Ed Sheeran's heart is so open on '=' album you can practically hear it beating
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In the four-plus years since the release of his âĂ·â album (pronounced âDivideâ), Ed Sheeran married longtime sweetheart Cherry Seaborn, welcomed their first child, daughter Lyra, and turned 30.
What is abundantly apparent from the opening moments of his latest studio release, â=â (pronounced âEquals,â as Sheeran continues his theme of math symbols as album titles), is the emotional tsunami Sheeran has weathered. And heâs ready to share.
Sheeranâs heart is so exposed on his new album â out Friday â that you can practically see it beating while listening to these 14 songs. Whether professing his adoration and need for Seaborn (âCollideâ), apologizing for his occasional neglect (âLove in Slow Motionâ) or mourning the loss of a beloved mentor (âVisiting Hoursâ), Sheeran hits deep with lyrics that are sometimes poetic, but primarily unfold as straightforward storytelling.
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Mostly recorded in London, the album shimmers with pristine production handled by Sheeran, Fred Again (a Brian Eno proteÌgeÌ) and Snow Patrolâs Johnny McDaid. The trio also wisely realized that track listing still matters, as Sheeranâs songs are cataloged to usher listeners through his journey of questioning and self-doubt, appreciation and loss before ending with the suggestion to, as Oasis would say, be here now.
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The two singles that preceded the album were ideal harbingers of Sheeranâs musical direction: âShivers,â its declaration of love swaddled in handclaps and plucked violins, and âBad Habits,â its â80s-era Bronski Beat pulse taking us along for the ride of Sheeranâs relatable regrets, still land despite their current ubiquity.
While a couple of songs could have been trimmed from the final rundown â âStop the Rainâ is a pedestrian dance-pop tune and âLeave Your Lifeâ a bit mundane â â=â should be regarded as Sheeranâs watershed moment.
Best songs on Ed Sheeran's '=' album:
'Tides'
The opening track showcases Sheeranâs continued admiration of Bruce Springsteen, as he pairs slashing guitar with a full unloading of autobiographical detail. âEverything has changed, but Iâm still the same somehow,â he sings before articulating his crisis of confidence. The changes that consumed his life since his meteoric rise to stadium conqueror and awards gobbler â a metaphor for changing tides â chip at his psyche as he fantasizes about disappearing while weighing the new responsibilities of parenthood.
'First Times'
Consider this Sheeranâs latest contribution to the wedding industry (see: âPerfect,â âThinking Out Loudâ). Over a sparse acoustic guitar later bracketed by strings, he shares that playing for 80,000 people at Wembley Stadium â âThis is the dream âŠâ â couldnât compare to the after-party of just him and his love and a couple of beers. âIâll remember the first kiss ⊠still feel the first fight ⊠I canât wait to make a million more first times,â he sings, while also realizing in a cracked whisper, âHow the simplest things can make a man.â
'The Joker and the Queen'
A standout track on the album and one of Sheeranâs most fully realized artistic creations. His flair for turning simplicity into beauty is exposed on the sumptuous piano ballad, where he sings in a heart-melting tone, âI know you could fall for a thousand kings ⊠when I fold, you see the best in me ⊠I was upside down, from the outside in, you came to the table and you went all in.â The strings that shade the song inject it with a cinematic flourish; you can already picture the video with a couple in a tux and gown swooping around a ballroom.
'Collide'
Gushy? Yes. But nonetheless sweet as Sheeran recalls, âwe shared a toothbrush and shared a homeâ and âwe drank your fatherâs whiskey when your grandma died ⊠the world hurts less when Iâm by your side.â Despite its tender lyrical leanings, the song follows a gallop similar to his 2017 opus, âCastle on the Hill,â which brands it as a love song for the dance floor.
'Visiting Hours'
When Sheeranâs mentor, Mushroom Records owner Michael Gudinski, died this year at the age of 68, the singer traveled to his friendâs homeland of Australia and endured stringent quarantine rules to perform on a televised tribute to the music impresario. He wrote this striking guitar ballad for the occasion, and only those with a Tin Manâs heart would fail to be moved by this homage. Imparting a lovely vocal and gentle guitar, Sheeran shares his wish that âheaven had visiting hours so I could just swing by and ask your adviceâ before determining at the end, âThis is not goodbye, itâs just âtil we meet again.â
'Be Right Now'
Sheeran closes the album with this club thumper stocked with minor key piano and keyboards that pulsate like aural strobe lights. âThereâs nothing but the space weâre in,â he sings, deliberating wrapping with an uplifting swoop and the message to live in the moment.