The long-awaited return of Adele is finally upon. “30”, an album of love, heartbreak, and growth, is the perfect introduction back into the spotlight for a superstar who has become so accustomed to living her life out of sight.
The album offers a distinct sound that hasn’t been found in her previous works. Any real Adele fan has come to expect changes such as these as she has a history of making each work sound different than the last. Throughout “30” it can almost feel like you are listening to a song you’d hear in a church as Adele is able to so effortlessly have her voice consistently be the focal point of the song even while being accompanied by an entire choir.
As a whole, it also feels more personal than what we have received in the past. When looking at what Adele has experienced since her last album, whether it be her divorce, raising her son, or just simply going through the highs and lows of life, the changes in subject are only fitting. There are clear undertones found in this album. Adele is clearly on a mission to showcase all aspects of life, but she specifically wants to touch on the subject of love and what it is like to recover after suffering from heartbreak.
The album works almost as an open journal. Adele is clearly putting herself in a vulnerable situation with this work as it clearly expresses her exact emotions. This is made clear with the inclusion of voice notes throughout the album. These voice notes range from conversations between Adele and her son while she tries to explain why she is sad, to her just speaking to herself about how she feels. The notes offer a legitimate humanizing for the album as a whole. It shows that the emotions and pain she is singing about is coming from a real place. This is where this album is able to separate itself from many other notable works that touch on this subject matter. Adele is showcasing what can happen when the relationship doesn’t go as planned.
The song “My Little Love” may be the most personal song on the album and is by far the one that I have found myself coming back to the most. It reads as a conversation between a mother and her son, where they go on a journey of emotions. Between each verse, there is a conversation between Adele and her son. Adele knows that her divorce not only hurts her but also her child and this song serves almost as an apology. She sings “When you lay on me, can you hear the way my heart breaks/ I wanted you to have everything I never had/ I’m so sorry for what I’ve done makes you feel sad”. She follows this with yet another message saying that she still loves his father because he helped bring their child into this world. The song not only includes the guilt that Adele now feels but also the loneliness that she is now experiencing. As the song nears a close, Adele includes one last voice note. She says “I feel like today is the first day that I’ve felt lonely, and I’ve never felt lonely”. The sadness that she is meant to showcase in this album is put on full display with this one single line and as this is the third song on the album, I found myself looking to replicate this feeling with each following track.
The true disappointment that can be found following most ended relationships is found in the song “Women Like Me”. There is no sadness here, but instead just sheer disappointment. It feels like a song that was meant to explain why exactly she chose to end her marriage. “You’re driving me away, give me a reason to stay/ I want to be lost in you, but not in this way” are the opening lines of the song. These words set the tone immediately as Adele sings them in a low yet confident manner. Her feelings are clear and evident. Not only is she explaining to the audience why she felt she needed to move on, it feels like she is also speaking directly to her ex-husband. She goes on to sing “We come from the same place, but you will never give it up/ It’s where they make you feel powerful, that’s why you think I make you feel small/ But that’s your projection, it’s not my rejection”. In my opinion, these are the most telling lines of the album. They explain why the marriage ended and are also something that the audience can relate to on a deeper level. This song could become one of the most notable break-up songs of our time.
“Hold on” serves as a culmination of everything that has been experienced on the album. The song begins as a peaceful duet between Adele and her piano. She is both the lead of the song and the backup vocals. “Oh what have I done yet again? Have I not learned anything?”. She is speaking to herself for the first time on this album. The song is not only a song about growth but also about not letting yourself let go in the hard moments of life. For nearly the first three minutes of the song Afdele is singing alone, and then everything changes. Drums play into the song and a choir is brought in. (Upon first listen, it sent chills up my spine). Hope is introduced here. “Sometimes loneliness is the only rest that we get, and the emptiness actually lets us forget”. As Adele sings these words, her voice erupts and she unlocks something that had been tucked away for the first half of the song. The song serves as a catalyst of the album as some much of the precious songs were about sadness, this one generates a feeling of power and strength.
There are no bad songs on this album, but instead ones that just don’t necessarily fit. So much of the album is just Adele, a band, and a choir so when the more upbeat “Oh My God” came on, it sort of pulled me out of the little world that I had already created in my head.
The runtime of this album is also worth mentioning. While there are just 12 songs, five of them have a runtime of over six-minutes. This brings the album to just under one-hour which in my eyes, served as the perfect length. In that time, Adele was able to tell the story that she intended to tell. Her ability to turn her life experiences into a work of art such as this shouldn’t just go under-the-radar. Adele opened up in a way that most artists can only dream of. She rightfully deserves the flowers that will come her way with this work, and in my eyes, it is the album of the year. In a time where the past couple of years have been hard on nearly everyone, this album felt not only needed, but necessary. It gave Adele an opportunity to release her feelings and show that it is okay so talk about what you are going through. There are brighter days ahead, and this album only helps express that belief.