Ed Sheeran is a tortured singer-songwriter on his new album.

‘-‘

Ed Sheeran

Asylum-Atlantic-Warner

pop folk

★★★

awakening “your shape”A theme that took the acoustic guitar out of the museum in 2017 and claimed it as a ‘sexy’ instrument is losing some momentum, and the most critical point was the album titled with the ‘=’ symbol (known in English). ‘equels’) was published a year and a half ago. flimsy job now Ed Sheeran responds by attacking from another flank: new job, ‘-‘ (subtraction sign: ‘subtraction’), based on: more compact songs, heartfelt melodies and serious atmosphereselectronically or through a series of arrangements.

It’s an album that suggests an operational spin, because it subjected the Sheeran team to a notable purge. Regular accomplices like Johnny McDaid disappear and four veteran operators enter the scene: Shellback, Max Martin and Fred Again.. (who had occasionally collaborated with the redhead from West Yorkshire) and even more decisively, Aaron DesnerMember of The National and producer of Taylor Swift’s candid albums “Folclore” and “Evermore” (both from 2020).

Dessner makes his name not only as a co-producer but also as a co-writer of many of the songs, and it’s easy to draw comparisons with the prevailing mood of these Swift albums. A introverted confessional pulseHe talks about the menacing waves (“They won’t break my boat”, let it be known) and “scars” that Sheeran has applied from the first song “Boat”, based on the sound and strumming of the guitar. it will “get well”. It’s time to remember that this album exists. his psychic fixer after some thankless event: the death of his friend Jamal Edwards (music entrepreneur) and his wife Cherry Seaborn’s cancer while pregnant with their second child, and in another order, the anguish resulting from the plagiarism lawsuit of ‘Shape of’. you’, resolved in his favor.

Out of all this comes a Sheeran from sensual flirtation to very sensitive monologueand here the danger is the song-tostón, in which the singer-songwriter hears himself through his serious electronic microsurgery cloaks. You have to wait for the album to start well to find the most important tracks, such as the song “The End of Youth” about lost time, the welcoming song “Colourblind” or the howl of the lost soul of “Borderline”. minimalist piano

Intimacy results in excessive liturgical weight in songs that allude to his wife’s hospital episode (“Çınar”, “No strings”), and the fibrous “Curtains” come to the fore in the opposite direction. With all that, this version of Ed Sheeran tortured female singer emerges by striking a balance between emotional filigree and assertiveness. It will be necessary to see if the public that supported him with ‘Shape of you’ is following him. Jordi Bianciotto

The saddest record D’Addario brothers at the same time most beautiful: a collection of acoustic ballads with folk accents and strong pop pills, in the face of life’s setbacks, take refuge in the glory of a musical past extinct long before they were born. There are echoes of Simon & Garfunkel, Brian Wilson, Big Star and the Carpenters here, yes, but also, and above all, a rare talent for writing and performing songs of timeless beauty. Rafael Tapounet

‘Secret life’ nice disc. How can this not be? Delicate yet absorbent. Expertly Made between ethereal and sincere. But fly over your feeling an untapped opportunity. Again, Fred. One of the most interesting producers of the moment. brian eno, a legend. Still, we find ourselves facing a much less creative album than we promised. This three hour versionOn Brian Eno’s Youtube channel, it may seem a lot less digestible, but that’s what’s really cool. patri di filippo

In the admirable ‘L’amor fa calor’ (2020), Clara Wines He outlined a more relaxed and less melancholic style, emphasizing instead the return with playful melodies, hilarious hints of smugness, and bold arrangements. Gourmet melodious candiesThin silhouettes in ‘Globus’ or ‘El riu’, shared with sensual curses and mischief in the urban ‘S’està millor al carrer’ Hydrogenicity in Encaix. Probably one of our pop records of the year. JB

The duchess of ‘cool’ had never recorded before. a whole disc of standards. She had neither the voice nor the resources to compete with the great divas of jazz—nor has she. but also rickie lee jones From ‘Pieces of Treasure’, he’s almost 70 years old and has a long way to go, he doesn’t need it. A point of vulnerability and hurt but also mischievousJones drags his languid voice in lines sung with chilling sadness. At the end of the recording, “All in play”, a controlled hiccup is heard. Theater is the theater of the best. Roger Rock