The Aftermath of 30!

30 (2021)

1. "Strangers By Nature"

Starting us off is this Judy Garland inspired track that Adele couldn't help but make into such a swooshing orchestral experience that feels start out of an MGM classic musical.  Her voice already sounds sensational but she truly captures the raw, timeless essences of the Golden Era of Hollywood with those harmonious violins and background vocals that seem to elevate like a piercing sunrise with purpose to support Adele's dazzling vocal piece.  The lyrics are meaningful right from the first as you can tell she is going for more resonance on this album than ever.  Sigh....just makes me want to have a beautiful night on Broadway, watching a spectacular play and having a glass of wine with my dinner for laying to bed.  Basically, I absolutely love this opening; clearly documenting the meeting of her and now ex-husband before she gets into the core of the journey she's been on by laying it all out for us.  Stunning! :)

(A-)

2. "Easy on Me"

The first single from the album and a current chart topping sensation as usual for brilliant British songstress, "Easy On Me" is a beautiful, heartfelt ballad detailing how Adele's vulnerability has left her feelings like the target of her ex-husband's wrath and young son after their publicized divorce.  It's one of Adele's best vocal performances with a seamless production that raises the intensity until the very end of the last note.  But don't think Adele is playing victim as the lyrics simply explain that she's in serious pain too, especially after the pain she has caused to two very important men in her life. :_(  She just needs some gentleness and empathy with angry and resentment she has possibly cause so this new situation won't be as hard for her as she is currently taking it in the long run.  It's definitely a highlight on the album and one of my favorite songs from her personally. :)

(A)

3. "My Little Love"

Ohhhhh boy! "My Little Love"......I need a moment with this explosive track that has an ironic contrast of a smooth neo-soul beat and soothing atmosphere but the lyricism and emotion behind this one is literally gut wrenching!!! Intertwined with gorgeous and too real vocal message between her and her son as she talks with him about the divorce is beyond shocking!  I expected Adele to get personal on the album but the lengths of her vulnerability on this one all most make it hard to listen to more than just once!  Those terrifyingly heartbreaking testimonials, especially the last of her sending a message to a friend about how she's doing....my god!  You can say what you want about Adele but it takes A LOT of strength to be this open and honest with your emotions even with your music.  It's family tragedy and one she can't bare to carry with her knowing she's putting her son through the same life now that she hated her parents for. This song is a confessional masterpiece and I don't think I can ever see her singing this live....it's just THAT painful! But it's truly one of her most powerful, almost soul shattering song yet with lyrics and spoken word expressing overdrinking, loneliness, loss, guilt and possibly depression!  Too much praise for this one! What a daunting experience this one always is to listen too. :_(:_(:_(

(A+)+++

4. "Cry Your Heart Out"

Surprisingly, "Cry Your Heart Out" isn't yet another boldly emotionally heavy song like the previous and is more of a brisk strut of a classic soul single of the 60s.  Sure, the lyrics are still pretty heavy but the theme here is definitely more of learning how to persevere and go on with life while dealing with such a painful moment in your life.  I even like the distorted chorus that is extremely catchy; feeling like an old time(y) jingle that you just can't get your head out of.  While most haven't paid this song much attention and find it the one of the weakest on the album, after such an experience and I do mean EXPERIENCE like "My Little Love", lighten things up with a more upbeat tune was only the way to go and it fits well in its placement of the album.  Like this song and Adele herself, life goes on no matter what you're going through no matter what even when you're feeling lost and desperately need to feel like yourself again.  Very fun but ironically, all too real. 

(A-)

5. "Oh My God"

As buzz rapidly swirls with this being the second single, Oh My God is a very commercially friendly with a deep bass filled beat with a melodically pleasing chorus.  Lyrically, it seems Adele is in the mist of transitioning from going through to pain of divorce before suddenly finding herself in deep attraction to yet another man who is making her feel too much too fast.  It's extremely playful but so rhythmic and will get your foot stopping to Adele's self assured yet puzzling dilemma that has her in lust but hoping it doesn't take complete control over her heart. With production that has confident statement about having fun in the mist of letting go and moving on, Oh My God is just as harmoniously entertaining and at home in quality as it is emotional therapeutic for Adele at this moment in her life.  Thankfully, it's one of the strongest tunes from this anticipated fourth album in her discography! :)

(A)

6. "Can I Get It?"

Switching genres, Adele delivers a very unforeseen alternative pop-rock anthem with Can I Get It, a song that can be interpreted in a matter of ways.  One of the most obvious assumptions about the song that it's about sex given the phrase "can I get it?" being usually used as a euphemism for asking for sex but honestly, it can be about other facets of Adele's life from wanting a new relationship or simply just wanting to be herself again after such a tumultuous and daunting time in her life.  I love how people are making comparisons to the song being very reminiscent of 90s alternative rock ala Wonderwall by Oasis.  It has a unique production that feels like it has some elements of folk music while also having a very bizarre whistling melody after the guitar solo during the chorus.  I can honestly see this one being a single as well as it is also very radio friendly in my opinion and definitely has potential to be a HUGE or at least substantial hits on rock and alternative stations.  It's like "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" feel but not as polished and commercially infused to be more wide-spreading.  It is very catchy but also has this breezy tone to it that makes it accessible to anyone who is a true Adele fan or just a fan of this genre of music. :)  

(B+)

7. "I Drink Wine"

Debuting it on her special CBS concert, Adele: One Night Only, I Drink Wine is one of the six....six minute tracks on the album!  But unlike "My Little Love" which you are so captivated by and infested in the emotional rawness of the song's vulnerable glimpse into Adele's inner turmoil as a divorced mother, "I Drink Wine" feels like it should have been edited down to 4 minutes TOPS!!! It just drags on and on, feeling so over-dramatic and self loathing to the point of is feeling like almost a parody of an Adele song.  I am serious and it pains me to say it.  The lyrics are fine; great even! Definitely telling a very real authentic story about tragic reality of adulthood while also using alcohol as a means to numb that pain while trying to press on.  But the production feels very......vacant and by the books in terms of song style.  It has a classic 70s groove to it that's even reminiscent of a vintage Beatles song of that era of music but it just doesn't hold up to be a six plus minute segment.  I love how Adele is very reflective and mature during this song as she sounds as amazing as ever; able to once again channel her personal demons into a life lesson type of sing a long that the song becomes but just feels kind of....there and not in a good way! :(  I've tried to give this song a chance but it just drowns me in pretentious epiphany proclamations that don't feel genuine at all.  Sorry Adele!

(D+)

8. "All Night Parking" (Interlude with Erroll Garner)

If there is anything criminally unfair about this album is the fact that All Night Parking with Erroll Garner is reduced to a barely over 2 minute interlude when it could very well have been an album track and possibly one of the album's finest tunes.  There's such a great amalgamation of modern day trap drums mixed with the vintage jazz club atmosphere that sways throughout the song.  Not to mention, the background vocals and inserts have that classic back-up singers of 1960s soul music that always incorporated the lead singer's vocal performance.  It's playful, flirtatious with Adele finding herself smitten by a new gentlemen in her life that she can't stop thinking about. They have lots in common and it seems like the beginning of a potential new relationship.  This of course means this is definitely about her new boyfriend following her divorce from her ex-husband.  The cordial but knowing feeling that something is there and it's powerful but not knowing if you want to explore it given what you been through or might still be going through even.  I just think the production is stunning and so authentic supporting Adele's more smooth, soothing vocals here than usual. We love ourselves a versatile vocalist for sure! ;) Not quite a track by itself but makes such a refreshing impression that it definitely deserves some merit for that alone. :) 

(A-)

9. "Woman Like Me"

For a divorce album, there hasn't been much anger to be found on 30....until this track right here! Woman Like Me is Adele's official tongue lashing at her ex husband and while the production is more of a neo-soul, quiet storm anthem, the lyrics are certainly anything but remorseful or guilt ridden in.  Adele casually but confident sings through the haunting guitar strings to fully explain her opinion about her ex and how she felt he was the fallout of their marriage. "I begged you to let me in/So I could be the cure....." she cries out with a stunningly subdued vocal performance as well as being a blunt as saying his "complacency is the worst trait to have/Are you crazy"!!! Yikes, it definitely feels like the ultimate put down as Adele finishes off the chorus with the song's title track.  It's an empowering message to women for sure but its also an expression of her passion filled anger toward a man who gave her the first child of her life.  There is an overwhelming sense of disappointment across the entirety of the song which makes sense given the melancholy nature of the production.  This ain't no "Rolling In the Deep" but a more mature and conversational piece of her torn heart at the end of her marriage. 

(A)

10. "Hold On"

Switching things over to a more rejoiced feeling, Hold On is you're typical inspiring, motivational religious epic that has Adele singing with a thunderous background choir about the importance of staying strong in the mist of such a daunting time in your life.  From losing your husband to being a single mother sharing custody with your son's father, resilience is certainly the message here for sure.  Adele's vocals are as strong and sincere as ever but it feels like a more by the numbers track that while pretty exceptional, has too much of a traditional feel to it that almost seems to predictable to be on this album.  The song is really Adele not a song with her singing to her son, her husband or even her fans, it's a song pointed right at herself with vocals that echo in and out as if its her own singing thoughts telling her in a moment of weakness to push through the pain as life won't always be this way.  With its 1960s soulful, sensational production that builds to a stunning outcry of harmonies choir voices as Adele hits her usual high notes of vocal excellence, Hold On is by no means a push over track because it feels so much like the standard for an album of this caliber.  It's for sure a breathtaking encouragement tune that will get you emotional when you absolutely need to hear it in your life as Adele needed it here.

(A-)

11.  "To Be Loved"

.......Oh boy!!!! O_O  It's gonna be extremely hard to analyze this one as it feels like almost like a sequel to "My Little Love" in terms of the raw authenticity and gut wrenching vulnerability.  At times, it's once again too unbearable to listen to as Adele sings with such helpless conviction about the life she wanted for her family but it ending up being the failure she never saw coming. "To Be Loved/And Love at the highest count/Means to lose everything you can't live without/Let it be known/ That I tried!" I swear as the song builds to its speechless conclusion as Adele hits one of the most emotional notes of her career, her vocal performance was already reaching new found realization of catharsis and agonizing freedom from the pain she's been holding onto because of blaming herself for the marriage not working the way she dreamed.  Seriously, I am not surprised that Adele has publicly said she will NEVER sing this song live because it's too much for her to relive and it shows in ways that make you cringe once again about her honest she is being about her divorce.  With everything she has, she delivers the final moments of the song as if this were the album's closing track and her wrapping up which has been the most overbearing, painful journey she has been on so far in her life.  And yet....it's not the jaw dropping coda on the album but my goodness, you wonder why wasn't it!??? I can't imagine her topping this as one of her best closing moments of her career on an album....if it actually was! lol  Listening to this one feels like you're listening to her sing her heart out in the emptiness of the home she tried to build and it is so comforting yet uncomfortable at the same time.  Only Adele! O_O

(A+)

12.  "Love Is A Game"

As for the true closing track of the album, Love is A Game feels like that saying "while more is nice, its just adding that doesn't really need to be present" after such omnipresent emotional storm that was To Be Loved.  But then again, the lyrics are great tale of hope for Adele as she seems to have fallen again, of course the new man in her life, following her divorce.  She sings with almost embarrassment at the fact that she can't stay alone and listen to her own words as love seems to be an inescapable sensation that turns us into fools but we just can't resist.  The vintage 70s feel good melody definitely helps to sell the idea and the background vocals are always top notch as always.  I just don't find it to be the best ender to her album but more like a good epilogue to closing one chapter in her life while hesitantly yet contently opening a new one in her life that she clearly needs.  Not bad, just not as great as what came before. :)

(B)

Hard to believe it's been 6 years since Adele's last album took the music world as well as the rest of the world by storm with "25".  A very commercialized follow-up to her breakthrough star making, 21, which made her into one of the biggest stars on her generation.  I say commercialized because after thoroughly listening to 30, 25 definitely was the more radio friendly, single loaded, polished pop album of the two.  Honestly, "30" isn't really even a pop album like "25" but more of a reflective soul album with instrumentation of such genres as rock, alternative and especially jazz.  I absolutely love it because it gives the album that maturity and integrity it needs to pull off its very heavy theme of divorce and all the various emotions that come out of it.  I know A LOT of her younger fans will appreciate "25" more because of its more pop, crossover mainstream appeal than "30" being a more artistic run of emotionally rewarding tracks that details the hardships that come with ending a marriage as well as being a mother and finding new love in the mist of it all. I'd say for sure it's her best album since "21" and her most personal for sure to date.  Let's be honest, compared to "30", A LOT of the emotions on that album feel a bit forced.  So many great songs and single possibilities but it makes it seem like that album's theme about forgiveness and coming to peace with heartbreak of a break-up from "21" wasn't a natural progression but more a manifestation of a necessity for a new album.  Not to say, "25" was terrible, it was anything but houses the lead epic, "Hello" as well as the now meme heavy "Water Under the Bridge" which was my personal favorite from that album.  But come on! "My Little Love" alone is something you would not have heard Adele sing at that time in her life.  This feels like unlike anything she's done before with a realness that seems...well....unreal for a superstar of her level. O_O She is not only opening up about her marriage but literally taking moments from it and dropping it right on the album.  I absolutely love it when artist get this deep with their work as it produces some of the best albums.  I mean from Janet Jackson's "the Velvet Rope" to Beyonce's wrath ridden "Lemonade" or even Teyana Taylor's almost criminally underrated "The Album", when an artist can use their music to let us get to know them on this level, its always some of their best work to date.  "30" is no exception.  The experimentation is even more ambitious than her previous works with musical tribute of "Strangers By Nature" to alternative rock that runs through the cleverly produced "Can I Get It?"  Or how bout this?  Reworking Joey Percoraro's "Finding Parking" into her own segway into the modernization of classic lounge music in all too shortened "All Night Parking" with a stunning piano solo from Erroll Garner!  Like I said, there is also this overwhelming feel of maturity to the album from her shocking accountability of the divorce in "My Little Love" to even the knowing religiously moving "Hold On" that has Adele singing almost to herself for once about getting herself together no matter what the cost to move on.  I'll admit, it doesn't always work as "I Drink Wine" continues to leave me baffled by how it even made it on the album and could have easily been a bonus track.  Tho I'm sure thematically it needed to be on the album to make it more consistent with the divorce message but still.....self loathing is never a style of writing I like hearing in my music.  People already do enough of that on their own, we don't need to hear about your's for seemingly ever in a 6 minute track that feels even longer than the other 6 minute tracks on the album that make you forget how long they are.  WOW!  "To Be Loved" make be a career high for her as a writer and especially a vocalist with a performance that could stand with the great soul singers of yesteryear like Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston who are both unfortunately no longer with us.  The album is already a commercial and critical hit!  Making it to #1 and selling almost 800,000 copies in its first week in terms of physical sales alone, which again is unheard of now!  But that just shows you the power of Adele and how her return is welcomed with open arms each time she goes away for a while to live her life to once again make an album of emotional resonance that anyone can relate too. :)

"The first album of her 30s to detail the end of her first marriage, "30" is Adele's most heart baring, soul searching work to date that shows even in a state of undeniable turmoil she is able to really explore music that not only continues to express her impressive growth as an artist but show her confidently and sincerely making her lowest point in life into one of personal triumph in the best way possible by letting her fans in more than ever to see who she truly is behind those soul crying vocals: a mother ready to move forward with not only her career but her life despite of it all.  Truly another masterwork in her discography and should not be missed if you enjoy timeless music of this artistry." :)  

(A)