Happy summer holidays guys! Now that school’s out it’s time to explore as many festivals and concerts as you can in your free time as well as tracking down new artists and tracks to get into. With your newfound free time, you need to be sitting outside in the sun listening to some truly amazing, fresh hits.
Now, Ed Sheeran shot to fame in late 2011 with his debut album ‘+’ reaching number one in the UK, Australian, Scottish, New Zealand and Irish official charts. His album received mixed reviews by critics but the public loved it. After touring for over 2 years, he’s finally gone back into the studio to produce his follow up album ‘X’.
‘X’ definitely follows on nicely from the debut album, progressing well but still carrying the acoustic, folky feel. You can tell, in the last few years, that he’s matured. Songs such as ‘Sing’ seem a very long way from the sober and sincere balladry of Small Bump or Lego House.
Collaborating with artists such as Pharrell Williams, Gary Lightboy and Rudimental shows a shift in style, though he stays true to himself and his fans adore him for it. He’s bold, and gently pushing the boundaries he originally set and into more adult material.
His ballads, though matured and new, are still striking and beautiful, tracks such as ‘One’ and ‘Tenerife sea’ really show this off well. His rapping has also now become a strong backbone to his songs, integrating his soft acoustic sound with the up-tempo rap shows his raw ability to turn from ordinary ideas and make them extraordinary. ‘The Man’ is definitely a brilliant example of his diversity in this album.