You can’t judge an album by a single song when it comes to Ed Sheeran. What makes his new album “=” remarkable is the assortment of styles represented in the total 48 minutes of listening, highlighting Sheeran’s ability to do it all: pop, rap, acoustic, a cappella and more.
The album’s upbeat pop songs have already gained several hundred million plays on Spotify, making the album an instant success. Whether they will reach billions of plays like tracks in Divide (“Shape of You,” “Perfect,” and “Castle on the Hill”), only time will tell.
While the catchy, upbeat songs tend to be Sheeran’s most popular songs in “=,” they might not necessarily be your automatic favorite. Among the 14 tracks are also more delicate melodies such as “Sandman,” or more acoustic, lyrical tracks such as “Visiting Hours.” The latter features Sheeran’s famous vocal range and has an introduction reminiscent of his hit waltz “Perfect.” “The Joker And The Queen” is uniquely solemn. Its piano and string accompaniment strongly contrasts to the electronic beat in “Bad Habits.”
Still, his talent is evident through each of the diverse styles in the album. It’s clear that no matter what style Sheeran sings in, he succeeds far beyond where instrumentals and editing could take others.
