- (Subtract) (studio album) by Ed Sheeran

I think this is a weak album for Ed Sheeran, but I think it's big flaw is that the songwriting and production don't really work together rather than it simply being a bad album.

This album was written during a tough time for Ed Sheeran, with the pandemic, the death of his friend Jamal Edwards, a lengthy copyright trial over "Thinking Out Loud" and his wife developing a tumour while pregnant. This comes across in the songwriting, and it's a pretty downbeat album lyrically.

It feels like it needs a raw, intimate production so the pain in the lyrics can come through, but instead it has a really glossy, pop production. It's also an album which doesn't have a lot of big hooks in it, so it's produced like a pop album, but doesn't have the payoff you would expect.

I think this is why the album feels a bit bland. The production is working against the vibe and emotion of the lyrics, but the hooks and sing-along choruses you expect from an album with this production never arrive. I liked "Eyes Closed", but that's the only song I've gone back to, everything else did kind of blur together for me.

From VictorVale 06/01/2023 22:08

Um mé radiofônico.

Album Rating: 39.57
(554/14)

May 23

Ed Sheeran (UK): - (Subtract)

The same song x14. Rinse repeat. Court win. Public will lap it up like a thirsty dog, tethered to a rusty pole in a dusty yard.

1.Boat 50
2.Salt Water 51
3.Eyes Closed 41
4.Life Goes On 38
5.Dusty 23
6.End Of Youth 60
7.Colourblind 28
8.Curtains 56
9.Borderline 55
10.Spark 52
11.Vega 43
12.Sycamore 21
13.No Strings 29
14.The Hills Of Aberfeldy 07