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May 4, 2023Subtract still sounds like an Ed Sheeran album, just one that is not trying so hard to be everything to everyone all at once. Sometimes less really is more.
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May 8, 2023One of the strong points of “Subtract” is how little sugar-coating Sheeran tries to put on his rough 2022, even as he provides a few leavening songs, like “Colourblind,” that speak more generally to his love for his wife, and not just the prospect of her loss. Otherwise, it’s “Life Goes On,” as a seventh-stage-of-grief song title, and “Right now I feel I’m running from the light,” as an overriding sentiment.
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May 5, 2023On Subtract, Sheeran’s lyricism returns to the spotlight, bolstered by finely detailed music that complements his crystalline lyrics and close-confidant delivery.
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May 4, 2023Subtract is easily his best album. But it’s also the first Ed Sheeran album since his debut for which you can’t confidently predict eye-watering commercial success.
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May 8, 2023They’re sturdy songs, even as Sheeran sings about fragile emotions. ... Obviously, Sheeran doesn’t worry about verbal clichés — though in these songs, the sorrowful tone makes them sound more unguarded than banal.
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May 4, 2023Largely shorn of the gloss which took him to stratospheric heights, it’s little more than man and guitar. The results are affecting, but – and this remains Ed Sheeran, after all – not devoid of schmaltz.
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.