English pop artist Ed Sheeran released his new album “Play” in a valiant attempt to regain domination in the pop genre, after his previous two albums were unsuccessful. In 2023, Sheeran released his sixth and seventh studio albums, “Autumn Variations,” which only sold 210,000 copies globally, and “-,” which only sold 490,000 copies. These two projects had a dramatic decrease in sales compared to his 2017 hit, “÷,” which sold 7,882,500. Released on Friday, Sept. 12, “Play’s” love songs will neither break hearts nor steal them. Although the album’s nostalgic, heartfelt ballads serve as a portal back to the acoustic, earnest sounds of his previous albums, roughly half of its songs blur into one. The repetitive, pure acoustic guitar accompaniment can only evoke emotion so many times in a row.
As a revival, “Play” includes cultural diversity and niche instrumentals unlike his previous albums, featuring Indian and Middle-Eastern instruments such as the tabla, sitar, kashmiri santoor and South Indian kanjira. Pleasantly, Sheeran also features Punjabi singer Arjit Singh on one of his singles, “Sapphire,” which adds unique excitement to the song — and album as a whole — as this is unlike anything Sheeran has done before. The novelty of these unique additions displays how pop culture has grown into bringing in global touches in a beautiful, seamless way, bringing a theme of unity and love.
The single features a danceable beat, using the Indian tabla to keep an upbeat tempo and an overall new sound that hooks listeners. Starting out slower, the song emulates a mystical, hopeful feeling, as it slowly crescendos into a more energetic section. Sheeran seamlessly integrates more vibrance into the verse as he continues, “Don’t you end the party, I could do this all week.” Once the chorus of multiple voices echoes the word “sapphire,” the accompaniment pauses climactically until the satisfaction of the tabla and layered instruments resumes, even fuller than before. This is easily Sheeran’s most creative song, as it features him singing in Punjabi, which he traveled 11 hours to Arjit Singh’s hometown to learn how to properly pronounce in a distinctive demonstration of authenticity.
According to Billboard, Sheeran’s most popular song, based on the number of streams, on “Play” is the first track, “Opening.” It is a strong album opener, featuring Sheeran’s signature melancholy fingerpicking guitar, which is spotlighted in “X” and “÷” as well. Throughout the verse, Sheeran uses a softer head voice to reflect vulnerably on the past hardships he has overcome. However, in contrast to this melancholy tone, the song takes an abrupt turn from the raw, emotional guitar and gravitates toward a hard-hitting drum beat layered with electric guitar. This switch-up reflects a unique time period of uncertainty and stress in Sheeran’s life, differing from most other songs on the album just as his life has weathered ups and downs.
Similar to “Galway Girl,” from Sheeran’s previous album “÷,” he effortlessly raps over the faster-paced section of “Opening,” which conveys a pressurized feeling through his lyrics and vocal style, creating a realistic intensity that allows the song to turn in an unexpected direction. Towards the last lyric of the song, Sheeran fades back out to the melancholy vibe that opened the song, ending with the hopeful lyric, “and the day bursts wild and open.” This positive note gives the album a vibrant start and entices listeners.
Although Sheeran created individually fabulous songs, as a whole, the album is highly repetitive. “Old Phone,” “Camera,” “In Other Words,” “Slowly” and “The Vow” all radiate the same acoustic guitar accompaniment and lovey-dovey lyrics he is known for. These songs spotlight romantic love and nostalgia, which may have worked for Sheeran in his prior albums “X” and “÷,” but he can only pull off a sorrowful love bridge so many times.
Uniquely, Sheeran’s song “A Little More” is second most popular after “Opening.” This single employs a more aggressive tone to emphasize boundary setting and the ability to walk away from toxic relationships. Sheeran explicitly states that “every day, he hates [his past relationship] a little more,” and that “life got better when [he] lost [his past relationship],” revealing a sharper edge. This emotional shift, as paralleled by the abrupt switch from slow dancing background music to a diss track, hooks listeners into wondering what he might do next. Furthermore, a closer look to Sheeran’s unexplored emotions provides novelty to the album compared to his other songs.
“Sapphire” and “Azizam,” as well as “A Little More,” reveal a new side to Sheeran and bring curiosity and excitement to the album. However, despite these successes, Sheeran’s love and nostalgia-doused album blurs together. It’s written for when there is nothing else to play in a car full of people and good conversation because it doesn’t turn heads and it blends into the background perfectly.
RATING: 2.5/5
