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May 10, 2023Sheeran is naturally a laid-back performer, the pair fit almost a little bit too neatly: where certain hooks and melodic refrains would've been pushed into the spotlight on previous Sheeran albums, they're lying in the background here. That tender touch when combined with a preponderance of ballads turns - (subtract) into a curiously recessive album: its emotions are raw, yet its execution is reserved.
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May 8, 2023Although the songs on – never really rise above a mild trot, there’s still some musical variety.
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May 8, 2023Subtract is palpably a grownup record on which he swings from coping to not coping. ... Artistically, things are less clear cut. If this is not a time for frisky, funky percussion, the watery tropes on these songs are matched by the album’s misty sound.
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May 5, 2023For the most part, ‘-‘ feels like a warm but cautious hug from a sensitive friend – Dessner gives Sheeran space to say what’s on his mind without trying to crowd him. ... But most of ‘-’ is doggedly one-paced, an often drawback of Dessner’s mellow production stylings.
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May 4, 2023Lyrically, the album does fall short, but then Sheeran has spent over a decade trading in vague yet universal issues. ... For the most part, Subtract is testament to the old adage that less is, often, much more.
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May 4, 2023We're left with 14 songs that, as promised, deliver a more personal side of Sheeran, who pens ruminative statements such as "Is this the ending of our youth when pain starts taking over?" ("End of Youth") yet he still alludes us through pop songwriting that is convinced emotions need to be dressed up as repetitive pedestrian motifs and served up on a silver platter.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 47 out of 79
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Mixed: 8 out of 79
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Negative: 24 out of 79
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May 5, 2023It's boring and long. one time listen, the instrumental is also boring and Ed's voice is sometime annoying
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May 6, 2023Corny, generic and boring. Songs just blend together, nothing interesting here. Classic Sheeran, music for shopping malls and masses.
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May 5, 2023An album so dull it fails to leave any impression at all even after repeated listenings.