Ed Sheeran drops highly anticipated album ‘Play’

Ed Sheeran’s highly anticipated eighth studio album is out, after the singer already gave a peak into the thirteen tracks by releasing five of them as singles.

The singer kept fans hooked as he periodically released his multicultural bangers, starting from Azizam which contained Persian influence to Sapphire, which is a fusion of Punjabi and English to celebrate Indian culture.

The two songs were chart-topping hits that received widespread critical acclaim and the rest of his three tracks were highly personalised, offering a glimpse into the singer's life, respectively titled, Old Phone, Camera and A Little More.

It seems that the theme of this album is the laying bare of his emotions in the songs with the intent of them being commercial pop hits.

Play begins with a song literally titled Opening, and Sheeran making a vulnerable confession about his career being in a risky place, since his last two albums underperformed.

The Perfect singer stated in a press release that the album is “a direct response" to "the darkest period of my life".

"Coming out of all that, I just wanted to create joy and technicolour, and explore cultures in the countries I was touring,” Sheeran added.

The 34-year-old has also revealed that alongside Play, he has also almost finished working on his next album Rewind already.

What is the critical reception of ‘Play’?

Play has not earned much critical acclaim as of et, with many reviewers saying that the album has fallen short in a number of places. 
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