It All Adds Up

Album: +
Artist: Ed Sheeran
Label: Atlantic/Elektra
Released: September 9, 2011
Peak chart position/sales: (AUS) #1, 2x Platinum (IRE) #1, 2x Platinum (UK) #1, 4x Platinum (NZ) #2, Platinum (US) #5

RATING: 3.5/5 stars.

Hype intrigues me. So when breathy-voiced, red-haired Ed Sheeran started appearing in my Facebook newsfeed with irritating regularity and "The A Team" was on everybody's lips, I was itching to investigate (despite the increasingly hypocritical title of this blog...)  While + is now old news, having passed its 1st birthday already, Sheeran's career seems to just be skyrocketing and there's no doubt he's worked hard to get here. Typically, my skepticism screams "But does he deserve it?!!" so of course I had a review coming...

I admit I was a little miffed to find that track 1 and hit single "The A Team" met my expectations almost exactly. Softly chuffing acoustic guitar sets up what could only be a floaty indie vocal and short poetic phrases...and Sheeran confirms my suspicions when he opens his mouth. Like Jason Mraz on a mellow day, Sheeran's voice doesn't just whisper sweet nothings though. Well, he kind of does, but manages to catch the balance of poeticism that allows words to be effortlessly evocative as they float on past. A look that crumbles "like pastries" has a certain painstaking beauty to it, and though the meaning of "it's too cold for angels to fly outside" is a little beyond my understanding, it made me shiver accordingly.

When he's not singing about angels or pastries, Sheeran likes to sing about drink. A lot. In fact, he appears to prefer his blood "drowning in alcohol" before he does anything. Most of which seems to be between the sheets, fluttering eyelashes with a pretty girl. But there's a lot that in-your-ear vocals and words steeped in tenderness can do to eliminate the seedy factor - and I am female after all. Yes, Sheeran's voice is intimate in the most attractive way. Besides, halfway through the album we get the breathtakingly tender ode to the unborn "Small Bump" to up the maturity factor. Delicate and impossibly heartfelt, one can only imagine the number of pregnant mothers singing "You are my one and only / You can wrap your fingers round my thumb / And hold me tight" to their bellies right now.

It's not all whispered relationship odes however. Sheeran's ability to mix whispy indie melodies within a framework of hip-hop influences provides impressive edginess amongst the husky love notes, as "This City" and "You Need Me I Don't Need You" prove. Like Adele and her blues and Sufjan Stevens and his art music, Sheeran joins an ever-increasing body of artists who are succeeding in bringing minority genres to the mainstream, with a personal touch. I naturally recoil at the generic beats that feature, but strangely enough, I found this album growing on me as the listening process progressed. It's light, it's a little mainstream, it's overplayed on the radio...but it's also impressively produced, remarkably easy to listen to and not mundane enough to grow tired of by tomorrow. I'll be watching this name.

Listen to: The A Team, You Need Me I Don't Need You, Small Bump

Is it worth my $$$? - Perfect for a weekend chill-out playlist, background music to a low-key social event, or a gentle drive to work...not necessarily a must-have, but you'd do well to let Mr. Sheeran into your music collection.