Grade: A
Everyone knows Ed Sheeran, but even so, I will introduce him to you. This very popular artist was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. He released his first EP (The Orange Room) and two original albums before he turned 16. He proved a hit on iTunes, making it to #1 before he was even signed onto a label. This also made him the third artist to score a top 75 album just on download sales. He was also no joke when it came to online performances, garnering the majority of his popularity from them. During all of this, he packed up and moved to London to better his career.
Since then he has signed with Atlantic records, created a song for The Hobbit trilogy, won a Grammy, British Album of the Year at the 2015 Brit Awards and the British Male Solo Artist award. At the 2016 Grammy Awards Ceremony he won Song of the Year and Best Solo Pop Performance, later that year “X” was declared the second internationally best-selling album of 2015.
But rap is not Ed Sheeran’s genre. The music that makes up his single “Eraser”—aside from the vocals, at least—is beautiful. But it sounds like a very short track that was set to repeat every three measures. As for Sheeran’s rapper alter ego, I would rather he stick to his more melodic self. His pacing makes it feel like it was hard for him to get the words to be as fast as they were.
“Castle on the Hill“ is very sweet sounding but with a powerful message. It is also a local favorite that has been playing on the radio for a while. I think everyone I know can recite this song from memory so it is safe to say it’s a highlight. “Shape of You” is the same way — just flirtier.
The most ‘Sheeran’ song in my book is “Galway Girl.” The English accent comes out in full force and the general style feels like an Irish/Scottish/Celtic ballad. It is very energetic and makes me feel as though I’ve been thrown into culture.
“Dive” definitely has an older feel to it. It is a song you would feel comfortable slow dancing to. This song was a bit of a ‘dive’ for me, not as good as the majority of the rest of the album’s songs. But it does seem tailored to a different group than the rest of the album too.
“New Man” is fun, cool and has a great vibe. This was my favorite of the album, it also tugs on the heartstrings a bit if you have ever been in the same situation as Sheeran is in this song.
I never thought I would say this about Sheeran, but this new album is pretty great. I was never a fan before this, since I always considered him to be too moody and generally didn’t like his style. But my mind has changed a bit with this new addition to his musical collection. I would consider adding this one to my own collection. This is certainly one to check out on Spotify.
