Album Review: Ed Sheeran - ÷ (Divide)

It seems that after a year off from the pressures and superficialities of fame and social media, Ed Sheeran has stepped back into the studio filled with warm, familial memories, a very full heart and a few fingers in some fresh genre-pies.

Where previous albums showed the electric sparks of Sheeran's fierce, bitter side when being heartbroken (Don't, You Need Me, I Don't Need You), Sheeran is matter-of-fact, more mature and self-assured here. Dive pleads, "So don't call me baby/ Unless you mean it", while New Man confidently and cheekily shames an ex's new lover ("He wears sunglasses indoors/ In winter/ At night time/ And every time a rap song comes on he makes a gun sign and says, "Choon!"), in what is the musical equivalent of posting gym selfies to show your former flame how well you're doing.

Elsewhere, he's hella loved up. Perfect will be this season's Thinking Out Loud (i.e. used for the first dance at weddings everywhere for the next two years), while Galway Girl harnesses Sheeran's Irish roots in an interesting Celtic/hip hop fusion, utilising fiddles and traditional flutes. Hearts Don't Break Around Here showcases Sheeran's lilting vocals, a quiet love song you'd imagine being sung along the windy cliffsides of northern England. 

Mega-hit Castle On The Hill and bonus track Nancy Mulligan come off like a warm hug and a handwritten letter to Sheeran's family, the latter harkening back to the very Irish story of how his late grandfather William Sheeran met and married his grandmother Nancy Mulligan. The best thing about Sheeran is his ability to tell a story — even though you don't know the guy or his family, you feel with him. 

Sheeran also takes you by the hand to Gaudi's architectural masterpieces, sangria in hand, in the cheerful Barcelona, sure to soundtrack youth travel ads in a hot minute. He continues his world travels with Bibia Be Ye Ye (meaning All Will Be Well), a collaboration with Ghanaian star Fuse ODG in the country's dialect of Twi, and it's yet another sign that Sheeran has settled into his groove, finally at peace with himself. There's no dividing going on here.