Music
An album that will give courage and hope to all broken hearts.
She is one of the most popular and intergenerational singers who is making her comeback. Adele is releasing her (highly anticipated) fourth album this Friday: 30. An opus that will certainly have the effect of a bomb given the reception that has been reserved for his first single “Easy On Me”. Nothing will replace a first listen, but here’s what to expect.
30 was the singer’s age when she started writing this album 3 years ago. Far from being just a number, it represents an important stage in his life after the birth of his son and his divorce. Adele even explains that she wrote this opus to answer questions from her nine-year-old son Angelo about his recent divorce. In this fourth album, the singer remains true to herself and gives herself open heartedly. Twelve songs that follow but are not alike. If some are more in a jazzy / soul style, others are more pop, and still others are more classical in piano / voice. Some titles have a richer and more sought-after production. Some songs are future hits while others are more intimate and confidential. An album that can be listened to like a story with many twists and turns. Nothing will replace a first listen, but here is a rundown of what to expect.
Little tour song by song
The album begins with “Strangers by Nature”, a track that begins with a synthesizer organ and only Adele’s voice, before violins invite themselves. “No one knows what it’s like to be else,” she sings. The sounds are round, and we enter without difficulty in the universe of this new opus.
Is it still necessary to present “Easy on Me”? The previous song is a perfect introduction to listening to this hit, which is much more powerful and has a more direct text (use of the second person “You”), which directly appeals to the listener. Behind the power of the voice, the text presents a singer more vulnerable than she wants to make it believe by asking “take it easy with me, baby”. This song partly explains why her marriage to her son Angelo’s father didn’t work out despite her best efforts: “I changed who I was to put you both first / But now I’m giving up.”
The third song is much deeper, more intimate and touching. “My Little Love” is clearly a song dedicated to her son. In a jazzy atmosphere, the singer apologizes to Angelo for the situation in which he had to grow up. You can feel all the guilt of the divorce in his words. “I’m sorry what I’ve done made you feel sad,” she sings. “Mama has a lot to learn. What particularly stands out in this song are the private audio sounds of her and her son, probably from private videos. “I feel confused and like I don’t really know what I’m doing,” she said in a sobbing voice, where you can even hear her cry.
“Cry Your Heart Out” is a real contrast to the previous song. The song begins with an electronic voice reminiscent of 1950s microphones. Rhythmic and dynamic, the jazzy track is almost reminiscent of a rebirth after having hit rock bottom. “Cry your heart out / Clean your face” sounds like a piece of advice that she herself applied. Have a good cry, and move on. Backing vocals warm up the song with “ouh ouh”, which is rather ironic knowing that there are also in the previous song, but in a completely different style.
“Oh My God” already sounds like a future hit. Very rhythmic and dynamic, the chorus stays in the lead. “I want to have fun” sings Adele, and that’s what she does on this track.
Changed register for “Can I Get It”, a much more pop song. After a first verse in guitar / voice, the bass drum sets the rhythm in the style of “Rolling In The Deep”. The musical phrase of the guitar is heady and will undoubtedly stay in the minds of fans.
In “I Drink Wine” Adele goes back to something more classic, starting with piano / vocals. Without being happy, the title is not sad but rather nostalgic. In the chorus, backing vocals accompany the singer in a gospel style as she sings “I hope I learn to get over myself / Stop trying to be somebody else / So we can love each other for free”. Adele keeps questioning, wondering why she gets obsessed with things she can’t control, and why she seeks approval from people she doesn’t even know. A song for self-love.
“All Night Parking” mixes the piano and the drum machine very well (where the beat is very present). “Usually, I’m best alone, but everytime you text, I just want to fly home” sings Adele to the one who makes her feel beautiful.
“Woman Like Me” begins with guitar / vocals, followed by percussion. A very calm song despite the reproaches it has to make: “All you do it to complain about decisions you make”. Before concluding with: “You will never have a woman like me”. The message has passed!
We return to the soul style with “Hold On”, a rather joyful track. And although she speaks in the first person during the verses, the chorus speaks directly to those going through a difficult time, like a call to hold on. “You are still strong / Let pain be gracious / Love will soon come / Just hold, hold on”. A formidable message of hope which is part of the continuity of the album, in this phase of reconstruction. “Sometimes, loneliness is the only rest we get,” she sings.
“To Be Loved” is the only full piano / vocal track on the album. A calm and sad song, like Adele used to do on her previous albums, like “Someone Like You”. “Looking back, I don’t regret a thing,” she sings, certainly in reference to her past love affair and her divorce. The singer ends in power and after a silence with the phrase: “Let it be known that I’ve tried”; and we could already almost hear the fans who will cheer him in force during his future concerts.
The album ends with “Love Is A Game” where stringed instruments are back. A last happy track in an atmosphere always soul / jazzy accompanied by percussions, piano, and choirs. “Love is a game for fools to play”, so why impose it on yourself she wonders? “I’m addicted / You know I’m gonna do it again” ends the song. A positive way to end this album and to show that love always wins in the end, even when you no longer believe it.
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