Ed Sheeran returns with his third studio album which includes the songs ‘Shape of You’ and ‘Castle on the Hill’. But what have critics been saying about it?
Consequence of Sound: “Each passing cycle saps a little more life from the record, until we’re left with background music, fluff that goes in one ear and out the other.”
Spin: “Sheeran still sounds most comfortable singing unadorned, accompanied by little more than a cleanly strummed acoustic guitar.”
New York Times: “Mr. Sheeran may have figured out how to infiltrate the most rarefied spaces in pop, but what he found there perhaps wasn’t worth chasing after all.”
Rolling Stone : **** “Sheeran’s musical history lesson is both well-timed and rip-roaringly fun, another example of his still-evolving craft.”
NME: **** “assured but unassuming and sometimes hard to fathom.”
The Express: ***** “This third album is easily his strongest collection to date.”
The Guardian: ** “÷ (“Divide”) is, yes, formulaic, in that Sheeran replicates the ballads’n’rapping template he forged on + and perfected on x”
The Independent: **** “this is a polished, well-executed effort from one of the hardest-working men in music.”
The Telegraph: **** “This is a set of direct, punchy, melodic, catchy, meaningful songs, with verses and choruses in all the right places.”
Vulture: “Divide is Ed Sheeran showing up as sturdy and reliable as morning coffee. But if he’s going to serve up the same three ingredients every time, it would be nice if he could make sure, just once, that everything gels.”
Evening Standard : *** “Ultimately, ÷ will sell a great deal, but it is not a truly great album.”
Irish Times: * ” In a post-Brexit world, Sheeran is conveniently playing up his Irishness but we see through you, pal. And while you’ll probably get a number one album here, sell Croke Park out 10 times over and graze your sheep in Stephen’s Green (inspiration for your next album? Urban farming?) once you get Freedom of the City, we see through you.”
IB Times:*** “Divide is somewhat structured like a diary of Sheeran’s past year and, as listeners, we are afforded the privilege of learning just what makes the singer tick after an extensive period away.”
÷ is available to buy and download through Amazon now.