Ed Sheeran 'X' Review: A Fun, But Shallow Follow Up

Singer/Songwriter Ed Sheeran serves a heavy dose of liquor in his latest album X (pronounced “multiply”). Overflowing with mentions of failed love, loneliness, and lots of alcohol, Sheeran’s X delivers a heartfelt, yet shallow experience.

Sheeran’s debut album, + (pronounced “plus”), had a lot of substance lyric-wise. It offered commentary on the music industry, such as his dislike for artists who get a leg-up in the industry through organizations. Although I should point out the irony of Ed Sheeran’s success in revealing his scorn for A-list artists while becoming one himself. + also covered a lot of topics that resonated with his younger audience, giving him a teen appeal: alcohol, drugs, and love. Okay, maybe it didn’t have a lot of meaningful substance, but Sheeran was 20 years old at the time and was still developing an identity in the music industry. With X, the question is: does Sheeran grow up and leave behind all the shallow, teen appeal? And the answer: well, sort of.

X was about to bum me out entirely with songs like “One” and “I’m a Mess.” They both reveal Sheeran’s complicated relationships, and the romance can get a little sappy and cliché. I started to feel like Sheeran never really grew out of that teenage mentality from “plus.”

“See the flames inside my eyes
It burns so bright I wanna feel your love
Easy baby maybe I’m a light
Before tonight I wanna fall in love" – "I'm a Mess"

Needless to say, these lyrics of “I’m a Mess” almost made me put down my headphones and call it a day. What kept me going was the catchy tune of “Sing,” which follows “I’m a Mess” – if you have the stomach to get through to it. Things finally get interesting once “Don’t” cues next on the playlist. There’s more cheesy romance in this one than in “Sing,” but it also reveals a dark side to the success of his musicianship. Claiming his tours keep him away from what he truly loves to do in life, Sheeran sings, “Those shows have never been what it's about/ But maybe we'll go together and just figure it out/ I'd rather put on a film with you and sit on the couch.”

As I mentioned before, there are a lot of references to alcoholism. And while I can appreciate the subtle confession of Sheeran’s supposed drinking problem, it quickly gets old. It’s a motif that is heard in almost every song, which honestly fosters lukewarm feelings from me. The one time I found it effective was when we get to “Runaway,” in which he hints about his awry relationship with his father who drinks in the middle of the night. But nothing else is done with this form of addiction and Sheeran doesn’t explore new angles on it either, not even in the subtlest ways.

X lacks depth, but nevertheless, it has a decent collection of catchy tunes, thanks to Sheeran’s use of hip-hop elements and Brit-style rapping. “Sing” and “Don’t” are almost guaranteed to top charts and they make the album a decent, yet flawed addition to your playlist.