Play <\/p>\n
\ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7 <\/p>\n
Artist: Ed Sheeran<\/p>\n
Label: Atlantic<\/p>\n
Ed Sheeran<\/a> has made much of his connection to Ireland in recent months, telling Louis Theroux, for example, that he identifies as \u201cculturally Irish\u201d<\/a> and choosing to share the bombshell that he\u2019s moving to the United States on The 2 Johnnies Podcast. <\/p>\n So it\u2019s a shame that this by all accounts genuine affection doesn\u2019t extend to making his latest album available in advance to Irish reviewers \u2013 a courtesy extended to journalists in the UK and the US but not in Ireland. (Believe us, we asked.)<\/p>\n [\u00a0Ed Sheeran has as much right to call himself Irish as The Pogues or The SmithsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n So, while writers in other countries had the time and space to assess his eighth studio long player before it was released, this review has to be more of an instant reaction at the end of a week of cold-shouldering (a reminder, perhaps, that if you want a dictionary-precise definition of \u201cbackwater\u201d, look up the mainstream Irish music industry).<\/p>\n Still, even at a very brief encounter, it\u2019s clear that Sheeran is keen to get back on track after a misplaced attempt at authenticity on his two most recent releases, the wan double whammy of \u201c-\u201d<\/a>, aka Subtract, and Autumn Variations<\/a>, in 2023.<\/p>\n Recorded in the aftermath<\/a> of the death of his friend Jamal Edwards<\/a> and produced by Aaron Dessner<\/a> of The National, those LPs saw Sheeran chase critical acclaim for the first time. It was a bad idea all around. The magic Dessner had worked with Taylor Swift<\/a> was thin on the ground, and Sheeran seemed ill at ease abandoning his natural flair for pop.<\/p>\n He\u2019s back on form on the enjoyably moreish Play. The album will, of course, give further ammunition to detractors who believe Sheeran is the shallowest songwriter alive, but it also brims with quicksilver hooks. <\/p>\n He has, in other words, returned to his day job of churning out annoyingly catchy bangers. Like him or loathe him, you have to agree that\u2019s far more preferable than Sheeran attempting to be the second coming of Jeff Buckley<\/a>, as was his modus two years ago.<\/p>\n Sheeran has pitched Play as the first in a five-part arc of \u201csymbol\u201d-themed projects \u2013 Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward and Stop are all on the way. But the big talking point in advance of its release has been his collaboration with artists from Persia and India. <\/p>\n First up is Sapphire, a twinkling hook-up with the West Bengal composer Arijit Singh. It is followed by Azizam, which combines Iranian and Irish influences (and is cowritten by Johnny McDaid<\/a> of Snow Patrol<\/a>).<\/p>\n Such cheeky cross-pollination isn\u2019t a first for Sheeran. Let us not forget \u2013 we haven\u2019t! \u2013 the appalling Galway Girl<\/a>, which stomped all over Irish traditional music like a thousand Michael Flatleys performing a mass war dance at the gates of hell.<\/p>\n Without an intimate knowledge of Indian or Persian music, it\u2019s hard to know whether he has committed the same cultural vandalism on Play \u2013 but people in Iran seem to love Azizam. Either way, there\u2019s no denying its hypermelodic marriage of shiny western pop and west Asian influences.<\/p>\n There is a lot of Sheeran\u2019s familiar slurpiness on Play. Camera is Sheeran rewriting Chris de Burgh<\/a>\u2019s Lady in Red, as he tells a significant other that no \u201ccamera\u201d can do justice to how great they look. And he has a go at a diss track on A Little More \u2013 it\u2019s akin to being savaged by a cuddly toy.<\/p>\n