Ed Sheeran- + Album Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Album- +

Artist- Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran was one of the big stars of 2011/2012, with an acoustic freshness that people the world over enjoyed. But is this really a great debut that deserved such success? Here are my thoughts:

Track 1- The A- Team

The opening track and lead single is an acoustically driven number that is very understated and lyrically speaks of a girl who is a addicted to drugs and the way her life is governed by this and how this is a very sad situation. Based upon Sheeran’s experience when visiting a homeless shelter, the song has that nice and chilled melodic feel with a dark undertone that allows us to get lost in the songs tight but not obvious lyrical content and question whether this is right into today’s society. And with his faint vocal performance the delicacy and idea of this girl losing her way really comes to the fore. The light guitar and piano instrumentation means the song is never overpowered, and means that we have a song that is just irresistible.

5/5

Track 2- Drunk

This track is bit more up tempo than the previous track and offers a nice bit of diversity, but its still quite chilled and not a party club kind of song. And whilst he may be speaking of getting Drunk, he’s not generically talking about the generic let’s just party type of sing that many of the songs released today do but rather he is speaking of using alcohol as a means to cope with the loss of a girlfriend. And whilst it could be a little dark in this respect, the handclapping production and tight drum beats make for a breezy track with a nice groove. And the vocals give a nice rap sing style in the verses and a freshness to the chorus that shows that he isn’t in a dark depressed place necessarily and desires to turn to drink, but rather he just is sad that his relationship is over and might hit the bottle one night.

3.5/5

Track 3- U.N.I

The lyrical fast paced rap style of this track features some of the blatant hip hop influences on the album and really sounded great to me against the simplicity of the hook driven chorus that really sounded great to me immediately after the first listen. The track taps into that way a relationship disintegrates as people move on with their lives, particularly because of something like university, and so the song is really relatable for many listeners. But what’s great is that through the fast paced nature of the track and the intricate layering of that ideology into the chorus means that Sheeran isn’t blatantly obvious and boring. The light guitar strumming gives a chilled but sombre musical tone that sounds just perfect.

4/5

Track 4- Grade 8

Another track that shows some cool influences of different musical genres, this number features an RnB groove that reminds me a little of Bruno Mars. The breathy vocals are nice and sweet and work well with the songs message about the way this girl has really made Sheeran fall hard in love, and with the lightness of his voice a large sense of sincerity is conveyed, particularly when he says “I’ll never let you down”. The production is some cool guitar riffs that are really acoustic but have that nice RnB flavour that shows that you can really mix genres to great effect.

4/5

Track 5- Wake Me Up

This piano driven number has that stop and start rhythm within the production that makes the intensity of the song that little bit more potent. Here we see Sheeran go into self-doubt mode lyrically, as he speaks of how he can never show his girl how much she really means to him. He definitely brings that sense of down to earthiness in a potent way within his work and this song definitely exhibits this well, with the lyric “And I know you love Shrek, cause we’ve watched it twelve times” really standing out to me. And with his natural sweet tone that sincerity again shines through and makes you easily love him as a listener.

3.5/5

Track 6- Small Bump

Inspired by Sheeran’s close friend who experienced pregnancy and who suffered a miscarriage at five months of pregnancy, the songs comes from a first person perspective and has that sense of loving a child. Perhaps because the song is close to heart because it is based on such a close friend, this track really felt powerful to me, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few women who heard this song cried a little. The guitar riffs give chilled but slightly urgent tone and his voice has that depth but lightness that really brings the song’s lyrics to the fore of the listeners mind. It’s just so powerful and a definite must listen in my eyes.

4.5/5

Track 7- This

This track is another down tempo acoustically driven track that speaks about the beginning of a relationship and how this is so beautiful. The track is simplistically driven in terms of the lyrical content and with this the potency of the songs idea really comes to the fore, and with his light vocals we can believe that this beauty of new relationship is really right and true. My only problem with this track is that the guitar production felt a little bit too familiar and a more up tempo setting would have been a bit more welcome at this point, so the song suffers a little bit.

3/5

Track 8- The City

This track shows some cool hip hop beats in the beat boxing that is employed, and with that cool electric guitar edge it definitely gives that nice sense of diversity to the record and a little bit of a welcome change. The vocals may be light as always but the production gives a slight aggressive undertone to the track that is really great, with light electro beats being another cool addition that shows that he isn’t just a one trick pony kind of artist, and what’s great is that it’s subtle differences that means his overall sound is never compromised. The track lyrically speaks of making home in a city and being alive despite being homeless, and has another down to earth kind of feel that is also very youthful.

3.5/5

Track 9- Lego House

This indie pop rock folk number is a slightly soulful ballad that lyrically speaks of Sheeran of being there for his love and protecting her, loving her more for this. Its maybe a little dreary for my taste but the breathiness of his vocals makes for a chilled out sound that makes for a relatable track that may quite acoustically familiar but is a little more soulfully driven and so is just that tad more potent.

3/5

Track 10- You Need Me, I Don’t Need You

This track is a bit darker and starts of in a simple way that suggests it’s another slow lovelorn type of track. But then the drum beats and guitar riffs really kick and the rap style vocals and lyrics start that show this track has a bit of a bite compared to some of the other songs. And whilst he may have a natural lightness to his voice the fast paced nature of the track gives natural venom to the number that is not blatant and so makes for a pretty cool listen. The electric guitar riffs that come into play about 2 minutes into the track give a great energy to the song that makes for a simple but powerful ending to the song and makes you kind of feel that you can’t help but sing along with Sheeran.

3.5/5

Track 11- Kiss Me

The down tempo groove of this track is nicely balanced with a forceful drum beat and clunky piano instrumentation as well as some cool guitar riffs that give a little bit of gritty country feel to the song, and makes for a track that doesn’t feel as simple and blatant as it potentially could have been. The lyrical depth of the track comes through with the dark tone that is conveyed and speaks of Sheeran needing reassurance that this love is real. The middle section with its electric guitar led production gives that epic feel to the track that is great and makes the message feel that bit more potent. And with the key change into the final section that sense of desperation and heartfelt sincerity becomes really palpable.

4/5

Track 12- Give Me Love

The proper final track on the album is a light but forceful track that speaks of Sheeran wanting to be showing love and just really fighting for this relationship to stay strong. The acoustic guitar riffs and light drum beats of the verse feel nice if a bit for familiar, but the track has a really powerful overall feel, with production being heavy and the vocals that little bit more aggressive and showing that idea of Sheeran just letting rip. The “ma my” motif of the track also gives a really powerful build to the track that makes for a real attention grabbing an epic closing track, and being ridden along by some great staccato rhythms and real aggressive vocal ad libs that lead into some choral vocals of the simple line “ma my, ma my, give me love”, this is just the best finale and really rounds of the record.

5/5

Track 13- The Parting Glass (hidden track)

This hidden track is a cover of a traditional Scottish/Irish folk song that is often sung at the end of a gathering of friends and has that sad but rousing flavour that is really powerful. It’s one of those hidden tracks that you want to listen to and shows that some of the greatest songs are the oldest, with Sheeran paying homage to this much beloved song but making it still firmly sit within his wheelhouse.

4/5

Final Review

Ed Sheeran just knows how to make an effortlessly good tune, and with this record he offers a powerful melding of genres in places whilst never compromising his sound and amking for a record that is just a delicious listen from start to finish, with not one track being a one that you should skip. Some people may have avoided the album because of all the hype, but if they have I urge them to listen, as this is one of those cases where the hype is for good reason.

10/10