After Adele released her single, "Hello," her new surprise album became highly anticipated. We all waited for four years for her to come out with another project, and I must say, it was worth the wait. "25" was released on Nov. 20, and since then, she has sold OVER four million copies. It also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. I am a huge Adele fan, and my dad knows this, so he purchased her album for me right away. It's currently the end of December, and it's still in heavy rotation in my car's CD player. I absolutely love this album, and decided that I would bless you all with a review of each track. Hopefully I will encourage you to go out and purchase her album after reading this!
1. "Hello"
OK, absolutely OBSESSED. This song has been out for quite some time now, and I still appreciate it as much as I did the first time I heard it.The emotion is so raw, and the lyrics are so real. Anyone who was in a relationship that ended rocky can relate to the things Adele sings about. After hearing "Hello" and watching the video, I knew that Adele was officially back, and I could expect nothing less than greatness from the rest of the album.
Rate: 10/10
2. "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)"
When I first heard this song, I was a bit surprised because it was different: a different vibe that Adele has never given me. But I don't mean this in a bad way! I still like this song a lot. She sings about how the guy fed her a bunch of broken promises, and she isn't going to wait around for him anymore. She's moving on with her life, and she is actually completely OK with it. She says, "send my love to your new lover, and to treat her better" than he treated Adele.
Before her album released, Adele wrote a open letter to her fans, and one of the things that she said was, "I haven't got time to hold on the crumbs of my past like I used to. What's done is done." And I definitely get that vibe after listening to this song, I can feel the confidence in her.
Rate: 8.5/10
3. "I Miss You"
I really like the beginning of this song because it's very sultry and sexy. When I first heard her say, "Treat me soft, but touch me cruel," my eyes widened and I was thinking, like, "OK Adele, I see ya!" I can relate to that feeling of missing someone, so you can actually feel Adele's pain in this song, especially in the chorus. The beat of this song is really nice, too. It sounds kind of mysterious and hypnotizing.
Rate: 8.5/10
4. "When We Were Young"
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE this ballad. It gives me goosebumps. Adele gives us everything that she has in this song, and you can literally feel it in your soul. The lyrics of this song will make you reflect heavily on that one person who used to have your heart, and it will pull your emotions all over the place. "Let me photograph you in this light in case, it is the last time that we might be exactly like we were." "A part of me keeps holding on just in case it hasn't gone. I guess I still care, do you still care?" REALLY, ADELE?! Must you always put a girl in her feelings like this?
Rate: 9/10
5. "Remedy"
This song is so graceful and beautiful. It really shows Adele's softer side, and I love that, because I am the queen of softies. This song will hit home for all of the people who love hard when they love, because she sings about how there isn't anything that she wouldn't do for that person. She wants to be that person's remedy when they're going through rough times. The chorus is really catchy, and it will definitely get stuck in your head before you even learn all of the words.
Rate: 9/10
6. "Water Under The Bridge"
When I first listened to this song, I had a hard time understanding one specific line in the chorus, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. I really like the lyrics because every relationship has ups and downs, and will most likely go through that uncertainty stage at some point. Like, should we be together or not? Are we truly meant to be, or is it just water under the bridge? Adele is singing legit facts in this song, but in a more fun, upbeat tone. The chorus of this song is pretty catchy, and you will definitely catch yourself nodding your head or tapping your foot to the beat. BTW, I Googled that one funny line, and turns out she's saying, "Our love ain't water under the bridge." I know sounds so simple, but trust me, it sounds like a bunch of mumble jumble.
Rate: 8/10
7. "River Lea"
"River Lea" refers back to the town Adele used to live in when she was younger. It's called Tottenham in North London. In an interview, she says, "You take a girl out of Tottenham, but you can't take Tottenham out of a girl." I don't hate this song, and I usually don't skip it when it comes on, but it's also not my favorite.
Rate: 7/10
8. "Love In The Dark"
Adele has given us another emotional feel with song. It's about two people who were once in love, and even though they wish they could still be together, deep down, they know that they just can't. Sounds pretty familiar, right? Adele says that she doesn't regret anything that happened between them, but she wants to do more than survive: She wants to live! I love the message behind this song, because sometimes us lovers are guilty of staying in relationships that we know aren't good for us. In this song, Adele reminds us that love can still be there, but from a distance. This is a very smooth song, but her notes are still very strong and powerful.
Rate: 9/10
9. "Million Years Ago"
This reminds me of an opera song, and this beat also gives me a mysterious vibe like "I Miss You." It's not one of my favorite songs on the album, but I still really like it. The chorus is my favorite part of the song: When that part comes on, I always belt it out like I actually know how to sing. (And I'm usually always in my car when listening to "25," and my windows are not tinted, so people are probably looking at me like I'm crazy. *shrugs*) Also, I love Adele's accent, and you can really hear it in this song, especially when she sings, "A million years ago".
Rate: 8/10
10. "All I Ask"
Adele SLAYED this song. It is my absolute favorite song on the album, and I think it's definitely the best one on the album after "Hello." She wrote it together with Bruno Mars, and while it's a sad song, it's perfect to me. This song is about the final moments with your lover, and the fear of being alone. If you're anything like me, this song will definitely cause you to have a lump in your throat, or just flat-out shed some tears. You can even feel the emotion through the piano that's playing along Adele's ridiculous notes. In the song, she sings, "It matters how this ends", and it gives me chills because it's so simple, yet so meaningful. Think about it. It really does matter how it ends, because that's how you're always going to remember it. Major thumbs up Adele.
Rate: 10/10
11. "Sweetest Devotion"
This song is about her son, Angelo. It also features his voice in the beginning and in the end. Honestly, I really don't like this song , and I thought she could've ended on a stronger note. But I can still appreciate the song because it's about her son, and it shows how much he means to her. This is one of the very few songs from Adele that will make you smile.
Rate: 6/10
