STACK #205 Nov 2021

MUSIC FEATURE

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TIDES Ed isn‘t mucking about, opening the album with one of its top three belters. Tides features a heartbeat-thumping 4/4 piano and heaving acoustic guitar, and also introduces a stylistic twist Sheeran uses often across the album to awesome effect: in the chorus, he suddenly pulls out all of the instruments except for voice. Normally we‘d expect a chorus to be the biggest, juiciest part of the track – the culmination of the verses‘ builds – but Ed gets to play with the rules. “Time starts to still/ When you are in my arms, it always will,” he croons, with harmonies layered like spanikopita. In subject matter, Tides ‘ frank reflections aren‘t unlike the opening track of another of the year‘s top-tier pop releases: Getting Older , from Billie Eilish‘s Happier Than Ever . FIRST TIMES Here‘s the first heart-shredding love song of the album, clearly directed with the utmost candour to Ed‘s wife Cherry. It‘s woven through with the life-observations Sheeran is known for; he contemplates his first time playing London‘s Wembley Stadium – “80 thousand singing with me/ This is the dream” – then moves to

SHEERAN THE LOVE

ED FINDS HIS HEART'S EQUAL

Words Zoë Radas

T his month, the other ginger prince lifts the cloche on the fourth installment of his five-part album journey. (The last chapter, - ["subtract"], is rumoured to be arriving very soon). In 2011, Ed Sheeran‘s debut + (“plus”) introduced us to the singularly affecting wizardry of the Englishman‘s songwriting nous with six smash singles (including massive debut single The A Team ). In 2014 we got x (“multiply”); its gob- smackingly popular single Thinking Out Loud earned the crown of Ed‘s biggest hit… until 2017, when Shape Of You , the lead single from third album ÷ (“divide”), shattered records all over the shop. Now we come to = ("equals"), and it makes perfect sense for Ed to tackle this symbol at this particular stage of his life‘s journey. It‘s been 10 years since his debut record, and Sheeran is now 30 years old, having spent

the entirety of his 20s in the international spotlight. He‘s seen loss, experienced love, and even welcomed a baby into the world via a fairytale romance. And it‘s that romantic ally – Ed‘s wife Cherry Seaborn, whom he famously met in high school; the two fell out of touch before reconnecting in 2015 and tying the knot in 2019 – whose presence curls around =‘s melodies. The pair‘s deep connection makes you realise that the album‘s title has another meaning, aside from its mathematical one: Seaborn and Sheeran are equals. The sentiment is all over this collection of affecting songs, which – though they push more than a few envelopes in terms of Ed‘s stylistic tradition – are all utterly Sheeran. In chronological order of the tracklist, here are our favourite gems from = , out now.

the quiet moments backstage after the show‘s over… noting the way it‘s these moments of repose, in fact, that “make a man.” “I remember the first kiss, the first night, the first song that made you cry,” Ed sings, following up with a corker of a couplet: “The greatest thing that I have achieved/ Is four little words, down on one knee.” Funnily enough, this track feels a bit like the first time you ever heard an Ed Sheeran song – a beaut closing of the circle. THE JOKER AND THE QUEEN Ed deals a winning hand with an extended playing card metaphor, within this ‘less is more‘ ballad – which, for most of its length, comprises

20 NOVEMBER 2021

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