There is one thing that Ed Sheeran does incredibly well, and that is love songs, and if you know you are good at something then why stop. With this album, Sheeran has produced another offering of tracks where he seemingly always falls in love, gets his heart tragically broken and laments about it by getting drunk. Falling in love and getting drunk seem to be his forte.
With the release of his much anticipated second studio album, X, Ed Sheeran proves that he has the ability to produce an exceptional follow up to the wildly successful 2011, +.
Acoustic guitar announces the arrival of the album’s premier track, ‘One’. It’s a beautiful way to open the album and is what Sheeran does best which is simply gorgeous ballads. It continues down the same path with ‘Thinking Out Loud’, ‘Photograph’ and ‘Shirt Sleeves’, songs that promise eternal love, missing love and broken hearts. When Sheeran displays his venerability he really is amazing.
Ed Sheeran started off as a busker and by posting songs on YouTube. It’s when he is authentic with these beginnings that he is best. He makes attempts to switch things up in a few songs, busting into rhyme with ‘Don’t’ and ‘The Man’, when his English accent comes out he sounds like Robbie Williams when he made that awful foray down the same path with ‘Rudebox’. Sorry Ed – it just does not work.
‘I See Fire’ from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug appears as the final track and it is a great inclusion. The song conjures up those images of Smaug the dragon burning down the mountain and is an exceptional piece of song writing.
When troubadour Sheeran croons his way through the album with an acoustic guitar, it’s easy to see why millions of young women adore him. He may not be breaking new ground and there are so many other artists out there producing the same kind of music, however Ed Sheeran in the pick of the bunch and presents an album that is exceptionally good.
7/10
Reviewer: Amanda Starkey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vq_19UCxOU