Adele isn’t a world-famous name for some reason: The British singer-songwriter exploded after the release of his debut album ’19’, garnering huge critical acclaim with the next two productions that took her eternized as one of the greatest. voice of contemporaneity. Mentioning the artist’s financial capstone is almost redundant, as she holds the UK’s best-selling record of all time and, on top of that, collects 15 Grammy statuettes and an Oscar for Best Original Song for “Skyfall “, from the eponymous feature film. with Daniel Craig. Now, six years after her last outing, Adele is back to win our hearts with poignant and extremely personal stories.
In her late 30s, the only direction the performer could take was maturation – as we’ve seen happen with names like Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, and Taylor Swift. Of course, “30,” since its unexpected release, has already fueled countless expectations and one of the most anticipated comebacks of the decade, something Adele has certainly accomplished with huge success. Her fourth studio album, spanning twelve tracks of pure creative ecstasy, is a love letter to herself and a representation of the deep healing process she embarked on after her divorce (a radical change for anyone facing something similar). Drawing once again on soul, pop and jazz, the singer has explored still inhospitable territories within her career, but without leaving aside her identity – which means splendid vocals, breathtaking verses and a production. appreciable from start to finish.
Some say Adele is doing too much of excessive drama, but that’s not what we found: the artist’s vibrant and playful personality is just a counterpoint to what’s more intimate in her heart, turning pain into art and vulnerability like no one else. From the opening, “Strangers By Nature”, she forges an unexpected collaboration with Oscar winner Ludwig Göransson (“Rocky”, “Black Panther”) who demonstrates a passion for theatricality. The verse “I’ve never seen the sky this color before” and the shocking presence of multiple layers and synths pay the best tribute to Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand, in a musical ode that screams in its own silence. A similar mimicry also occurs in other tracks in the production, seen in “Woman Like Me”, which alludes to the late Amy Winehouse’s discography, and in “To Be Loved”, whose melodic piano notes date back to the iconic Alicia Keys. .
More than ever, Adele perfectly masters her artistic impulses and knows how to oscillate between the essence of ballads and the envelopment of catchy incursions. The album’s first single, “Easy On Me” quickly became one of the year’s best releases for its melancholy vibe and the subtlety of poignant minimalism. The plot behind the powerful instrumental allows the performer to turn to uncomfortable nostalgia and analyze the regrets and disappointments she had as a young woman – something that cannot be undone. , but who helped her to be what she is today. This theme, in a way, extends to “My Little Love”, a candid neo-soul and folk chamber inflection that dialogues with the great “Remember Where You Are”. Here, Adele’s voice, which exalts the power of a gospel choir, serves as a heartwarming bedtime story in which she realizes she still has “a lot to learn” as she speaks with her son. , Angelo.
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It is not only the menacing ballads that permeate the album – quite the contrary: as on the previous records, the artist is comfortable enough for the evocative blues of “Cry Your Heart Out”, a stimulating hymn. produced by longtime Adele collaborator Greg Kurstin who also appears on several other tracks. In “Can I Get It” (which, in the opinion of this writer, is one of the strong points of the work), the instrumental choices can clash a bit with the songs, but it serves very well as a division between two. -defined acts. Perhaps the aspect that catches our eye the most is the fact that she comes across as a keepsake based on classics from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Oasis, showcasing an interesting new side of her personality.
Some technical choices may seem too repetitive, but nothing that exciting interpretations overshadow. Not-so-daring rhyming choices and phrasing issues appear abundantly in “Woman Like Me” and “I Drink Wine” – but not strong enough to tarnish every message the performer describes. And, as we near the conclusion of this epic journey, Adele is back in force with the flawless “Hold On”, “To Be Loved” and “Love Is a Game” (the latter already joining the best songs of her career, fueled by the boom in jazz and R&B).
Adele’s highly anticipated return to the music world premeditated two paths forward – and, as expected, the artist did the unthinkable to turn ’30’ into a gem of the contemporary music industry, in a compilation of self-reflective creations that they helped her understand and unravel a complicated phase of her life (now immortalized in an art form).
Rating per track:
1. Foreigners by nature – 5/5 2. Easy for me – 4.5 / 5 3. My little love – 4/5 4. Scream your heart out – 4/5 5. Oh my God – 5/5 6. Can I get it – 5/5 7. I drink wine – 3.5 / 5 8. Parking all night (with Erroll Garner) Interlude – 5/5 9. Woman like me – 3.5 / 5 10. Wait – 5/5 11. To be loved – 5/5 12. Love is a game – 5/5
