The A Team: This was most likely every longtime Ed Sheeran fan’s first true experience with him. It still holds up phenomenally: Ed’s performance is beautiful, the lyrics are really strong, the acoustic guitar instrumental is great. Still one of my personal favorites from Ed.
Drunk: Another one I personally love, I love the guitar track, Ed’s vocals are amazing, and the hook is really catchy. One of my personal favorites, and another one I’ve broken the replay button on.
U.N.I.: I love the hook on this one, and Ed shows us that he’s got some really good flow on the verses. Of course, the instrumental and Ed’s performance is fantastic as usual. Great great great song.
Grade 8: Upbeat song with a really great hook and a cool beat. It’s not my personal favorite on the album, but I feel like I’ve been ignoring this song a bit too much lately and I need to fix that. Really enjoyable song.
Wake Me Up: Once again, Ed’s performance is wonderful and the lyrics, while a little silly at points, are very sweet, but I don’t know, this kind of feels a little unorganized, as if it’s still a work-in-progress. That said, it might grow on me a bit because there’s too much charm and sweetness for me to ignore it. Maybe I need to listen to it a few more times.
Small Bump: This song sounds really nice and has some beautiful vocals, but I think what makes it really work is the lyrics: the song is about a close friend of Ed’s who was pregnant, and at the end of the song, said close friend ends up having a miscarriage. The reveal comes at the very end, and it hits pretty hard. I can’t say this is my favorite track on the album, but it’s a heartbreaking, really pretty song overall.
This: Ed’s vocals are beautiful as usual, and the light acoustic guitar track is great, but I think this song just bored me a little bit. I don’t know what it is, but no matter how many times I try to listen to it, I just can’t get into it.
The City: I like the pacing and the upbeat nature of this song, and I think Ed’s vocals are amazing as usual, but I’m not really crazy about the hook on this one. It’s a good, fun song overall, but I wish the hook was as fun as the verses.
Lego House: When I was still working at my part-time job, this song played almost all the time. While I initially thought I was getting tired of it, going back to listen to it has made me appreciate it a lot more. It’s beautiful sounding, has some really sweet lyrics, and a great performance from Ed. Really enjoyable song.
You Need Me, I Don’t Need You: Another song where Ed shows us that he has incredible flow (he can actually rap!), his lyricism on this one is amazing (“they say I’m up-and-coming like I’m fucking in an elevator” might be one of the greatest things I’ve ever heard in my life), and the hook is irresistible. Another great track.
Kiss Me: Love the hook on this one, love the sweet lyrics, love the instrumental and vocal sound on this track…as you can tell, I love this one.
Give Me Love: This one is really beautiful sounding and really nice, but I’m not crazy about when it switches sound in the bridge because that’s when it starts to feel repetitive and kind of boring, even with Ed’s passionate screams. This song also does have a hidden rendition of “The Parting Glass.” It sounds nice, though I’m not sure I’d sit through all of “Give Me Love” to get to it. Don’t get it twisted, I don’t dislike this song, it’s just that about half of it is excellent, half of it is just “whatever.”
Autumn Leaves: This track is exclusive to the Deluxe Edition of the album. It’s light, has a nice piano instrumental, some really heartbreaking lyrics (it’s about a friend of Ed’s that passed away), and a typically beautiful performance from Ed. Surprisingly, this is the first time I’m hearing this song, and I’m prepared to break the replay button with this one.
Little Bird: Another bonus track exclusive to the Deluxe Edition. I love the upbeat sound on this one, the lyrics are very sweet, the hook is really catchy, and Ed’s performance is spot-on as usual. Another personal favorite of mine.
Gold Rush: Our third bonus, Deluxe Edition-exclusive track sounds a bit different from other Ed Sheeran songs, and honestly, I’m not crazy about this one. The hook isn’t amazing, and while the lyrics are sweet, I don’t think the vocals are as fun as the guitar track. One of the few “meh” Ed Sheeran songs, and if I had to make a list of my least favorite Ed Sheeran songs…well, I wouldn’t really WANT to, but this would be up there on the list somewhere. I don't know, though, maybe it might grow on me?
Sunburn: Ending off the set of bonus tracks (and the Deluxe Edition of the album as a whole), this song sounds nice and has a great instrumental. Once again, the lyrics are heartbreaking as well, and I really like the hook. Not my personal favorite Ed Sheeran song, but it’s a very good one.
Overall, you guys already know what I’m gonna say: I loved this album. People might say he just “panders” and all that, but his first studio album features plenty of memorable, sweet songs and, even if his lyrics “pander,” I feel like I can relate to them in some ways, which makes him music more enjoyable for me. On top of that, he’s got a great voice and his acoustic guitar tracks are very enjoyable. Yes, I, an Ed Sheeran fan, love this album. Big surprise, I’m sure.
Favorite tracks: The A Team, Drunk, U.N.I., Grade 8*, Lego House*, Kiss Me, Autumn Leaves, Little Bird
Least favorite tracks: Gold Rush, if I had to pick one.
Rating: Excellent
(*An asterisk next to a “favorite track” indicates that the track wasn’t initially one of my “favorite tracks” when I first wrote the review. If a track has an asterisk next to it, it means the song wasn’t initially a favorite of mine, but it grew on me, and the text for the song may have been edited to more properly reflect that.)
No comments:
Post a Comment