Ed Sheeran - = (equals)

 "=" is the 5th studio album from English singer songwriter Ed Sheearn.  Ed rose to fame pretty quickly.  I remember watching Glastonbury coverage the year before his debut album "+" came out and he did "A-team" especially for the coverage. It was clear back then he was talented and also different to what was out there.  Back then he was by himself with a guitar and a loop peddle.  Since then, he has grown to become one of the biggest acts in this decade.  You just have to look at his Spotify streams, "Shape of you" has over 2 billion streams while "Perfect" is 1.8 billion streams and I'm sure there are plenty of other songs too with ridiculous stats.

But to be honest, although liking some of the singles, particularly "A-team" and "Sing". I've never been the biggest Ed Sheeran fan.  I have tried listening to his albums in the past and there has never been enough to bring me back for repeated listens. Yes, he has good singles but there has never been enough depth of quality going into the albums.  That was until I listened to this album "=".  I really feel this time there is a lot more going on with the music here and bringing in other musicians has added some depth and variety to his sound.  Just look and "The Joker and the Queen". A slow-moving piano ballad, which is absolutely majestic and the strings later on make it even better.  

But I think the balance on this album between ballads and more upbeat tracks is where Ed really has nailed it.  The upbeat tracks on here are some of the best he has done.  "Bad Habits" and "Overpass Graffiti" are two of my favourites of the year.  It's difficult to decide which ones better.  The first track "Tides" I thought sounded a bit like Snow patrol from the guitar intro.  Then I found out one of the producers on the album, Johnny McDaid is in Snow Patrol.  The influence is clear but there is more to this track.  The pace changes work well. 

Overall, this is a really solid album and did take me by surprise.  I am still not desperate to see Ed live but I will certainly be listening to this album for a time to come.