Divide is Ed Sheeran’s third studio album, and it’s safe to say after his explosion as a singer/songwriter there was a very real hype surrounding this album’s release. But as I and most people know, there is quite a divide in opinion of the star. So how does this release stack up against Ed’s name? To be honest, I’m just waiting for the Stormzy crossover.

The album makes a strong start with ‘Eraser’, a track oozing experience and quality, giving you high hopes for the rest of the album. ‘Galway Girl’ brings a real change, mixing Ed’s signature rap style with an Irish folk flair to create a really unique kind of sound. This is the kind of experimental Ed Sheeran I really like and I was happy to find out there is more of it in the album. But the inclusion of singles ‘Shape Of You’ and ‘Castle On The Hill’ within the opening four tracks is a risky move, exposing the rest of Divide to feel relatively unsupported and lacking momentum.

But ‘New Man’ accentuates the repetitive, boring riffs and slow songs Ed can sometimes come out with that are forgotten immediately after hearing them. ‘Supermarket Flowers’ is the same: uninteresting lyrics and a beat that consists of one piano key pressed every second or two. These two songs aren’t where Ed shines, so it’s a shame that they’re in here really.

Sadly the album ends with ‘Save Myself’. It’s his slow, uninteresting style again, and after some stronger developments, it’s quite an anticlimax. Out of the 16 songs, most of what Ed Sheeran writes is interesting, playing to his strengths- there is even some aforementioned experimentation that goes really well.

However if you don’t like Ed Sheeran (as some don’t) then this won’t change your mind, as it’s filled with his signature style too. But for the rest of us Ed seems to have done it again.

Will Nelson

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