One: I love the super-light acoustic guitar sound, Ed’s vocals are absolutely gorgeous, and the hook is fantastic. This is honestly one of my personal favorite Ed Sheeran songs, and it’s a tremendous start to the album.
I’m A Mess: The hook is really strong and Ed’s performance is pretty great on this one. I’m not as crazy about how it ends (“for how long I love my lover now now” on repeat a bunch of times just gets a bit boring), but it’s still a good song overall, and it's definitely grown on me with some repeat listens.
Sing: This one grew on me over time. I initially wasn’t too crazy about the hook, but I’ve gotta say it’s a really fun, upbeat song and Ed’s rapping on the second verse is incredible. A really fun song overall.
Don’t: Catchy, great flow on the verses, a solid hook, and a great beat make this one another really fun one. I’ve broken the replay button a lot on this song and it wasn't even one of my favorite Ed Sheeran songs (I recently added it back to the rotation). The fact that I’m willing to break the replay button on a song that’s not even one of my favorites shows that it must be a pretty good song.
Nina: I like the way this one starts and I like the piano track on this one, and the verses have some pretty fun lyrics and flow, but I’m not really crazy about the hook on this one. I don’t know, it’s just kind of boring and unmemorable to me. Not a bad song at all, but not one of my favorites.
Photograph: Beautiful vocals from Ed, an amazing hook, and some incredibly sweet lyrics make this one of my personal favorite Ed Sheeran songs. This is one I’ve broken the replay button on and I’m prepared to keep doing that.
Bloodstream: This is a much darker song, but it’s a really beautiful one. I like the acoustic guitar track, I love Ed’s vocals a lot and, even though the song does that thing I usually don’t like in the bridge (where it just repeats the same phrase rather generically, in this case, it’s “all the voices in my mind, calling out across the line”), for some reason I actually like it this time around. Another great song.
Tenerife Sea: I love the acoustic guitar track on this, the hook is really beautiful and I love Ed’s performance on this one. This is one of those songs that I’ve only listened to a couple times, but every time I hear it, I fall in love with it. I think I need to do some replay-button breaking on this one.
Runaway: A really personal song that has a pretty strong hook, some fun lyrics, good flow from Ed on the verses, and a nice sound overall. This is another really fun song overall.
The Man: Ed’s rapping skills are once again very solid on this one, the hook is pretty fun, and this has a nice beat overall. It’s not my favorite song on the album, but it’s a pretty fun, pretty enjoyable song.
Thinking Out Loud: Come on, everyone knows this song because it was probably the slow dance song at one of your Proms (in my case, it was my slow-dance song TWICE). And you know what, I still love the song no matter how many times I’ve listened to it. It’s still got some beautiful lyrics, incredible vocals, and a fantastic hook. There’s a reason this song is arguably Ed’s most popular: because it’s amazing.
Afire Love: This song about Ed Sheeran’s grandfather who died from Alzheimer’s has some great lyrics, an incredible hook, and a beautiful performance from Ed. Why have I been ignoring this song for so long? It’s fantastic!
Take It Back: The first of quite a few bonus tracks that are only on the Deluxe Edition, Ed’s rapping is once again really strong, and the hook is a lot of fun! I’m not sure if this one is a replay-button breaker, but I do think it’s pretty fun overall.
Shirtsleeves: Our next Deluxe Edition-exclusive bonus track features a really cool-sounding beat, a great performance from Ed, and a beautiful hook. I haven’t listened to this one too much before this review, but I think it’s gonna become a replay-button breaker in the future.
Even My Dad Does Sometimes: Third bonus track that's only featured on the Deluxe Edition, I’m not as crazy about this one. It sounds pleasant, and Ed’s vocals are beautiful as usual, but I don’t really find the hook as memorable on this one. Maybe I just need to listen to it a few more times? We’ll see.
I See Fire: Not only is this track only available in the Deluxe Edition but this bonus track was featured in the film “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” It’s really light and it has an amazing hook, beautiful vocals, and some awesome lyrics. Another personal favorite of mine, and another replay-button-breaker.
All of the Stars: Now this bonus track is only available on the physical release of the Deluxe Edition, and it was also featured in the film “The Fault in Our Stars.” On this track, Ed’s vocals are mesmerizing, the lyrics are pretty good, and the hook is really really strong! A beautiful way to end off this album. I’ve been ignoring this one for far too long, time to change that.
Overall, you guys already know what I’m gonna say: Ed continues to bring us songs with beautiful vocals, catchy instrumentals, and memorable hooks. Sure, his music may be “trite” and “pandering,” but there’s a certain beauty to his music that keeps me coming back for more listens. It’s honestly something I just can’t put my finger on, either. Ed just has something going for him that just appeals directly to me, and while others may not be crazy about it, I find his songs to be incredible and worthy of multiple listens. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go break the replay button a bit more on these songs.
Favorite tracks: One, I'm a Mess*, Sing*, Don't*, Photograph, Bloodstream, Tenerife Sea, Runaway*, Thinking Out Loud, Afire Love, Shirtsleeves, I See Fire, All of the Stars
Least favorite track: Nina, 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.)
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