Ed Sheeran’s direction change works on new album

I discovered a brilliant British, ginger, tattooed, singer-songwriter more than a year ago named Ed Sheeran.

After listening to his album “+” (Plus) countless times, I was highly anticipating his new album “X” (Multiply) that was released in early July.

At first, I was a little anxious about hearing the album because the single, “Sing,” — released prior to the album — had a different sound and feel to it than the normal Ed sound I had come to love.

However, this album is even better than his first one. He has a lot of old sounds on “X” as well as new sounds with more of a hip-hop feel that are pretty groovy. Sheeran integrated more instruments in a very refreshing way that complements his last album which was mainly just acoustic guitar and had a calmer feel.

The new beats and melodies this album offers are simply amazing and will tempt you to start dancing, yet he still manages to stay true to his acoustic roots.

My favorite songs on the album are: “I’m a Mess,” “Don’t,” “Photograph,” “Runaway” and “Afire Love.”

One thing I appreciate on this album is that Sheeran decided to take out the curse words, providing a clean listening experience.

In a way, doing so actually emphasized where the words would be, making it a gutsy choice that paid off.

I can’t think of many artists who would actually do something like that by choice.

Not only does Sheeran have an outstanding, unique voice, but he also raps and he does it very well. He has taken three things — singing, playing acoustic guitar, and rapping, and turned it into a product that no one can recreate.

He’s easily the best singer-songwriter I’ve ever heard.

I’ve been listening to this album constantly since I downloaded it, and guarantee you will do the same.

“X” is a piece of artwork.

Sheeran sings and raps with such emotion.

All of his songs are personal and come from deep within. No one else writes songs like him. No one has successfully been able to copy his sound.

He’s original, and that’s something we don’t see in music anymore.

Rating: A+

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