Four years after his last smash hit album, Ed Sheeran came back with his fifth studio album Equals. The album features 14 new tracks including two singles he released during the summer, “Bad Habits,” a hit made for clubbing, and “Shivers,” the next possible “Shape of You.” Both singles dominated the charts for several weeks which isn’t unusual for Sheeran’s singles.
His last full-feature album, Divide released back in 2017, was his most popular and successful album to date. It was the top-selling album of 2017 and collected the award for Best Vocal Pop Album at the Grammys. His tour garnered over 8.9 million tickets sold, making him become one of the biggest musical acts in the world. The difficulty of following up an album that was successful was definitely a challenge for Sheeran, as seen in his new album.
Sheeran’s new album shares several musical elements that are featured in his other albums, making his new album lack contrast and uniquity. With a combination of songs that are upbeat and heartfelt, it has the normal structure of an Ed Sheeran album. While it may be compelling to hear the same style of music from an artist, most successful artists need to switch up their music styles in order to gather new listeners and keep fans on their toes.
The only thing Sheeran adds to this album is more maturity, since he has gotten married and become a father. His maturity is reflected in his lyrics, especially in his opening song, “Tides,“ where he sings “I have grown up / I am a father now.” Other lyrics reflect back to his youth and the troubles he would get into, emphasizing a change in Sheeran’s perspective on life.
While several songs are dedicated to his wife, he does have one song, “Sandman,” to commemorate his daughter. It is a sentimental lullaby that features some music-box undertones. Now that Sheeran has matured lyrically and physically, he will probably not write anymore songs about an ex or their new boyfriend. Instead, listeners can expect a lot more songs written about his own kin.
What seems to be missing from Sheeran’s album is his classic acoustic guitar style. Featured in his top hits like, “Thinking Out Loud” and “Photograph,” it’s a key element that has been featured in some of his most popular ballads, but it seems to be only featured in one song on his new album. It could be that he is evolving little by little and growing towards using different instruments in his work, which can also help him grow artistically into a new style of music.
Other than his top two singles, there are a few songs that stick out more than others. One including, “Overpass Graffiti,” an upbeat 80s inspired pop hit with an extremely catchy chorus. This song incorporates the 80s synth sound that has inspired several artists in recent years including The Weeknd. Not too many songs stick out that much compared to his other albums.
“Tides” also stands out as a perfect opening song. It has a pop-rock style that feels similar to some of his songs on his last album, Divide.
An Ed Sheeran album would be incomplete without a ballad and this album definitely has a few. Heartfelt ballad, “First Times” will most likely reign as this album’s most popular ballad. “The Joker and The Queen” and “Visiting Hours” are also very promising ballads featured on the album.
“First Times” is an acoustic ballad that reflects on the many firsts that he and his wife experienced. The song is rather tear-jerking as he refers back to “the first kiss, the first night, the first song that made you cry.” As he ends the chorus with “I can’t wait to make a million more first times,” it proves to be some of Sheeran’s finest and most sincere lyrics.
While Equals has a few promising hits, it most likely won’t be Sheeran’s most appreciated album. It does show a change of perspective in Sheeran, but he fails to show a change in his musical style. As sentimental as his lyrics are, the songs themselves don’t sound artistically unique. The songs are executed very well but with most of them being so similar and tedious, it becomes wearisome to listen to. The album wasn’t a complete failure, it still has several appreciable hits that will definitely top the charts for several weeks. But realistically, if Ed Sheeran wants to make a better album, he is going to have to switch up the formula that he is very familiar with and revamp his music style considerably.
Rating : 3 / 5
