- by Ed Sheeran
- ("Subtract") is the sixth studio album by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 5 May 2023 through Asylum and Atlantic Records. A mostly acoustic album, - was preceded by the singles "Eyes Closed" and "Boat" and serves as a visual album, with videos for the remaining twelve tracks premiering on the album's release date. Background Ed Sheeran announced the album title, tracklist and release date on 1 March 2023 through all social media platforms. He also announced a mini-European tour from 23 March to 2 April, to complement the release of the album's lead single. It was produced and co-written by Aaron Dessner of the indie rock band The National, who also produced Taylor Swift's albums Folklore and Evermore. Sheeran and Dessner wrote over thirty songs together during a month-long studio session, which was eventually cut down to the album's fourteen tracks. - serves as the final mathematical-themed album by Sheeran. On 29 April 2023, Sheeran announced a series of intimate shows in North America as part of a mini tour for the album.
Ed Sheeran’s appeal has always stemmed from the authenticity his music exudes. After learning guitar from the age of 11, the British singer-songwriter independently put out five EPs, garnering him a sizeable and wide-ranging fanbase in the UK. Those early releases notably included 2011’s <i>No. 5 Collaborations Project</i>, a collection that brought together Sheeran’s folk-adjacent acoustic pop with his love of rap, featuring some of the UK’s premier grime MCs (including Jme, Wiley and P Money). So when Sheeran’s debut album, <i>+</i>, arrived in 2011—the same year he turned 20—it was perhaps not surprising that his voice was occasionally imbued with the flexible elasticity of rap delivery, his soft vocals often bouncing between a bounding quick pace and a slower, more deliberate troubadour style. Produced and written by Sheeran, with help from Jake Gosling—who’s also worked with the likes of One Direction and Lady Gaga—this is an album of simple but affecting pop music, one that wears its vernacular Britishness and youthfulness on its sleeve: A breakup song about Sheeran’s ex starting her undergraduate degree while he’s on the road is titled “U.N.I.”—a reference to “you and I”, of course, but also “uni” . In the scheme of Sheeran’s career, some of the tracks on <i>+</i> now feel a little insipid. But there’s no denying the fact that many have become staples of an era—after all, this is the album that delivered such hits as “The A Team”, “Drunk”, “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” and “Lego House”. There’s an earnest quality to these tracks, which tackle alcoholism, the music industry and lost loves—all of it imbued with a directness stemming from the simple combination of Sheeran and his acoustic guitar. One of the most essential debuts of the 2010s, <i>+</i> established Sheeran’s ear for melody, as well as his knack for communicating with his audience—two traits that would power the singer-songwriter’s career in the years ahead.
