Ed Sheeran – – [Subtract] (Deluxe) | 365 Days Of Inspiring Media

Asylum Records UK / Atlantic Records UK

Release Date: May 5th 2023

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Ed Sheeran– – (Deluxe) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

Boat
Salt Water
Eyes Closed
Life Goes On
Dusty
End Of Youth
Colourblind
Curtains
Borderline
Spark
Vega
Sycamore
No Strings
The Hills Of Aberfeldy
Wildflowers
Stoned
Toughest
Moving

One of the most respected, popular, influential, powerful, encouraging, honest, vulnerable, and emotional artists I’ve heard in a long time… is British pop singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran. We blogged about Ed a few years ago way back in 2019 on our blog series which is on hiatus now (and will resume in early 2024!), and all of the positive things Jon had to say about Ed, his music and his song writing, still ring true today. Ed’s brand of pop isn’t like the pop you hear on the radio today; and though he is a mainstream artist, I find myself resonating with his music probably even more so than some of the CCM artists that I’ve been listening to for a longer time. Ed has a way with words and with the acoustic guitar and with the piano- when you listen to an Ed Sheeran song, you can’t help but feel emotive and inspired and encouraged and comforted; and his brilliant prowess as a singer and as a songwriter is probably as big as it has ever been right now, and as never more so on display I reckon, than in his most recent album =. Pronounced ‘equals’, = was reviewed by Jon here… and again I agree with everything that he has said and mentioned about Ed and his songs. Songs like “Overpass Graffiti”, “Tides”, “The Joker And The Queen”, “Visiting Hours”, “Leave Your Life” and “Stop The Rain”, are all songs that are highlights and are songs which are impactful, compelling, and thought-provoking. While “Bad Habits” to me is still the lone ‘misstep’ of the album… so 13 good songs and 1 mediocre one isn’t that bad. Now fast forward to now, and Ed is back with a brand new album called… yep, you guess it. It’s called – (pronounced ‘subtract’), and with a whopping 18 tracks, and the album being inspired by the death of Ed’s best friend Jamal; can I say that though the subject matter of all of the songs is dark and depressing, that this album could be the album of the year come the end of 2023? Ed Sheeran has also been very busy and quick to move on from Subtract, as he’s now released the brand new album Autumn Variations. But before Jon reviews Ed’s latest album and second studio album of the year; shall we dive deep into Subtract and analyse how Ed’s friend’s death made him feel and how it resonated with him?

Previously, Ed released “Celestial”- a track to promote the new Pokémon video game, and boy is this track an encourager and an uplifter if ever there was one. I recently reviewed Ed’s deluxe edition of =, which you can read here– standing tall at 23 tracks, Ed has added an additional 9 songs, and has enhanced his album to more stratospheric heights. I didn’t think that = could be improved upon… but it has. But all of these songs pale in comparison to Ed’s clear magnum opus in Subtract, and the new exclusive Apple Music live album (reviewed here!) confirms this fact! Have you all listened to Ed’s vulnerable, emotional, and honest new album? I’m sure you all have at least once, but for those of you who are living under a rock; let me say that this live album enhances the studio project all the more. Should I go into depth about every song on Subtract? If this was June or July, I would have. But writing an ‘essay’ or a ‘thesis’ in October is pretty futile, and we all know that Ed will always deliver to us some epic and profound truths in any album he releases. And so, let’s quickly gloss upon what I reckon is a must listen by anyone and everyone who is a fan of music… period.

Have you experienced real loss? Like an extended family member or a friend or a spouse or a child or a parent? Maybe if you’re extremely close to your pet and they passed away, then you may consider that real loss and possibly a traumatic event. Regardless, the fact remains that Ed Sheeran has suffered real and extreme loss (of his best friend Jamal who helped launch his music career!)- and Subtract is the result of Ed fumbling through his thoughts and trying to make sense of the world around him which suddenly now looks so fragile and small and maybe insignificant. Album opener “Boat” is a bleak and haunting guitar led melody which does provide a bit of hope, with Ed outlining that loss will heal in time, but maybe he won’t- and then later on he states that the waves aren’t going to come and break his boat, signifying that Ed has resilience to survive whatever life throws at him- even if it’s hard and painful. The harrowing “Saltwater” is about the moment before you pass away into the next realm (suicide via walking into the ocean?); while “Eyes Closed” and “Life Goes On” (the duet with Luke Combs reviewed by Jon here!) both strongly relate to Ed’s friendship with Jamal and how his death really affected Ed as a singer and as a person. “Dusty” beautifully describes a serene and calm moment between Ed and his daughter Lyra, as they both listen to an album from Dusty Springfield; however the mood becomes sombre yet again with the reflective and hard-hitting “End Of Youth”, where Ed powerfully relays that he feels that his youth is over once he experiences real loss for the first time in your life- reminding us that we need to hold onto our innocence and your childlike qualities for as long as we can, because the world will break us and discourage us and we need to realise that things won’t be rosy and sunshine and rainbows all the time.

“Colourblind”, a beautifully written love song to Ed’s wife, speaks about how he only sees her when he’s with her, and the rest of the world may as well be in black and white because she outshines the whole world and everything around Ed; while “Borderline” relays Ed’s denial about Jamal’s death. “Spark” delves into a dysfunctional relationship and maybe it’s a track about an ex of Ed’s and why their relationship was doomed from the start. “Curtains” has Ed finally accepting that Jamal is gone and taking things one step at a time in order to start truly living again; while “Vega” is an inspirational melody, where Ed encourages us all to be like the Vega star, and so bright in the ‘sky’- allowing others to see the brightness in our lives and to not keep out talents and our characteristics and our unique perspective on life to be dimmed or squashed. “Sycamore” is about how you bounce back after hearing harrowing news from the doctor or from any person telling you something terrible and life-changing and life-altering, but yet also choosing to be positive and trying to see the bright side of life; while “No Strings” is an acoustic guitar led melody about loving someone with your whole heart and declaring your unconditional love for someone. The standard edition of – then ends with the profoundly deep and fervently semi-traditional English/Irish sounding melody “The Hills Of Aberfeldy”, where Ed proclaims his love for his wife, and relays that he will love her especially near and close to the Hills Of Aberfeldy- a place that means the most to them and their relationship.

With 4 bonus tracks available on the deluxe edition of Subtract (the reflective and encouraging uplifter “Wildflowers” about Ed’s daughter, the downer of a melody “Stoned” about Ed being stoned and not fully over his friend’s death, the emotional tear-jerker “Toughest” about Ed’s wife’s ordeal with cancer while pregnant with their second child; and “Moving On”, a track about Ed moving on from a previous relationship that has now ended), Subtract is a bonafide emotional and heartfelt album with incredible songwriting and relatable and relevant lyrics about suriving real loss and coping with your own mental health in the aftermath. Songs like “Boat”, “Eyes Closed”, “Life Goes On” and others are immensely resonating and emotional; but this album, when listened straight through, highlights the genius of Ed as a singer and as a songwriter, while also shining a spotlight on the prevalent issue of mental health and encouraging us all to be there for our friends and family and those around us who are struggling.

Ed Sheeran’s song-writing and inspiring lyrics and heartfelt vocals ensure that he is a star at the moment and that his best work is this past released studio album (not including Autumn Variations which I haven’t heard yet!). Subtract, Apple Music Live: Ed Sheeran (as well as maybe Autumn Variations) confirms Ed’s greatness amongst other British artists like Phil Collins, Robbie Williams, Coldplay, The Beatles, David Bowie, Sting and George Michael to name a few. These albums especially (as well as Ed’s previous album Equals) still reminds us that at the moment, Ed can do no wrong. And so I must congratulate Ed- well done for setting the bar high once again! I can’t wait to hear what’s next! Perhaps a Christmas album? Or a remix album?

Boat – I wrote this by the English seaside, very extreme elements in the winter. It’s basically about feeling very low and not knowing how to make it feel better, but being determined it wasn’t gonna be the end. The waves won’t break my boat. So “Boat” is basically a song about resilience, I guess. Feeling at your lowest, and wondering if you can get through it, basically. I wrote the song and finished it by the English seaside. Which is, I think very beautiful, it is quite a bleak and cold place in Winter. I was looking out at the sea, and we saw waves crashing down. I sort of felt like, that was a good metaphor of what was happening, at the time with me. And that’s where the line “The waves won’t break my boat” came from.

“Salt Water” was written about some of the darkest nights into mornings, and the ‘what ifs’ surrounding those thoughts. It was the second song me and Aaron finished for Subtract and I really feel this and “Boat” framed what the record was early on. So “Salt Water” is quite a dark song, it’s basically playing out what final moments would be. Jumping into cold salt water, and feeling at 3 or 4 degrees that you’re free. It’s one of the first songs I wrote for Subtract, again finished it by the English coast-line, and I really think it’s a really beautiful song on the album. I hope you like it.

Eyes Closed- It’s basically about losing someone really close to you, and feeling that where ever you go, you are going to bump into them, and see them, then realising that you’re not [seeing them at all]. The origin of the song is basically, I talked about it a bit, but I recently lost a close friend of mine, last year, Jamal, and Jamal lived in West London, and I also live in West London. All the places we used to go eat, and drink, and party, are all near where we live, and since he has passed away I found myself In these places. Having flashbacks, of being like thinking that he’s just gonna pop in with his smile, or whatever. I had this line in my head, “Everywhere I look, I still see you, everywhere I look, I still see you, everywhere I look, I still see you.” So that’s how the origins of the song came to be. So many people can relate to it in so many different ways. They got different stories. Across the board of either breakups, or like grief, and I just love that the song can connect to people emotionally.

Life Goes On- When Jamal passed away, I wanted the world to stop, like it did for the queen; when the queen died, everything came to a halt. And it kind of did, for the day. Jamal was of Caribbean descent, and in Caribbean culture they do this thing called the Nine Night. Every night of the week you go to the family home and everyone gathers, and everyone remembers the stories, and everyone drinks. It’s super sad and super intense but it’s kind of comforting, because you’re around everyone that he knew and everyone that he loved and you’re all sharing stories. Then on the ninth night, you have a big party, and then everyone just kind of gets back to ‘normal.’ I sort of didn’t feel like I wanted to. I know death and grief is a thing that everyone goes through, and everyone has jobs and everyone has lives, and everyone just has to get back to it. You’re sort of given this period of time where you’re expected to grieve and to be sad, and then that’s supposed to end and you’re supposed to go back to normal life. I just didn’t feel like I wanted to, and I still don’t feel like I want to. I don’t feel like you have to get over stuff. I don’t think it’s something that is a must; I think it’s something you can live with and something that if you want to cry you can cry, if you want to remember in a nice way… On his birthday last year, I went out and remembered him and had fun. You can do things like that. It was just weird how life resumed.

Dusty- Being a parent in times of sadness, there’s a massive juxtaposition to it. I would go to bed after visiting Jamal’s mural. Two o’clock in the morning I’d go to bed and I’d cry myself to sleep, then I’d wake up at six with this ball of energy, this beautiful girl that’s jumping on me and being like, ‘let’s listen to music and eat porridge!’ I’m like, ‘yes, that’s exactly what I want to do.’ Kids know, but they don’t know; she could tell that I was sad but she was all about the vibes, that it’s morning time. That’s the wonderful thing about children: they can really lift your spirits in times like that. Me and my daughter have this routine in the morning where we pick a vinyl and we put on a vinyl, and we listen to breakfast while we listen to the vinyl. It was a thing I would look forward to. You’d have a night of real darkness and sadness, then you wake up to a just happy little girl.

End Of Youth- I never really felt like an adult until the last few years. When heavy life stuff just starts happening. And it really hit me that this obviously happens to everyone, it doesn’t matter what age you are. Friends of mine lost parents when they were teenagers, and they became adults instantly from the pure real life nature of grief. And I feel like grief, depression, anxiety, just ends youth and playfulness, because its so real, and so final, so all encompassing. This is the ending of our youth when pain starts taking over. This is a song that I basically realised that when grief first happened in my life that my youth had actually ended, because you experience the first like really heavy adult thing. Then it got me thinking, like all of my friends had lost parents, and loved ones, and siblings, and whatever when they were like six, or thirteen, or sixteen. It just made me think that, that is when youth ends, when you have to deal with heavy life stuff. It can be at thirty or six. Yeah, I wrote this song about that basically, and the lyrics in the chorus are: “We spend our youth with arms and hearts wide open, and then the dark gets in and that’s the end of youth”. It can basically be from grief, or depression, or anxiety, or whatever.

Colourblind- I feel that the older I get, and the deeper I get into my marriage and [the more] in love I get, you sort of realise that the reason, like, my parents have been together for so long is that love evolves. It is not what it is at the start, but that doesn’t make it… It evolves into these different things, and it’s different ‘colours.’ You’re in love with people for the ‘bright red fire’ or the really ‘chilled blue’ or just pure f***ing anger. There are many layers, and I find love is colours. To be truly in love, I guess, you have to be colourblind at some points.

Curtains- I’m sure everyone here has had low points, and in those moments you want to close the world out and not see anyone. Draw [close] the curtains and be like, ‘I’m not seeing anyone.’ We all have amazing people in our lives that we love, that sense when those points happen, that can come in and draw [open] the curtains, let the sunshine in, and motivate you to get out and feel better.

Spark- As I’ve grown and gone through life, I’m a very sentimental person. I get quite attached to things, and I’m sort of learning as I grow older that life is in chapters. The chapter you’re on when you’re in your teenage years, when you’re in your twenties, whatever, isn’t necessarily that you’re dealing with when you’re thirty-two. That’s not a bad thing, either. It’s good to move on in life, and sort of always look forward rather than looking back. That’s a song basically about that, you know, chucking everything in a fire and knowing that the original spark which set that fire alight will survive.

No Strings- When I got married, my dad took me to one side and … he said congratulations and all this stuff, and he was like, ‘you’ll never know true marriage until it’s tested by grief and sickness.’ He’d had something in his past with my mum; they’d lost people early on in their marriage and it really brought them closer together. Sadness can really bring people closer together. Loss and trauma, and all of these things. It can obviously do the opposite, but when that bond happens it’s really difficult to break it. I, on the day, was like, ‘cool, cool,’ [because] I didn’t know. And then, years later this happens, and I kept saying to my wife when all this stuff was happening, I was just like, ‘If we get through this, we are good. Any obstacles can be thrown our way for however long and we can always look back at this time and say, you know what, we got through that, we can get through anything.’ … This is the final song on the record that is about all of this.

The Hills Of Aberfeldy- All of those songs on the record are a part of my life I don’t necessarily want to relive, but I think it was important for me as a human to go through, to experience, and grow up. But the reason that this song is the last song on the album is because I had made some tracks before remaking some tracks, and in my head the album would always end with this song. In all the iterations of it that I put together, it always ended with this song. I wrote this song back in 2012 with my really good friend Foy Vance, who’s a collaborator and a wonderful musician. We were on tour, and he’d just moved into the highlands of Scotland, and he was like, ‘come up to the highlands, man, and let’s just fucking hang and jam and jump in the loch and drink whiskey and do all of these things.’ I was 21, and I grew up listening to Foy, going to his gigs. The reason I was so obsessed with the loop pedal is [that] Foy was one of the people I saw with a loop pedal, and I used to cover his songs in gigs. You can imagine I was buzzing to be in his presence and that he wanted to write a song with me. So, we were up there, we were in the hills of Aberfeldy, and we wrote this song. I put it as the final song of Subtract back in 2012. I was like, ‘whenever Subtract comes out, this is the final song.’ Then all these iterations happened. I didn’t scrap it, but it was put to the side. Me and Aaron created this record that I feel really is Subtract, and I wanted to have a nod to what it used to be and put it on [the tracklist].