25: Review

If you aren’t living under a rock, then you must be aware that the music industry has forever been changed after yesterday’s release of Adele’s newest album, 25.  Projected to sell 2.5 million copies in its first week of circulation, the album is sure to get great reviews as a follow up to her smash 2011 hit, 21. Here is a post reviewing 25 in its entirety. I hope you enjoy reading!

1. “Hello” – I think Adele dropping this as a first single was a smart move for her to make. Not only did the surprise release get people excited for the album, but the first line of the song basically turned into an internet meme in a matter of a few hours. Can there be a better way to promote your music? Personally, I think this track is one of the strongest on the album.
2. “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” – The second track on the album is already getting the title as 25’s “Rumour Has It.” I have to agree with that statement, I find that this song is the wittiest and sassiest of the album without the repetitiveness of “Rumour Has It” (It became a bit repetitive for me). For so many critics saying this is another sad album is a bit of a generalization because I don’t find anything about this song to be sad. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs on 25.
3. “I Miss You” – I have to say that I wouldn’t love this song if it were not for the instruments used. I love the way that the song was produced in regards to the percussion. There’s a sense of build-up that would not be the same if it not were for the percussion. Despite the song having a certain sense of what I like to call the “Adele Effect,” I feel like this song could have been written and performed by any female musician, which I find rare in Adele’s albums.
4. “When We Were Young” – Disclaimer: I nearly cried the first time I heard this song at the beginning of the week before the album came out. I strongly believe that this song is in Adele’s top five songs she has ever written. After the amount of times that Adele has released a heart wrenching song, I never expected her to be able to premiere yet another song about heartbreak in a brand new form, singing about nostalgia from a past relationship about being young, despite the fact that to me, she’s still quite young. The chorus truly brings a lump to my throat every time I hear the song.
5. “Remedy” – After listening to this song a few times, I realized that it must be about Adele’s son, which makes it even more emotional (at least to me). Once again, I’m not entirely getting the “Adele Effect” with this song, but it’s a solid track on a solid album. I can definitely imagine myself crying if I ever saw her perform it live.
6. “Water Under the Bridge” – I think this song is probably one of my favorites from the album. How I interpret this song is the idea of a relationship fizzling out and neither of the people have any energy to save what’s left, which in itself is a depressing concept. Adding Adele’s voice and despair makes it even more of an emotional song.
7. “River Lea” – Despite this song being interesting in regards to the fact that the River Lea is an actual river close to where Adele grew up, I really don’t like this song due to the repetitiveness of the chorus. The verses are nice, but I just don’t enjoy the vibe of the song very much. I’ve only listened to the album a few times in its entirety, so there’s still a chance that the song will grow on me.
8. “Love in the Dark” – I find this song to be the epitome of surrendering a relationship because you just can’t keep fighting for it. While “Water Under the Bridge” is more of a mutual surrender, I find this song to be Adele giving up on the fight while her partner begs her to stay: Please stay where you are / Don’t come any closer / Don’t try to change my mind / I’m being cruel to be kind.
9. “Million Years Ago” – To me personally, one of the saddest concepts for a song is the idea of being nostalgic for not only love, but for when you were younger and naive about the world and the idea of having a certain sense of security by being taken care of your family and friends, which is exactly what this song says to me. I find this track in particular to be so unbelievably difficult to listen to and I find that everyone can relate to it because it’s really just about the inevitability of change and how it happens to everyone.
10. “All I Ask” – Co-written by Bruno Mars, this is definitely 25’s version of 21’s “Someone Like You.” Probably the song that hit me the hardest. If I had to describe this song in one word, I would use haunting. The choir is what hits me the most: If this is my last night with you / Hold me like I’m more than just a friend / Give me a memory I can use / Take me by the hand while we do what lovers do / It matters how this ends / Cause what if I never love again?
11. “Sweetest Devotion” – Finally, an Adele song that doesn’t make me want to cry! I love this upbeat closing track that seems more to a homage to her son more than to a lover (at least to me, I could be completely wrong). I think this is a great way to close an album and I picture fireworks every time I listen.

Overall, I think this is a strong collection of songs on a solid album. Adele is under a lot of pressure to deliver a powerful album, and I think she successfully did so. After listening to a number of new albums that have been released within the past few weeks (Ellie Goulding, One Direction, Justin Bieber, etc), I find it rare to fall in love with nearly all the songs on an album, and I did just that with this album.

Favorite Tracks: “Send My Love,” “I Miss You,” “When We Were Young,” “All I Ask”

There you have it! If you’ve made it to the end of this post, I’m so appreciative that you care enough to hear about my thoughts on this album. This is my first in depth review and I’m experimenting with the format in regards to how to write them. If you enjoyed this post, please let me know! Don’t forget to subscribe to my posts via email.

Kristin