By ABBY BRAVO
News Editor
On Nov. 19, 2021, Adele released her fourth studio album titled “30.” This album comes after six years of silence from the artist as her last album, “25,” was released almost exactly six years to date on Nov. 20, 2015. “25” featured hit songs like “Hello” and “Send My Love (To Your New Lover).”
In between the releases of “25” and “30,” Adele has had a child, gotten married, and gotten divorced, so this album was sure to hold a lot of weight in it’s content.
She has gone through multiple major chapters in her life and I, along with many fans, were eager to find out how these feelings and experiences were going to manifest in her music.
Given that it has been so many years since Adele has released music, “30” was a very well anticipated album. Even Taylor Swift changed her album release date since “Red (Taylor’s Version)” was scheduled to come out on the same day as “30.”
With a total of twelve songs, almost half hitting six minutes, the album opens with the heartwrenching ballad, “Strangers by Nature.” The melody of this song is absolutely gorgeous, and it shows that this album is going to consist of a lot of reflection, which is a theme in many of her albums.
This is shown through the lyrics, “It’s like I’m noticing everythin’ a little bit more/Now that all the dust has settled/I rebut all my rebuttals/No one knows what it’s like to be us.”
Following the first track is “Easy On Me.” This was Adele’s first and only single that came out before the album was released. Not so much in meaning, but in sound it reminds me a lot of the song “Turning Tables” off of her previous album “21.”
This song talks about how she held a lot of responsibilities at a young age and never really was able to understand and find out who she was. It also has the classic runs that make Adele songs so unique.
The third track on the album is “My Little Love” talking to her son, Angelo, about what she is going through along with her fears about how he will view these experiences when he is grown. “I’m holding on (barely)/momma’s got a lot to learn (it’s heavy).”
This song also features multiple spoken conversations between her and her son where she is explaining her emotions and what she has been going through in terms of her divorce. The lyrics are directly towards her “little love,” which is her son.
“My little love/Tell me, do you feel the way my past aches?/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 if what I’ve done makes you feel sad.”
This is one of the harder hitting songs of the album since it seems to tackle the core themes of mental health, divorce, and her feelings revolving around her child and love life head on. She is very raw, giving her listeners a look into what she is feeling when it comes to what she is going through.
The next couple songs lighten the mood of the album and are arguably some of my favorites. “Cry Your Heart Out” discusses the importance of letting out your emotions, as the title suggests with a jazzy tone.
Following “Cry Your Heart Out” is “Oh My God,” and it is my absolute favorite song off of the album. It has a very upbeat sound to it and is on the more fun side of the album. It focuses on letting go and essentially doing what you want in life even if sometimes it can be reckless.
I believe the lyrics, “I’m a fool, but they all think I’m blind/I’d rather be a fool than leave myself behind/I don’t have to explain myself to you/I am a grown woman and I do what I want to do,” capture the power behind the song.
Along with the message of freedom, the bridge in “Oh My God” follows that sense of empowerment. I could try my best to explain it, but if you were to listen to any one song off of this album, I would suggest this one (but please do listen to them all).
The mood then falls again a few songs ahead with “I Drink Wine.” This song appears to focus around her divorce and the feelings she was having at that time. The lyrics in this song are very open.
She is fighting with her own actions and feelings at this time and appears to be at a crossroads.
The lyrics, “Listen, I know how low I can go/I give as good as I get/You get the brunt of it all/’Cause you’re all I’ve got left,” are then followed by, “Oh, I hope in time/We both will find peace of mind/Sometimes the road less traveled/Is a road best left behind.”
She is fighting with what is best to do in her relationship and, in my opinion, along with “My Little Love,” “I Drink Wine” is one of the most emotional and raw songs on the album.
All in all, this album was a beautiful comeback for Adele and encapsulates what she has been through in her six year period away from the limelight. From songs like “Oh My God” to “My Little Love,” and everything in between, she tells her tales through her iconic vocals and storytelling and leaves fans excited to hear what is up next for her.
