Ed Sheeran, Afterglow | Track Review 🎵

Grammy-winner Ed Sheeran surprises with a simple but overall respectable new solo single, “Afterglow,” unattached to any future project.  

One of pop’s biggest stars is back! That would be 🎙 Ed Sheeran.  Sheeran actually hasn’t been gone for too long, as he did release the so-so 💿 No. 6 Collaborations Project.  Regardless, the 🏆 Grammy-winner returns with a new single, 🎵 “Afterglow,” just days before Christmas Day 🎄.  So, is “Afterglow” a truly a totally unexpected Christmas gift 🎁, or a big-@$$ lump of coal?

Well, first and foremost, let’s make one thing clear.  “Afterglow” sounds like NOTHING anything that appeared on his last studio album.  That, in my eyes, is a “W” for the most part.  Yes, No. 6 Collaborations Project had its moments, but it definitely doesn’t rank at the top of the Ed Sheeran discography.  Focusing on “Afterglow,” this is truly a singer/songwriter-style pop cut, which in a sense, is a return of the Sheeran of old.  Early on, the accompaniment arrives courtesy of rhythm guitar, delivering a simple but effective harmonic progression.  Eventually, there’s synthesizer, courtesy of one of the song’s producers, 🎙 Parisi, which adds more depth.  Still, there’s always this sense of simplicity, yet it feels sufficient. In addition to Parisi, Sheeran produces alongside 🎙 FRED.

Ed Sheeran sounds quite nice here, delivering a mix of tender and more energetic and emotionally charged vocals on this ‘stripped’ number.  It’s not truly stripped, thanks to the addition of synthesizer, as well as the use of vocoder.  Still, that seems to be the effect Sheeran was going for, and he successfully executes.  It should come as no surprise, like so many musicians in love, “Afterglow” is written about his wife.  In this particular case, it’s not annoying, if perhaps not necessarily a tour de force either.

Final Thoughts 💭

So, I asked (myself I suppose) if “Afterglow” is a totally unexpected Christmas gift 🎁, or a big-@$$ lump of coal.  I’d call it the former for the most part, but perhaps it’s not the best Christmas gift ever received.  There’s lots to like though, with Sheeran singing with sincerity and delivering a respectable vocal.    

🎙 Ed Sheeran • 🎵 “Afterglow” • 🏷 Atlantic• 🗓 12.21.20

[📷: Atlantic]