Ed Sheeran is one of those figures in the music industry that is capable of making both decent pop songs and horrendous radio earworms, and it’s pretty much been that way since he first started to force his way onto the charts. Sheeran’s allegiance towards either side of this weird musical spectrum has constantly waxed and waned throughout his career, with his beginning featuring most of his best music. His releases for the past 3 or 4 years, however, pretty much confirm his love and passion for making boring, uninspired, and downright awful music. This pattern of his was showcased rather blatantly in his latest album, Equals. 

If a swimming pool had the depth of this album, someone could get seriously injured if they tried to dive in. Most tracks on this album don’t sound all that different from his past works, and they all feel old and overplayed, including the ones I hadn’t even heard before I listened to the album. I find it absolutely excruciating that all of these songs will inevitably be heard pretty much anywhere human beings are found. The radio-friendly sound of this album is intentional, which isn’t inherently a bad aspect; even Plus, his best release with a major studio, appeals to mainstream, chart-topping sensibilities. The problem encountered with this project, however, is that every other release of his has more artistic merit. Sometimes, the writing feels so meticulously constructed to become popular that it makes me think of Sheeran as some sort of mad scientist, working to perfect his hit-making formula. 

I could probably talk about how much I dislike this album for a long time and write increasingly creative metaphors about it. The dramatically steep dive in the quality of his music is just disappointing. I wish that his career went a lot differently. Ed Sheeran: forever an indie musician without big record labels, world tours, or any of the resulting commercialization.