To absolutely no one’s surprise, Adele’s highly anticipated album “25” still remains at the top of the Billboard and ITunes charts almost 5 months after its release in late November. While she enjoyed success with her debut album “19”, it wasn’t until 2011’s critically acclaimed “21” that she really blew up. After the wave that “21” took her on, she took a break to start a family (and win an Oscar of course), but now she’s back with an album that sold an astounding 3.38 million copies in its first week alone.

Track 1: Hello

When the first snippet of “Hello” was played during an X Factor UK commercial break, social media pretty much exploded. It had been so long since we had gotten new music from Adele, and even though her name wasn’t anywhere in that commercial, everyone knew it was her. The song was released five days later and was an instant hit.

A pop/soul anthem, the song speaks of a realization of past mistakes within a relationship. This person wants their ex-lover to know how sorry they are; “I must have called a thousand times, to tell you I’m sorry for everything that I’ve done”, and takes full blame for whatever went wrong. She regrets that they couldn’t make it work, even with the distance; “There’s such a difference between us, and a million miles.” She shows her range here; lower in the verses but full of power and technique in the chorus. The chorus is almost bombastic, an explosion of musicality and powerful vocals. She plays drums in this as well, adding to her legitimacy. Like “Someone Like You”, it is extremely relatable, and is an excellent way to come back into the spotlight. A good opening track for this record, and seemingly darker then either of her previous lead singles (a trend for the few power ballads we get these days).

Track 2: Send My Love (To Your New Lover)

With all the songs of heartbreak on this record, we occasionally get those with a new theme, which shows Adele ready and willing to move on from past relationships; surely something she has gotten better at with time. “I’m giving you up, I’ve forgiven it all. You set me free”, she sings, before telling this former flame to “Send my love to your new lover. Treat her better.” Adele is still young at only 27 and judging from her discography, has made her fair share of mistakes. She alludes to this, singing “We gotta let go of all of our ghosts, we both know we ain’t kids no more.” Production wise and even so in some of the musical elements, the track has been compared to something Taylor Swift might put out. Although, Swift’s music is typically more on the “I’m heartbroken and I’m going to get back at you” side, whereas this is a little more genuine. The song has a nice mid-tempo pop flow to it, and sounds generally more positive then most Adele songs, which can only be a good thing.

Track 3: I Miss You

The opening 45 seconds of this could have been it’s own interlude, sounding very ritualistic and tribal. That trends continues musically throughout the rest of the track, as Adele shows a darker tone to her voice we have not heard before. The vocal is dark and mysterious and so are the lyrics, again, showing Adele’s coming-of-age so to speak. She shows her womanhood; “I love the way your body moves towards me from across the room”. Perhaps this was a more sexually intimate relationship, and that is certainly the vibe this song gives off. She wants to see this person in the light, and not be covered in darkness, or better yet, this person is that light. She repeatedly sings “Baby don’t let the lights go down”, as if she’s pleading for him to stay with her. It’s almost the older, less in-your-face version of “Set Fire to The Rain”. Nice track, and I appreciate the long run time.

Track 4: When We Were Young

Up to this point, by far the best song on the record. She filmed the music video at Church Studios, and the word church describes the feel of this perfectly. Musically, it is slow, methodical and soulful, and combined with the quiet but still ever-present backing vocals, it’s almost hymn-like. Adele sings about seeing those who she’s lost contact with and loved over the course of her life thus far, while reminiscing about old times. She wants to remember them as they were then, when they were free and unafraid of what lay ahead, but at the same time she’s scared of doing so; “I was so scared to face my fears. Nobody told me that you’d be here.” Now that they’ve grown, life gets in the way, and they might not be the same; “Let me photograph you in this light in case it is the last time that we might be exactly like we were before we realized we were sad of getting old.” Her vocal here is really fantastic, showcasing a majority of her range as well as her ability to make you feel every word. She does this especially in the final chorus when she growls “I’m so mad I’m getting old”. It’s so believable and so real.

Track 5: Remedy

A song that I overlooked at first listen, but really is a gorgeous stripped-down ballad. Adele is really at her best when it’s just her and a piano, and she doesn’t disappoint here. She sings about always being there for someone she loves, no matter what stands in their way; “When the pain cuts you deep, when the night keeps you from sleeping, just look and you will see that I will be your remedy.” We all have that person we would go to the ends of the earth for, and she sends her love letter to whoever that is for her in an honest, heartfelt way. The cracks in her voice make it all the more real, but this won’t be the first time she uses this genuine emotion on the record.

Track 6: Water Under The Bridge

A track similar to “Send My Love….”, she picks the tempo up a little bit here. The subject of the song seems to be playing her, holding on to what they have even though she knows this person does not feel the way that she does. She’s confused to why he sticks around; “You never seem to make it through the door. Who are you waiting for?” She’s still invested, but wishes that “If your gonna let me down, let me down gently. Don’t pretend that you don’t want me.” The production in the verses is smooth and steady, before building to the chorus, which gives the feeling that even though she’d miss him, she almost welcomes his leaving. She stands up for herself here, saying that she will not be treated like a side deal. One of the best on the record.

Track 7: River Lea

While not one of my favorites here, it gives off even more of a gospel feel then “When We Were Young” with that organ accompaniment heard throughout. While I’m not sure I understand the general concept, she seems to be telling someone “I haven’t hurt you yet, but I’m going to and I’m sorry.” The river she sings of is the Thames River, where she spent time throughout her early years, and that the river is now a part of her; “It’s in my roots, it’s in my veins.” Though she feels it to be a part of her, she feels damaged by it saying “It’s in my blood and I stain every heart I use to heal the pain”. So whenever she hurts someone she blames it on the River Lea. It’s haunting and dark, and I can definitely appreciate it, but I just don’t understand. That’s fine though. It might be a good thing actually. Music is supposed to make you think.

Track 8: Love in the Dark

A heartfelt song about a long-distance relationship that Adele feels is not working anymore; “I can’t love you in the dark, it feel like we’re oceans apart.” Like with “Remedy”, I needed a few listens to wrap my head around it as a whole, but the orchestrations are really quite tasteful, and of course, are the sections of just piano as accompaniment to Adele’s stellar voice. She wants this person to know that although their romantic life will come to an end, she will always have a place for them within her; “I don’t regret a thing. Every word I’ve said I’ll always mean”. Emotive as always, you can practically hear her heart tearing in two as she sings the words.

Track 9: Million Years Ago

We’ve seen what happens when Adele is matched with just a piano, but here we get an acoustic guitar. An incredibly vulnerable track about growing up and realizing that the good times are behind her, although now she is unable to catch up with how fast life is going by. It’s certainly believable, considering the lifestyle she lives, but it’s still heartbreaking. That lifestyle has not just affected her, but those around here too; “When I walk around all of the streets where I grew up and found my feet, they can’t look me in the eye. It’s like they’re scared of me.” She misses the times spent with family and friends when she didn’t have to be this persona that the world sees her as now, and although she relishes her success, it’s taken a toll. You can hear that clearly in her vocal, with audible cracks throughout, and even the stripped-down nature of the song hints at her wanting this sadness to come through easily.

Track 10: All I Ask

My favorite song on the record by far, both lyrically and vocally. Another stripped-down piano ballad, though this one is seemingly more intimate and poignant then those prior, Adele sings of another relationship about to end, but this one seems to be more special then others. But before she goes, she wants that person to give her one more night of bliss and something special to remember, because “It matters how this ends, cause what if I never love again?” She hopes that this person will give her that gift so that it is the way each of them can remember the other. Perhaps her partner is against this, which leads to the key change at the tail end of the song as symbolism for her screaming, pleading with him to grant her her last wish. Though Adele called this is make-up record, she still seems to be blaming herself for all her failed relationships; “I don’t wanna be cruel or vicious, and I ain’t asking for forgiveness”, so even though she’s matured quite a bit, she still has ways to go before she can be happy with herself.

Track 11: Sweetest Devotion

A love letter to her baby boy, this is the perfect way to close out the record. “I wasn’t ready then, I’m ready now” she sings, proving that while she still has areas of herself to improve on, there are other she has covered. While she’s loved before, this is a different kind, as she alludes to; “There is something in your loving, that tears down my walls.” because “The sweetest devotion hit me like an explosion”. The song has an anthemic feel  right from the get-go, but when she gets to that chorus, it just explodes in your face, and it feels good to know that this is how an album full of so many different emotions is ending. The guitar section that brings the song to a close is surprising for an Adele song, but is refreshing and such a treat. Adele nails anything stripped-down, but her voice can pierce the highest point of any stadium in the world, and that’s what this feels like musically. It shimmers like the light at the end of a dark tunnel.

Grade

• 4 out of 5

Favorite Tracks

• When We Were Young, Water Under The Bridge, Million Years Ago, All I Ask, and Sweetest Devotion