BY JOHNNY MULLIGAN
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After teasing the world with “Hello,” Adele finally released her full album – 25 on Nov. 20. Her last album, 21, seemed almost impossible but 25 exceeded my already high expectations of Adele.
Adele, following suit from her last two albums, titled the album 25 accordingly with the age she was when she wrote the songs.
Between 21 and 25 Adele had a kid and suffered a vocal haemorrhage so I, along with many others, was worried that she would have lost some of her power and had to rely more on vocal enhancements.
But after listening to this album multiple times and listening to her live performances I am relieved to say she did not need any help.
She does an incredible job, as usual, not relying on instruments as much as many other singers do. The power her voice has is undeniable, even if she does not use it in every song on the album.
The theme of this album seems to, as usual, be about relationships but in a much brighter light than others. This shows her development from songs like “Rolling in the Deep” (21) that is her being angry about her heartbreak. Although released when she was 27 and written at 25, her maturity has developed in the four short years.
“When We Were Young” is my favorite song of the album. It starts off with the classic Adele style of slow yet powerful vocals. It then seamlessly turns into her singing at full throttle.
The song describes the good times she had with her past lover similar to “Hello.”
But this song doesn’t just make you sad, it tries to teach you to remember the good times you had, even if the person you share those memories with is no longer around.
Even the songs that can’t be called your favorite of the album are incredible. “Send My Love To Your New Lover” does an excellent job at lightening up the more heavy songs on the album with a much more upbeat tune. “Sweetest Devotion” is another favorite of mine that speaks about the relationship of her and her son who was born between the albums.
Unfortunately, Adele knows that everyone is willing to spend $10 on her new album and thus far she has not released her newest album to music players like Spotify. It’s okay. The album is well worth it.
