The third album by the UK's hottest-selling singer-songwriter cements his reputation as a chart-conquering pop maverick.
Ed Sheeran/ (Divide)
On the surface, the meteoric rise of Ed Sheeran can be somewhat puzzling to a lot of people in the music industry. Here we have a run-of-the-mill, guitar-toting singer-songwriter without the traditional pop star appeal to speak of (he's a hoodie-wearing redhead). What's more, his debut single, The A Team, is a folk ballad whose lyrics address the plight of a prostitute-slash-crack addict. Not exactly Top 40 material, but miraculously it became one of the best-selling singles of 2011 in the UK. Sheeran, who spent his early years as a struggling musician crashing from couch to couch, has since gone on to release two massively successful records (+ and X, respectively), win the Brit Awards, two Grammy Awards and play three sold-out concerts at London's Wembley Stadium.
So what's the secret to Sheeran's achievements? The answer, it seems, is mostly by being himself. Unlike most male singer-songwriters out there, he has a crafty way of marrying acoustic guitar with a loop pedal and filling in the gaps with the songwriting skills of a rapper. Suddenly everything clicks and voilà -- you have a recipe for an unlikely pop star. On his latest studio outing, ÷ (pronounced "divide"), not only does he keep to the mathematical theme, he also deploys some serious pop savvy, thanks in part to producer Benny Blanco who has worked with the likes of Justin Bieber, Maroon 5 and Katy Perry.
While they couldn't be more dissimilar stylistically, the first two lead singles, Castle on the Hill and Shape of You, are the best representation of the album as a whole. On one hand, we have a good ol' Ed, a crafter of an indie-folk stomper about a countryside hometown. On the other, we have a 2.0 Ed, creator of a tropical house-leaning jam complete with a de rigueur dancehall beat and lyrics about falling in love with a sexy woman at a bar.
And if you were wondering, there are still a good handful of arena-rock ballads (Dive, Perfect, Happier, Hearts Don't Break Around Here, Supermarket Flowers) and a whole lot of rapping (Eraser and Galway Girl -- the latter is sort of like The Corrs on steroids with elements of Celtic folk and hip hop thrown in for good measure). When he's not busy laying down his flow, we get breezy acoustic gems like What Do I Know?, hands down the record's standout where he sings about changing the world ("We could change this whole world with a piano/Add a bass, some guitar, grab a beat and away we go").
A winsome collection of pop crossovers, balladry and a few sonic oddballs, ÷ has something for everyone to indulge in. More than that, this is a record that provides further proof of Sheeran's inimitable combination of raw talent and universal likeability which has triumphantly defied the notion that a global, platinum-selling pop star has to have a specific look.
THE PLAYLIST
The Charapaabs/ Sawasdee Wan Chan (Hello Monday)
For those peeved by those daily well-wishing images shared on the LINE app, the latest offering from Bangkok-based elderly-themed band The Charapaabs is just for you. Titled Sawasdee Wan Chan (Hello Monday), the song features guest vocals from Auntie Sunisa Thamrongrattanarit who sings from the perspective of someone who sends those photos on a regular basis." Hello Monday, happy Tuesday/Please don't get annoyed/It'll bring me joy if you'd just read it," she muses over searing guitars.
Beach Fossils/ This Year
With lines like "This year I told myself it'd be a better one/Try not to fall back onto the knife/I never told myself I'd be a better friend," Beach Fossils' latest cut, This Year, would have been much more perfect had it been released back in late December/early January. But hey, we can't really complain because it's been a solid four years since we've heard new music from these guys (and since they graced our shores in late 2012). As far as the track goes, it's a classic combo of breezy and jangly, only this time with a sprinkling of strings thrown in to make things sounding slightly more hi-fi.
Portugal. The Man/ Feel It Still
After sharing Noise Pollution with us last year, indie rockers Portugal. The Man unveil their follow-up, Feel It Still, the lead cut lifted from their forthcoming eighth album Woodstock. Here, the Alaskan outfit is jumping on the political music bandwagon as vocalist John Gourley sings (in a jaunty falsetto, no less) about being "a rebel just for kicks" and that he's been "feeling it since 1966" over a funky brass backbeat. This is perhaps the most upbeat jam the band has put out, and, come to think of it, the whole thing could actually pass off as a song by LA-based outfit Electric Guest.
Alt-J/ 3WW
British indie-rock trio Alt-J are back with a new single, 3WW (short for "3 worn words"), off their forthcoming LP, Relaxer. The five-minute track marks the band's first new music in three years following 2014's This Is All Yours and offers something entirely different from their previous two albums -- it's as if they spent the last few years listening to the entire discography of the renowned Tuareg band Tinariwen. "Oh, these three worn words/Oh, let me whisper like the rubbing hands/Of tourists in Verona/I just want to love you in my own language," goes the chorus sung by Joe Newman Gus Unger-Hamilton. The song also features Wolf Alice's Ellie Rowsell whose whispery vocals give it another layer of dreaminess.
Father John Misty/ Total Entertainment Forever
Total Entertainment Forever is the latest single to be rolled out from Father John Misty's upcoming studio album, Pure Comedy. The song, meant as a social commentary on how people consume technology and entertainment today, contains a controversial verse about "Bedding Taylor Swift every night inside the Oculus Rift." Misty then proceeds: "Can you believe how far we've come in the New Age?/Freedom to have what you want In the New Age/We'll all be entertained/Rich or poor, the channels are all the same …"
