Ed Sheeran – - (Subtract)

[Active Aggressive]

Ed definitely wasn't lying. This album is...depressing, overall. Ed has made depressing or super emotional songs before (see: most of his debut and highlights like One, Photograph, I'm A Mess, Hearts Don't Break Around Here, Visiting Hours, and even his romantic songs) scattered throughout his discography. But, this album feels different, like a long, extended sigh. Really hard for me to rank the songs on the album, but my personal faves are (probably in this order):

1. Dusty
2. Eyes Closed (CLEARLY the best shot at a successful first single)
3. Salt Water
4. Colourblind
5. Stoned
6. The Hills of Aberfeldy
7. Toughest

Shoutout to Ed and his team for placing the most Tik Tok-friendly song as the final BONUS track on the album. Moving is a lark, but...a really strong one. I just have a hard time including it in the ranking because it stands out SO much. But, they might as well try something with that. Not sure what else would really work. MAYBE Colourblind as another wedding fave? Ed sounds really good on the album and probably some of his strongest songwriting, so I definitely understand why critics are giving him his flowers here. I think they are sick of the pandering pop hits because Ed has always been better than that.

[Ryan]

[Active Aggressive]

The promo for this has been particularly strong. It sucks that it took such a dark time for him to be THIS vulnerable, but it's really paying off and hopefully, more convos about men's mental health come about. The more I listen to the album, the more I really vibe with it. I found out my best childhood friend's wife passed away last night, succumbing to her battle with a very aggressive form of treatment-resistant triple breast cancer, which spread to her lungs. They were able to get her into an experimental clinical trial at the beginning of the month, but it was too late. She got sick yesterday and just deteriorated so rapidly that there was nothing they could do. She leaves behind not only a loving partner of 17 years but also two small children - 4 and 2. Even though I am in a really good place right now emotionally/mentally (which is why it took me so long to listen to this), the album definitely hits different when you are actually dealing with grief and/or trying to help someone else navigate it.

[marcyiam]

May 9, 2023 19:48:03 GMT -5 Active Aggressive said:

The promo for this has been particularly strong. It sucks that it took such a dark time for him to be THIS vulnerable, but it's really paying off and hopefully, more convos about men's mental health come about. The more I listen to the album, the more I really vibe with it. I found out my best childhood friend's wife passed away last night, succumbing to her battle with a very aggressive form of treatment-resistant triple breast cancer, which spread to her lungs. They were able to get her into an experimental clinical trial at the beginning of the month, but it was too late. She got sick yesterday and just deteriorated so rapidly that there was nothing they could do. She leaves behind not only a loving partner of 17 years but also two small children - 4 and 2. Even though I am in a really good place right now emotionally/mentally (which is why it took me so long to listen to this), the album definitely hits different when you are actually dealing with grief and/or trying to help someone else navigate it.

I'm so sorry to hear. 💔

[Ty]

Pitchfork gave this album 3.8/10

[Active Aggressive]

May 11, 2023 5:55:07 GMT -5 Ty said:

Pitchfork gave this album 3.8/10

P4K continues to have their heads up their collective asses and are the Kings of Pretention. Also, they have never liked Ed. They've actually given him lower scores than that. It's telling that their favorite album of his is his collaborations album, LOL.

[Night Senses]

May 11, 2023 5:55:07 GMT -5 Ty said:

Pitchfork gave this album 3.8/10

No surprise there. Not the biggest Ed fan, but the bias is indisputable. It doesn’t matter what he releases. He could put out + today and it would get a bad score from them. Of course that’s one album they won’t retrospectively revisit. Not to say it was incredibly reviewed at the time, but it has held up as a solid effort that they can’t just laughingly stamp a 2.7 on without it being noticeably disingenuous.

This album, however, is just not clicking with me. I think it’s just the vibe. I don’t consider it bad, I just feel bad when I’m listening to it. I don’t know if that makes sense. I’m not in the right space for this album. It also drags in certain areas it doesn’t need to. But it’s not a 3.8 out of 10. Seriously.

[spiritboy]

Who cares about bitchfork? :kii: