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Oct 28, 2021To some tastes, Sheeran will be corny and trite. Yet what he does well is essentially inarguable: provide songs that fulfil the emotional needs of universal moments.
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Nov 4, 2021Here, Sheeran's melodies are soft yet insistent, and the production glistens with flair borrowed from younger, hipper artists who mine a similar blend of retro new wave and modern R&B, but he knows how to turn this stylish sound into something cozy and reassuring.
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Oct 29, 2021If Sheeran’s previous albums evoked a genuine emotional response, you’re in for a treat. If not, this isn’t going to change your mind. The songsmith unashamedly sticks to his winning formula on album four.
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Dec 16, 2021If you’re a fan, you’ll still be a fan and if you’re not, you still won’t be.
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Nov 1, 2021Equals tilts heavily into contentment and maturity, including an obligatory lullaby – Sandman – for his little one. Nice Ed gains the upper hand, with a commensurate loss in musical interest.
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Oct 29, 2021He’s equally rooted in old-school melody and beat-derived new-century songwriting. In its best moments, = brings together those two worlds. ... Yet as genuinely in love as he appears, his devotional songs tend to bog down in generalized sentiments and gooier melodies.
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Oct 29, 2021Unashamedly broad, it can lack detail and punch; yet ‘=’ has something about it that is difficult to shrug off, while being hard to truly relate to.
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Oct 28, 2021He avoids turning the songs on this album into as much of a box-ticking exercise as they felt on earlier records, managing to weave influences in with a little more flair.
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Oct 28, 2021= settles for gently nudging at the boundaries of what he’s known for, most notably on the opening Tides, which thunders along, driven by distorted guitars and double-time drums, and closer Be Right Now, which arrives unexpectedly welded to a Giorgio Moroder-ish synth line. As a result, whatever you already think about Sheeran, = isn’t going to alter it, and neither will a critic’s review.
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Oct 28, 2021‘=’ adds up to another album on which Sheeran comes off like a millennial Lionel Richie – namely, a very gifted singer-songwriter who’s sometimes sunk by his saccharine streak.
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Oct 29, 2021Ultimately, “=” neither adds to nor subtracts from the trusty formula for success that he long ago worked out. It is the sleek sound of stasis.
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Oct 29, 2021It’s settled, comfortable, and a bit too repetitive. It’s inoffensive, which is perhaps worst of all. Equals commits the greatest sin of pop music: it just isn’t very interesting.
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Nov 2, 2021He’s settled into the comfort zone of songs that will haunt weddings for years to come, like “2step,” in which he raps about “Two-steppin’ with the woman I love.” Even at his most passionate, Sheeran sounds as threatening as a meringue peak. ... Sheeran’s reliance on clichés is especially unfortunate during the album’s back half, which is where he placed a majority of the songs about death and fatherhood.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 136 out of 273
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Mixed: 34 out of 273
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Negative: 103 out of 273
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Oct 30, 2021
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Oct 30, 2021
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Oct 29, 2021