Subtract By Ed Sheeran
Ah, Ed Sheeran’s Subtract—an album designed to make you wish you could do just that to your Spotify queue. With its acoustic veneer and somber themes, Sheeran dives deep into personal grief, aided by The National’s Aaron Dessner. Sounds intriguing, right? Well, not quite.
Let’s start with the obvious: Subtract sounds like Sheeran discovered “Sad Boy Acoustic” as a genre and ran with it. Dessner’s stripped-down production, while meant to highlight Sheeran’s pain, instead drags many of the tracks into a murky, flavorless abyss. The overreliance on melancholic fingerpicking and gentle piano doesn’t evoke depth as much as it does a somber sleep aid. For every earnest moment, there’s a song like “Dusty” that meanders without purpose, leaving you wondering if the melody wandered off in search of a coffee break.
Sheeran doesn’t shy away from exposing raw emotions, but that doesn’t automatically make for good songwriting. Yes, life has been rough for him recently—illness, loss, existential crises—but his lyrics don’t bring these weighty subjects to life as much as they drown in cliché. Tracks like “End of Youth” try to tackle the emotional toll of grief, but end up sounding like every other late-night journal entry set to guitar.
And here’s where it gets awkward—there aren’t many. “Eyes Closed” offers some emotional weight, but it’s not enough to carry the whole album. “Boat” feels like it’s supposed to be inspiring, but hearing Ed croon about metaphorical waves won’t leave you rushing to hit replay.
Despite the personal narrative, the album feels like an uneven jumble. The tonal shifts from folksy dirges to lifeless mid-tempo ballads make you question if this was intended to be a cohesive statement or just a collection of songs written during a really long therapy session.
Look, we get it. Ed Sheeran’s been through some things. But Subtract doesn’t let you feel the complexity of those emotions; it’s like he’s waving a sign that says “I’m sad” without really making you feel sad with him. It’s hard to empathize with songs that sound more like a half-hearted attempt to wring out emotions than a cathartic release.
If you’re a die-hard Sheerio or someone who misses the quieter moments from X, this might be for you. But if you’re hoping for the next “Shape of You” or a pop banger to lighten the emotional load, you’re in for a long, dreary ride. This album is tailor-made for people who want to wallow, not dance.
Subtract is what happens when you aim for emotional depth but forget that music still has to sound interesting. Ed Sheeran’s heart is clearly in it, but musically, it’s an album that might as well be titled Minus Excitement. Sometimes less isn’t more—it’s just less.
