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8.0
66937
8.0 |
The FT
Returns, bigger and slicker but without compromising the singer’s open manner
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8.0
66940
8.0 |
The Guardian
The ballads evince a certain new-found maturity without suggesting that Sheeran has lost the ability to write about the kind of things that matter to the adolescent chunk of his fanbase
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8.0
66949
8.0 |
Q
He’s used his success rather than be used by it, he’s taken chances and won again
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8.0
66964
8.0 |
Digital Spy
It's potent, it's catchy, but most importantly it is completely fearless
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7.5
67011
7.5 |
A.V. Club
Sheeran acknowledges that growing up is messy and tough—but affirms that navigating life with maturity and confidence is possible
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7.0
67025
7.0 |
All Music
His sweetness isn't cloying, not even when the productions are aimed straight down the middle of the road, which they often are on X
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7.0
67267
7.0 |
The Digital Fix
Though x uses a broader palette it’s still very much an Ed Sheeran album
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6.0
67879
6.0 |
PopMatters
The album is good that’s for sure; Sheeran is too talented to deliver a sub par album. It suffers in terms of consistency
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6.0
67094
6.0 |
Entertainment.ie
Ed Sheeran fans won't be disappointed, and this new album may even get him a few new supporters
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6.0
67129
6.0 |
Time Out
Shored up by Sheeran’s nimble melodies and rhythmic guitar style, ‘X’ is a charm offensive that’s hard to resist. Nonsense never sounded so good
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6.0
66959
6.0 |
Rolling Stone
Sheeran, who worked with Rick Rubin and Pharrell on X, incorporates hip-hop and R&B into his plaintive songs
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6.0
66941
6.0 |
The Irish Times
Sheeran strikes a self-assured balance between his trademark lovelorn pop balladry (One, Nina, Photograph) and, discarding his guitar, a slick, Americanised twist on Sing and Runaway
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6.0
66946
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
X will no doubt be another mega-seller that swells Ed’s bank account to Roman Abramovich levels. However, it also shows some artistic growth and a willingness to take creative risks
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5.0
67180
5.0 |
No Ripcord
Sheeran is at his most fascinating during his livelier songs, when his youth-in-the-street charisma provides just the right amount of spice to what would be a very saccharine record without offending the sensibilities of his fanbase
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4.0
67230
4.0 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
X is a vapid and overly confident album that feels more like regression than progression for Ed Sheeran's indie folk sound. Go buy a Bon Iver record instead
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4.0
67026
4.0 |
The Music
With standard singer-songwriter musicianship – neither inspirational nor awful – at its worst, this is James Morrison with a guitar. At its best, it’s vaguely insightful lyricism on broken hearts
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4.0
66938
4.0 |
The Observer
The name of the game here may be multiplying, but Sheeran knows where his bread is buttered and that is in writing chick lit, not window-steamers
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4.0
66939
4.0 |
Independent on Sunday
Any hope that external input might actually have helped is silenced by his follow-up, where various super-producers merely spotlight Sheeran’s shortcomings
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4.0
67007
4.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Everyman emotion. Straightforward lyrics. Relatable pain
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