ADELE - 30
Adele has provided larger than life crying tracks to the masses at instrumental and incremental ages of 19, 21, 25 and now 30.
From ‘Chasing Pavements’ to paving the way as one of the biggest voices of our generation, Adele has provided larger than life crying tracks to the masses at instrumental and incremental ages of 19, 21, 25 and now 30. Cue the novice vocalist taking on lead single ‘Easy On Me’ during karaoke to show off their comparatively mediocre chops, but for those hoping that 30 would be full of ‘Hello’ and ‘Rolling In The Deep’ belters, you will be sadly disappointed.
It has been well documented that 30 was synopsised as the divorce album from the get-go and they were not lying. Contextually 30 swallows you into the separation journey and spits you out unresolved, needing therapy to understand your own feelings in how Adele’s divorce has impacted you. This is your warning to get a glass of red and a hot bath prepared.
From the very opening line, “I’ll be taking flowers to the cemetery of my heart” in ‘Strangers By Nature’, the melancholy sets in and is further emphasised by the inclusion of heartbreaking voice recordings throughout the album including a message of Adele explaining the divorce to her 9 year old on ‘My Little Love’; “I know you feel lost, it’s my fault completely”; and choking up whilst discussing her isolation; “I feel today is the first day since I left him that I feel lonely - and I never feel lonely, I love being on my own”. It’s emotion in its rawest form but it consumes the entire album and ultimately, ironically, leaves it dull and lifeless.
Mixed with the Frankenstein sonic nature of the album, 30 falls flat. ‘Strangers By Nature’ takes an old-timey Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland cinematic approach, as does musical theatre jazz closer ‘Love Is A Game’ - which honestly given Adele’s style similarity to Amy Winehouse on other album tracks would have benefitted from being more ‘Love Is A Losing Game’ than comic bird cliche. There’s the out of character experimental jazz numbers ‘Cry Your Heart Out’ and ‘All Night Parking (with Errol Garner) Interlude’, the acoustic guitar carried ‘Can I Get It’ which includes a Tegan and Sara ‘More For Me’ moment, and the gospel heightened ‘I Drink Wine’ which showcased Adele’s gorgeous light and shade vocal contrast. The only nods to classic pigeonholed Adele outside of ‘Easy On Me’ come in the form of snail pace, piano ballads full of glorious raspy power and vocal runs, big crescendos and even bigger emotions, the album standout and should-have-been album closer ‘Hold On’, and the minimalist Whitney Houston-esque epic ‘To Be Loved’. However, these tracks are excruciatingly long pieces, both coming in over the six minute mark.
30 has the emotional drawcard and it does achieve the goal of getting you to understand and relate to Adele’s journey through divorce. It is refreshing to see Adele step outside of her comfort zone and listen to the critics who have accused her of playing it safe in the past, but is this the right direction? Probably not, but as she questions on ‘I Drink Wine’, “Why am I seekin' approval from people I don't even know?”, it’s a safe bet that Adele doesn’t care what others think anymore.
Tammy Walters
★★★☆☆