Critics praise, fans in tears: how the network met Adele's new album

On Friday, November 19, the fourth studio album of the British singer Adele was released, which received the traditionally laconic title - "30".

The disc includes 12 songs.

Two of them - To Be Loved and Easy on Me - were presented earlier.

The latter topped the American iTunes chart on the day of its premiere, and its music video gained almost 15 million views in the first eight hours.

Adele's new album reflects her feelings associated with a divorce from her now ex-husband, businessman Simon Konecki.

“(This album -

) has become an integral part of me during the most turbulent period of my life.

When I wrote him, he was a friend of mine who came with a bottle of wine and takeaway to cheer me up.

My wise friend, who always has the best advice ... Since then I have painstakingly restored my home and my heart, and this is what the new album is about.

Home is where the heart is, ”the singer wrote about her work.

30 - November 19 pic.twitter.com/vp6ornlda2

- Adele (@Adele) October 13, 2021

The fans of the British woman greeted “30” with enthusiasm and very emotionally.

One of the Twitter users noted that the lyrics found an internal response in her.

“Adele's album caused me such emotions that I had never experienced before,” writes another author.

Some of the microbloggers noticed that the songs included in the "30" add up to a coherent story, comparable to a high-quality psychological film.

“When I finished listening to 30, I felt like I had just watched a whole psychological drama with many powerful scenes, a life story, genuine emotions and no answers.

Only Adele is able to paint such pictures with her music and tell her story, ”notes a Twitter user.

Some find similarities with the works of Florence and the Machine and Amy Winehouse in Adele's new songs, while others compare the compositions with the singer's old albums and note her noticeable professional growth and high quality of new compositions - both in terms of lyrics and production.

“Adele was too young to write about herself the way she did on the 25 album.

The album "30" has so much of her personality.

You can hear it in the backing vocals and modulations of her voice.

Freedom and relaxedness.

(Album -

) is not easy, but her voice just leads you, "the blogger writes.

“To Be Loved is perhaps one of the most poignant and poignant vocals I've heard in my life.

Adele led me step by step.

I felt every emotion, every nuance.

I am completely devastated, ”reads another message.

To Be Loved pic.twitter.com/r16x90FbAU

- Adele (@Adele) November 17, 2021

Music critics in their reviews pay a lot of attention to the lyrics of the songs from the new album.

As the author of The New York Times John Pareles notes, in the compositions you can hear the influence of divorce and its consequences on the singer's work: she sings about feelings of guilt, drunkenness, depression, loneliness, self-doubt and the intention to move on.

At the same time, the reviewer emphasizes that the lyrics of a number of new songs are distinguished by "new adult skepticism and an ambiguous attitude towards love itself."

Critics generally believe that Adele's new compositions are more optimistic.

According to Vulture's Craig Jenkins, they trace the path to emotional well-being.

“These 12 tracks have an invigorating maturity that is more complex and intriguing emotionally than the far more comprehensible sadness of the three previous recordings.

And while "30" is at times the most poignant and sobering of her records to date, this album also manages to be the most entertaining in its emotionally knock-off manner, "echoes fellow Variety writer Chris William.

Annabelle Nugent writes in a review for the Independent that the songs themselves are good.

“Mixed with sorrow, they are mostly skillfully written ballads about love and the anguish associated with it,” the critic notes and emphasizes: the main advantage of the album is precisely the performance of Adele, her vocal capabilities.

“Adele has a voice perfect in its imperfection, grandiose and fragile at the same time, which sounds epic and without flashy melismatic tricks.

He flirts with unexpected shapes and modulations, ”Nugent is sure.

Some experts have come to the conclusion that while staying true to the musical style that made her famous, Adele offers the listener more variety in the new album.

The Guardian writer Alexis Petridis writes that in some of the songs there are moments where "at least in terms of sound, it seems like Adele is gently pushing the boundaries of expectations."

In his opinion, the songs Strangers By Nature and All Night Parking are rooted in ballads, which, along with other genres, formed the basis of rock and roll, while Love Is a Game and Cry Your Heart Out include elements of soul.

“Creating an album that differs from its predecessors, but not so much as to scare anyone off, is an impressive achievement in itself,” says Petridis.

Craig Jenkins also agrees with him, emphasizing that in the album "30" Adele opens up new possibilities for her music.

"Adele manages to find a delicate balance: she ties together her romantic past and present and adds a new sound to her music, while not abandoning the tempting references to classic pop music of the 1970s from the past two albums," the author writes.

Adele's fans have been waiting for "30" for six years - the previous disc, titled "25", was released in October 2015.

It became the best-selling in the year of its release and one of the best-selling in history.