Ed Sheeran - +

The meteoric rise of Ed Sheeran over the past 6 months has been unprecedented, but for those who know him and his journey will know that this has been anything but a quick and easy stroll in the park. Prior to the release of his hit single The A-Team, he has been hard at work ever since recording his first EP, The Orange Room, all the way back in 2005 at the tender age of 14. Throughout the past 6 years he has gone on to independently release eight more EPs, supported a wide variety of acts all the way from the acoustic band Nizlopi to the Dance sensation Example, as well as performing thousands of his own gigs to adoring fans up and down the country. All of this hard work was rewarded earlier this year when Atlantic put their faith in his talent by handing him a record deal and the opportunity to release his full debut album. Every single one of the EPs he has released in the past are special in their own way, but + is a simply incredible body of work and a very honest and open insight into the ups and downs of his life thus far.

+ opens with the irrepressible A-Team, and there is always a chance that any song could get boring after spending over ten weeks in the top 5, but I've had this song for 2 years, and it still gets me in the same way now as it did the first time I heard it. This leads onto Drunk, an easily relatable break-up song about turning to alcohol in order to numb the pain of losing the one you love and in hope that you will be able to find a new love, when in your mind you know that this will just be a quick fix that could never last. U.N.I follows, which is a track that featured on the One Take EP and is all about the troubles that people face during the time where one, or both of you, leaves home to go to University - this is a scenario that many people have to go through, and very rarely come out of together. Grade 8 is the song that Ed has been opening his sets with over the past few months, and you can understand why, it grabs your attention from the opening few beats, his voice sounds hypnotising and the comparison between a Grade 8 guitarist and his lover is just lyrically genius. Two of my favourite Ed tracks then go back to back - Wake Me Up and Small Bump. Wake Me Up is a 'silly' yet beautiful love song that he wrote whilst drunk during his time in America - there is a fun little fact to go with this, which is that Ed actually plays the piano himself on Wake Me Up, and it's the stripped back nature of the song that makes it so special for me. Small Bump is a heart-wrenching track that speaks for itself, and could well be one of the most emotional songs ever written. The acoustic version that he performs at gigs is both deep and intense, so it's nice to see that it wasn't over produced, as it would have been a shame to lose any of the emotion from the song. This is a testament to Jake Gosling, who is the man behind near enough all of production on the album - his knowledge and understanding of Ed and what is best for the track is second to none.

A track called This opens up the second half of the album, and is a heartfelt love song that once again sees Ed stripped back, but this time it's just him and guitar - albeit a much shorter song than anything else on the album, it's definitely one of the better stories, and they do say less is more, right? One of the more upbeat songs follows in The City, which sees Ed questioning if moving to London and getting no sleep to pursue his dream of becoming a singer/songwriter was worth it - I think the quality of this album and the amount of praise/recognition he has gained over the past 12 months more than answers that (a second little fun fact is that the version of The City that you hear on the album is the original demo that was recorded back in 2008). Lego House was premiered as Zane Lowe's hottest record in the world last night and is the third single from the album - it's a very understandable choice. The A-Team and You Need Me were at completely different ends of the spectrum, and Lego House meets them in the middle, with Ed showcasing his stunning vocals alongside his harmonic rapping, which along with his witty and easily relatable lyrics has enabled him to create this unique sound that everyone has found so easy to fall in love with. You Need Me is then up next and is a choice that shocked me when I first heard the tracklist, but it's still to this day a mind-blowing piece of music and was the perfect way to make a statement to all those who didn't believe in him all those years ago. Kiss Me is the only track on the album that isn't produced by Gosling - it is another song that was created during Ed's time in America and was produced by the legendary No I.D., who has been the man behind some of KanYe West, Jay-Z and Common's best work. The drums are pretty simple, but enchanting, and the lyrics are some the best he's ever written. Ed said that this would work perfectly as a first dance song at a wedding, and I have to agree - it's stunning, the electric guitar solo is huge and overall is one of my favourite tracks on the album. Give Me Love is the song that brings the album to a close and is one of my favourite songs that Ed has ever written, plus it works amazingly well live. The lyrics are the main stand out point, but everything from the production to the harmonies help towards creating this beautiful piece of music. One of my personal highlights on the whole album is the last two minutes of this track, where it sounds like an African tribe is going up against an American gospel choir in a sing off, which makes for the most emphatic way to wrap up this truly spectacular album.

Elton John said that this album is the best he has heard from the past 10 years, and after hearing it in full, I can understand why. Ed is a ridiculously talented singer/songwriter, who has brought together influences from Hip-Hop, Soul, Folk, Rock and many other genres to create an album with a sound like you've never heard before, but it's his work ethic and true passion for performing that make him a class apart from most other artists. Just one example of this was when he booked out Barfly for the night and performed a full set to two sold out crowds, before taking to the streets to perform an impromptu set for those people who had stayed till the end to see him - nobody does this anymore, and it's refreshing to see an artist that loves playing music and cares about his fans so much. I feel privileged to have seen him grow so closely over the past couple of years, but I think it's clear for all to see that Ed Sheeran is a young man who deserves all the success he gets. Below you can hear a short snippet of Kiss Me and will find all of the necessary links. You know what the scary thing is? He's only 20, and this is just the beginning...

+: September 11th (Digital) & September 12th (Physical)

Play.com
iTunes
HMV

You Need Me, I Don't Need You: OUT NOW!
Lego House: LISTEN!

Photos by Emily Coxhead