After exhausting five math symbols, Ed Sheeran brought us a new bubblegum pink album, “Play.”
Known as everyone’s favorite ginger popstar, Sheeran released his first album, “+,” at 19. Now, at 34, the musician has two kids, eight albums and a desire to change his easily-recognized musical style.
Sheeran’s recent discography has been mediocre but catchy. Recognized for albums “÷” and “x,” which hold memorable songs like “Shape of You” and “Photograph,” he’s had little issue topping the U.S. charts with love pop songs.
With “Play,” Sheeran’s sights shifted away from the U.S. and western markets as he incorporated Farsi and Punjabi lyrics into many songs.
The second song on the album, “Sapphire,” features Indian playback singer Arijit Singh and blends English, Hindi and Punjabi into a cheerful melody. Sheeran said the sound represented the joy he felt while in India, as he recorded much of the album in Goa, an Indian state.
“Azizam,” the lead single on the album that was released in early April, is Persian for “my dear” or “my beloved.” It’s probably the only song on the album that, if it came on the radio, I wouldn’t immediately change the station.
In 13 songs and just under 45 minutes, Sheeran aimed to dig a little deeper into his artistic breadth, straying away from his usual folk-pop style to experiment with electropop. He explores emotions of love, sadness and anger, which are juxtaposed by the vibrant beats.
The cover itself states: “Play is leaving the past behind. Play is colorful. Play is dancing. Play is nostalgic…”
I’ll give him some credit. Play is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before, just not in a good way.
“Opening,” to put it lightly, is not a strong start until a minute or so in, when Sheeran switches to rapping. It’s unexpected and slightly misses the mark as he doesn’t shy away from displaying his British accent.
The album gave me whiplash. While some of the songs resemble the Ed you may know and love (or hate), others incorporate Persian and Indian roots, and others resemble a (failed) attempt at house music.
“A Little More” is the perfect song if you’re in the “I hate my ex” era, with a beat that will put a pep in your step as you sing the lyrics: “I used to love you. Now every day I hate you just a little more.”
“The Vow” is a classic Sheeran moment: folk-pop, a little too much acoustic guitar for my liking and a lyrical tale of commitment. It’s nothing new, and not to be confused with the song right after, “For Always.”
“Heaven” compiles a disastrous mix of autotune, bad lyrics and what sounds like a prerecorded beat on GarageBand to close out the album.
While Sheeran aims to explore the boundaries of his musicality, “Play” is all over the place. Despite some fun rhythms and cross-cultural experimentation, the album mostly misses the mark.
“Play” the first of five planned “media control” albums — along with “Pause,” “Fast Forward,” “Rewind” and “Stop,” which will follow in the next few years. Let’s hope these next four albums are slightly better than this mess.
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