Adele, 30 | Album Review 💿

Following a six-year-hiatus, decorated pop musician Adele releases one of the best albums of her career with 30. 

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ix long years 🎙 Adele (Adele Adkins) made us wait this time! The 🏆 Academy award/Grammy-winning musician is known for long gaps between albums.  After 💿 19 (2008), we waited three years for 💿 21 (2011), her big breakthrough.  After 💿 21, we waited four more years for 💿 25 (2015), which earned Adkins her second 🏆 Grammy for Album of the Year.  Nonetheless, after a six-year-gap, Adkins returns with an album in 💿 30 that contends as her BEST WORK YET.  The fuel for the fire is the end of love – specifically divorce – which always yields captivating results. 10 years after the arrival of 💿 21, Adkins returns strong 💪.

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“Strangers by Nature”

“I rebut all my rebuttals / No one knows what it’s like to be us.” 30 commences radiantly with 🎵 “Strangers by Nature.” “Strangers” sets a heartbroken tone recurring throughout the LP. “I’ll be taking flowers to the cemetery of my heart / For all of my lovers in the present and in the dark” isn’t the least bit lighthearted assertion from Adele.  Furthermore, musically, the record has a lush, romantic vibe masterfully captured by strings. Swedish standout 🎛 Ludwig Göransson does an awesome job behind the boards, giving Adkins the perfect backdrop to share her pain.

“I know there is hope in these waters / But I can’t bring myself to swim / When I am drowning in this silence / Baby, let me in.” Adele returned formidably on ✅ 🎵 “Easy on Me”, the personal, promo single from 30. The Grammy winner’s voice is the biggest selling point on this no. 1 hit co-written with 🎼✍ Greg Kurstin, who also produces. “Easy on Me” is primarily a piano ballad, though we add bass and light drum programming.  With soaring vocals, sound production, and a tuneful melody, the last box to be checked off is songwriting.  Thematically, divorce seems to be the primary culprit of the singer’s petition for ‘ease,’ though she also asserts, “I was still a child / I didn’t get the chance to / Feel the world around me.” That seems to open the door to a variety of things that have affected her in her life.

Following up “Easy on Me” is no ‘easy’ task.  That said, ✅ 🎵 “My Little Love” ends up being exceptional itself.  Adele continues to allow herself to be vulnerable, sharing her vulnerabilities with her son, Angelo, and musically, with the world.  “I wanted you to have everything I never had,” she sings on the third verse, continuing, “I’m so sorry if what I’ve done makes you feel sad.” Essentially, she asserts, “Mama’s got a lot to learn,” regarding being the best mother and as a person who is imperfect like everyone else.  She nails it between sung vocals and conversations incorporated with her son.

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“Cry Your Heart Out” 

Three tracks in, Adele does a nice job of distinguishing 30 from previous albums even if there are some similarities.  An example where she takes a bigger risk is ✅ 🎵 “Cry Your Heart Out” which dips its toes into reggae.  Reggae is never easy to pull off and honestly, not everyone can do so.  Here, Adkins paired up with Kurstin once more, surprises with this spirited, soulful joint.  Thematically, Adkins continues to be transparent regarding her feelings, ultimately suggesting taking your time and going “at your own pace” to figure things out.

🎵 “Oh My God” keeps 30 engaging.  The sound of the record (Kurstin) embraces modern pop while not compromising Adele’s core sound. “Oh My God” is energetic, rhythmic, and tuneful throughout. The chorus is the centerpiece, continuing to explore the plight that is love.  “Teetering on the edge of Heaven and Hell / Is a battle that I cannot fight,” she sings at the end of the chorus.  On 🎵 “Can I Get It,” the sound changes, with rhythmic guitars serving as the primary accompaniment instrument.  There’s also a hard-hitting thud on the first verse, before the groove expands.  Overall, he sound evolves with additional cues, though those rhythmic guitars are locked in.  Lyrically, what is Adele trying to get? Love of course! “Because my heart can pound like thunder / And your love can set me free.”

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“I Drink Wine”

“‘Cause I need some substance in my life, somethin’ real, somethin’ that feels true.” Wine 🍷, right? Among the top-tier of 30 is undoubtedly ✅ 🎵 “I Drink Wine.” While this ‘alcoholic’ number mentions wine (“Soaking it all up for fun, but now I only soak up wine”), it transcends it.  “I Drink Wine” is a soulful pop record about introspection, self-improvement, and of course, L-O-V-E.  Adkins takes us to church, particularly on the chorus, which features some of her most inspired vocals:

“Well, I hope I learn to get over myself
Stop tryin’ to be somebody else
Oh, I just want to love you, love you for free, yeah 'Cause everybody wants somethin' from me, you just want me.” 

Supporting her cause are sweet background vocals.  Following “I Drink Wine” we get a hint of jazz and soul on 🎵 “All Night Parking (with Erroll Garner) Interlude.”  🎙 Erroll Garner, of course, was a renowned jazz pianist possessing immense pianistic skills.  Adele sings with ease over this romantic backdrop, contrasting the more overt “I Drink Wine.”  Adkins keeps things low-key on ✅ 🎵 “Woman Like Me.” The record reminds us she doesn’t have to belt to impress. While’s she low-key, calm, cool, and collected, the lyrics suggest she’s angry. What’s the catalyst for her anger? The end of the relationship – DIVORCE.  “Complacency is the worst trait to have, are you crazy?” she sings on the chorus, continuing, “You ain’t never had, ain’t never had a woman like me.” She goes on to assert, consistency is a requirement “To ever keep a woman like me.” The verses, of course, find Adkins providing details about why things ended – why her and her ex-husband drifted apart from her perspective.

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“Hold On”

“How do I feel so mighty small / When I’m struggling to feel at all?” Wow, that hits hard.  After a couple of low-key numbers with “All Night Parking (with Erroll Garner) Interlude” and “Woman Like Me,” ✅ 🎵 “Hold On” seems to take a similar trajectory.  However, the addition of backing vocals and more rousing lead vocals from Adele as the song progresses proves otherwise.  After taking her time to set up “Hold On” and continuing to show her vulnerability, the record evolves into this grand, soulful affair the recalls 70s pop/soul aesthetic.  The keys and strings coupled with those backing vocals create a lush, utterly sublime backdrop.  In a state of self-deprecation and experiencing a pity party, on the chorus, she reassures herself (“You are still strong… Just hold on”).

One of the most emotional songs from 30 is also among the crème de la crème: ✅ 🎵 “To Be Loved.”  “I’m so afraid, but I’m wide open,” Adele sings vulnerably on the second verse, continuing, “I’ll be the one to catch myself this time.” Throughout the lengthy record, she reflects on the hardship of love and the number that it did on her.   This ballad is simple, accompanied by piano, but grows grander as her voice ascends (belts) as you feel every ounce of emotion she experiences.  The final chorus is the strongest, with the combination of high-flying vocals and gut-wrenching, heart-driven lyrics hitting the hardest:

“To be loved and love at the highest count
Means to lose all the things I can’t live without
Let it be known, known, know
That I will choose, I will lose
It’s a sacrifice, but I can’t live a lie
Let it be known,
Let it be known that I tried, that I tried
Let it be known that I tried.”

 

When first listening to 30 (while driving mind you), I felt like “To Be Loved” could’ve been the coda.  However, there is one final piece to the puzzle: ✅ 🎵 “Love is a Game.”  “Love is a Game” is ANOTHER homerun for Adele.  Vocally, she sings with incredible passion, sounding authentic to the nth degree.  I love the sound of her lower register on the verse.  Furthermore, stylistically, I heart the fact that she taps into vintage soul of the late 60s and 70s.  This is the perfect vibe for her, particularly since she is tackling the plight of love.  The chorus marks one of the best on an album full of fabulous choruses!

“That love is a game for fools to play
And I ain’t fooling (fooling), what a cruel thing (cruel thing)
To self-inflict that pain.”

Other things to rave about “Love is a Game” is the modulation (key change), those soulful backing vocals, and the production by 🎛 Inflo who ‘kills it!’ “Love is a Game” provides the closure that Adele needed and that the album deserved.

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Final Thoughts 💭 

Adele outdoes herself on 30, period.  I went into 30 expecting it to be ‘good’ because Adkins has never released a bad album and she sings like an angel.  I didn’t expect 30 to be this good.  There isn’t a bad song to be found.  Furthermore, Adkins does a fantastic job of sharing her emotions and the hardships she’s experience through song which speaks to her artistry.  Sure, some of the songs run long but she makes it well worth the extended duration.  Expect 30 to rack up the Grammy nominations when it’s eligible – it’s on that 💿 21 level (her best album and first to win Album of the Year!

✅ Gems 💎: “Easy on Me,” “My Little Love,” “Cry Your Heart Out,” “I Drink Wine,” “Woman Like Me,” “Hold On,” “To Be Loved” & “Love is a Game”

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🎙 Adele • 💿 30 • 🏷 Melted Stone / Columbia • 🗓 11.19.21
[📷: Melted Stone / Columbia]

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