full-length album. A blend of R&B and Neo-Soul, Water Made Us is both incredibly personal and universally relatable; its soulful, lo-fi R&B is approachable and enjoyable at every level. Woods’ vocals and lyrics are naturally the centerpiece throughout the album, but the instrumentation is often deep and subtly complex.

There is no wall-of-sound approach here, but there are very few moments where the instrumentation feels incomplete. It’s light, but not basic.

Woods is also an accomplished poet, with her poetry appearing in several collections over the last decade. Naturally, her lyricism is a strong element on the album, with most songs containing powerful imagery, metaphors, etc. Most notably, “Thermostat” builds out a complex, elaborate metaphor for navigating disagreements in a relationship.

On top of that, “I Miss All My Exes” is a beautiful poem – not a song – which occupies Track 10, just after the mid-point of the album. And it’s a great addition to the album. Of the 16 other tracks, there are four more which aren’t songs. These narrative interludes, or asides, are all less than a minute in length, and are noted on the tracklist by being written in all lowercase.

There are no bad tracks on the album, but I do think that opener “Bugs” is one of the weakest; however, I suspect this is only because it hasn’t ‘clicked’ for me yet. And, even if it never does, it is immediately followed by two of the best – “Tiny Garden” and “Practice” are absolutely outstanding songs.

As a whole, the album is focused on discussing the various stages of relationships, the challenges present in relationships, and even the different types of relationships that Woods has experienced. And, ultimately, the album pushes the idea that, whatever relationship you find yourself in, you should focus everything you have on that for as long as it seems viable.

Opening track “Bugs” sets the tone for this discussion by stating:

“Why so much pressure?
Why not have pleasure on your way to The One?
Or the second One
Or the third
Love is the warmest weather
Why not open the windows?”

And throughout this exploration, the album winds through many scenarios familiar to anybody who has ever given a relationship a serious effort. Woods’ experience and voice, as a black woman, is palpable, but doesn’t interfere with how relatable the songs are for people from other walks of life.

The album’s biggest flaw, honestly, is the gap in quality from its best songs to the rest; “Little Garden” and “Practice” set a bar that few other tracks can even come close to; they are bops. So while there are, again, zero bad songs, there are moments where it feels like the album could be a step or three higher. Several songs also feel a bit on the short side, with most falling the the first half of the three-minute range.

These are largely nit-picks, though. Water Made Us is very good.

Rating: Teal Blue