Review: Adele- 25

I highly doubt I have to explain who Adele is, so I'll just jump into it. Like a lot of people, I got into Adele's music through 21 and before overplay kind of killed it for me, I thought the album had its moments. It was a good mix of retro soul and piano ballads, but it also had a poppy quality to it. The lyrics were a little basic, and I could have heard it on plenty of breakup albums, but the singing was very good and emotive. It was also a tremendous success, so pressure must have been high to live up to this thing.

In my opinion, 25 might be a little bit of a step back from 21. A great deal of this album seems like those album's songs rehashed, with the same super sad, torch bearer lyrics throughout. A lot has changed in Adele's life in the four years since the last record (a healthy relationship; a child), though by listening to this album, apart from the last tune 'Sweetest Devotion', you wouldn't be able to tell. I guess Adele and her collaborators know her core audience, and don't want to stray from the tried and true, but I thought the point of the personal and confessional lyrics was that it was a window into the artist's life. Is Adele afraid of being happy on record because she thinks it'll alienate her audience?

From a singing perspective, Adele has that down pat. Her singing has always been great, and it's good to see that her throat surgery went well and didn't affect her talent in the slightest. The melodies here are a little less catchy, and I don't really think there's the single potential here that the tracks off 21 had. The songs here are a little more dreary and subdued, with less climatic rises and pop appeal.

I really think the music is what sours a lot of the tracks here. I know this album is definitely a vocal feature, but the instrumentation needs to compliment what Adele is doing vocally. If she reaches the hook and is belting out, like on 'Hello' or any of the other hook heavy tracks, the music should rise to meet her and give the moment some more emotional weight. Whoever mixed this album put too much stock in Adele's voice, as the instrumentation is mixed quite low, and this forces her voice to pretty much carry the song on its own. And the drums. Oh, the drums. When there are drums, they sound super mushy, like they were recorded in a gelatin encased room. This is no more evident than on 'Water Under the Bridge'. In order to get a driving beat for some of the more up tempo tracks, you need some punchier drums.

All in all, I think this was a bit of a let down for me. I think it was mostly on the part of the instrumentals, but the lyrics contributed a bit as well. Adele's singing was great as always, but I think she needs to stop playing it safe. I feel like she's singing what she and her team of writers and producers think an audience wants to hear, and not something she wants. You're Adele. You sold over 3 million copies of this in the first week. It's going to sell. Fans aren't going to bail if they hear you sing about something happy. They'll bail if you recycle material.

Out of a total of five stars, I give this:

Check back in later. I'll be sharing my thoughts on Sunn O)))'s Kannon, and the new Kid Cudi project.


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