On Sept. 29, Ed Sheeran kicked off fall with a new album entitled “Autumn Variations.” The album has 14 songs ranging from slow and emotional to upbeat. The album fits the soft indie-pop style you would imagine a fall-themed album to have.
If you love emotional music and listening to songs that get you in your feelings, then this album is for you. Songs like “That’s on Me,” “The Day That I Was Born” and “Page” are the most emotional songs on the album. Although I am not one for sad music, I appreciate how well-written these songs are. Sheeran is known for having good lyrics in his music, and this album remains true to his typical musical nature.
If you want aesthetic songs to add to your fall playlist, I highly recommend “England” or “American Town.” These songs are descriptive and have the most imagery on the album. I would listen to these while walking to class or studying. They have a lowkey sound that is very easy to listen to, which is typically what I look for in songs when making an “everyday” playlist.
A more unusual approach I noticed in this album was songs that gave a positive spin on emotional themes. “Amazing” and “Spring” were two of my favorites. They had the same heartfelt themes of loneliness or heartbreak but gave the more hopeful message that it was okay to go through these experiences or that everything gets better. Rather than being songs that were simply meant to be relatable, I found that they were meant to be more consoling or meant to make you feel better. That is something I do not encounter in music often, and I thought it was a nice spin on the “sad music” genre.
My overall favorite song out of the entire album was the track “Midnight.” I would describe this song as cute. I liked the tune of this one the best; it was more upbeat than the others and was a hopeful love song, which was a nice break from the intensity of the other more emotional songs.
On the other hand, my least favorites would be “Blue” and “When Will I Be Alright.” They were very slow and a little too melancholy. I got slightly bored when listening to them. Nevertheless, they add to the concept of the album, as it is meant to be slower. My favorite of the slower songs was “Punchline.” I thought it sounded more unique than the other slow songs while still fitting into the overall theme. Unlike Sheeran’s previous albums, “Autumn Variations” sticks to one vibe rather than spreading to different genres. For example, the album “Divide” has more variance in both sound and lyrics in comparison to this one.
Surprisingly, I liked the lack of variance. It made it more pleasant to listen to the whole album as each song easily transitioned from one to the next. Overall, I would say this album is definitely worth a listen. If you are a fan of Sheeran, you will like this album. And if you have never given Sheeran a listen before, I believe this album is a very good introduction to his music and style.
