Adele is an incredibly talented singer/songwriter with a particular talent for putting universal and common experiences with love into words. Fans had to wait four years for the release of 25 (November 20, 2015), but the album-filled with its obligatory heart-wrenching ballads-was well worth the wait. Selling this as a “make-up album” to follow the break-up album that was 21, the album fittingly has more of an upbeat feel, and many of the tracks focus thematically on letting go of the past.
One of the best elements of the album has to be Adele’s voice and the way the production is built around it. In a world of pop music where production sometimes overwhelms vocalists, Adele’s pure, untouched voice is a refreshing change. 25 also more than lived up to expectations to inspire overwhelming emotion in its listeners. With lyrics like, “Sometimes I feel like it’s only me / who never became who they thought they’d be,” and “This is never ending, we have been here before / But I can’t stay this time cause I don’t love you anymore,” Adele beautifully delivers some of the harshest truths pop music has ever seen.
However, despite this album’s obvious strengths, it seems a little safe at times. Adele’s music is beautifully crafted, and she undeniably has her own formula, but her strict adherence to this formula results in songs that sound remarkably similar to those on 21. Because of this, 25 doesn’t feel particularly groundbreaking, but that can be forgiven easily because the songs on the new album are really good, regardless.
On 25, Adele has given her listeners a song for their every melancholy mood and penned lyrics which illuminate the universal beauty in insecurity. It is, without a doubt, going to be one of the biggest pop albums of all time, and it should be, because even its weakest moments feel just a little too real to be forgotten.