Ed Sheeran’s third studio album “÷” (pronounced “divide”) was released on March 3 after a brief hiatus by the singer-songwriter. Sheeran took 2016 off and left social media temporarily to stop “seeing the world through a screen." However, 2017 was decidedly off to a great start when he began dropping preview tracks from his latest endeavor. Here is my track-by-track review of “÷”.

1. “Eraser”

A significant departure from Sheeran’s well-known ballads; the opening track of the album is an absolute jam. However, if you want the better version of the track, listen to the live, extended F64 version that he released three days prior to the album’s release. The acoustic version is much more powerful and raw, and actually has different lyrics and allows the listener to hear them without being distracted by the background instrumental. More so, the lyrics in the extended version tell the story of his foray into the music industry, as well as the trials and tribulations that subsequently followed. My favorite lyrics from the extended track are: “I woke up this morning lookin’ in the mirror/Thinkin’ to myself that I should probably be thinner/The industry told me to look like them/But I found my happiness in fried food for my dinner.”

2. “Castle on the Hill”

The second track on the album is one of the lead singles and is the first song that I listened to when Sheeran released it back on Jan. 6. Easily one of the most relatable tracks on the album, “Castle on the Hill” manages to capture a feeling: the desire to return to our roots. I still remember the chills that I felt listening to it in my childhood bedroom, just days before flying to London for the current semester. Additionally, besides being a great reminder of home for me, it is also a great song to listen to on the trips that I have taken where I get a view of the countryside from buses or trains. My favorite lyrics, and easily the most personal to Sheeran, on the track are: “One friend left to sell clothes/One works down by the coast/One had two kids but lives alone/One’s brother overdosed/One’s already on his second wife/One’s just barely getting by/But these people raised me/And I can’t wait to go home.”

3. “Dive”

The first ballad on the album, we finally entered familiar territory for Sheeran. His soothing tone in the opening verse compliments the slow beat that builds in the background and stays steady throughout the song, even when his pitch rises once he enters the chorus. Similar in sound to his hit, “Thinking Out Loud” off of his second album, “x” (multiply), “Dive” offers a harsher reality to falling in love, where the endgame is not necessarily ending up together in old age like the former song. Sheeran sings, “I could live, I could die/Hanging on the words you say/I’ve been known to give my all/And lie awake, every day/Don’t know how much I can take.” Sometimes, as Sheeran shows, love does not have a happy ending.

4. “Shape of You”

The other lead single on the album; I did not originally like “Shape of You,” but that is perhaps because I felt such a strong connection to “Castle on the Hill” from the first time that I listened to it. The upbeat track is reminiscent of “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You”, off of Sheeran’s debut album, “+” (plus). The lyrics are not as meaningful for me on the track like some of the others on the album, but the beat is strong and it is a great song to get up and dance to if you are at a party or in a club.

5. “Perfect”

The soft instrumental in the background compliments the traditional Sheeran ballad. I love the song; a tribute to all of the young couples that fell in love and could see their futures laid out by each other’s sides. My favorite lyrics are: “Baby, I’m dancing in the dark, with you between my arms/Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song/I have faith in what I see/Now I know I have met an angel in person.”

6. “Galway Girl”

I did not like “Galway Girl” after listening to it, though apparently the song soared in the Irish music charts, so more power to the Irish. The instrumental has a Celtic folk sound to it, mixed with Sheeran’s hip-hop beat, which although pleasing to some people, are not sounds that I tend to like separately, nor together.

7. “Happier”

Redeeming himself in my eyes after the previous song, “Happier” is much more my style of music, though it is much more remorseful. The song could practically be the soundtrack of any TV show when your favorite couple breaks up and one of them is suffering more than the other who has seemingly moved on and found someone new. Unlike other songs where the singer comes off like a martyr, Sheeran’s words seem to express genuine regret for whomever he lost, but he also realizes that it is perhaps in the other person’s best interest that the relationship ended. My favorite lyrics are: “Cause baby you look happier, you do/My friends told me one day I’ll feel it too/And until then I’ll smile to hide the truth/But I know I was happier with you.”

8. “New Man”

What. An. Underrated. Song. It’s still early, but I’m already certain that it will be underrated. If you haven’t listened to Sheeran’s album in full, you have to jump to this song because I guarantee that you have met a guy like the one that he describes. One of my friends messaged me asking if I thought it had “Fairfield vibes” and I can tell you that I’ve seen this type of guy walking around campus. My favorite lyrics are: “I heard he spent five hundred pounds on jeans/Goes to the gym at least six times a week/Wears boat shoes with no socks on his feet/And I heard he’s on a new diet and watches what he eats.”

9. “Hearts Don’t Break Around Here”

Although I don’t like the chorus on this track as much as some of the other ones, the song is still lovely and fits well on the album. It is slow, like many of the others, but it has strong vocals by Sheeran. I love the lyrics: “Fields and trees and her smell, fill my lungs/Spent my summer time beside her/And the rest of the year the same/She is the flint that sparks the lighter.”

10. “What Do I Know?”

Track No. 10 is a giant middle finger to anyone who has ever made you feel lesser for your career path, and I absolutely love it. The lyrics, “But Lord knows everybody’s talking ‘bout exponential growth/And the stock market crashing in their portfolios/While I’ll be sitting here with a song that I wrote/Sing, love could change the world in a moment/But what do I know?” cut deeply and Sheeran brilliantly calls out the narrow-mindedness of people who are convinced that there is only one way to achieve success in the world.

11. “How Would You Feel (Paean)”

Definitely in my top five favorite tracks on the album, “How Would You Feel (Paean)” is another classic Sheeran ballad. The lyrics: “In the summer, as the lilacs bloom/Love flows deeper than the river/Every moment that I spend with you” are quite possibly my favorite on the album, reminding me why I fell in love with Sheeran’s music; his songs are poetic in a way that many contemporary artists fail to produce.

12. “Supermarket Flowers”

When I played this song back to listen to it again, my roommate thought that it was the theme song to “The Office”, so if nothing else, “Supermarket Flowers” has that going for it. In all honesty, though, I love the song a lot. My favorite lyrics are, “So I’ll sing Hallelujah, you were an angel in the shape of my mum/When I fell down you’d be there holding me up/Spread your wings as you go/And when God takes you back/He’ll say Hallelujah, you’re home.” Can I take a flight from London now to give my mom a hug?

13. “Barcelona”

An upbeat song like “Shape of You”, “Barcelona” isn’t a favorite of mine, but it has a great beat and smooth lyrics that transition well with each verse. I can envision it as the perfect song to add to your road trip playlist (we’ve all had one) and it will probably be playing the next time that I have to travel somewhere.

14. “Bibia Be Ye Ye”

Perhaps the best part of this song (after the beat) are the lyrics that, when you look them up on A-Z Lyrics, have a translation next to them. “Bibia Be Ye Ye” translates to “everything will be alright” in Twi. My favorite lyrics are: “Someone told me, always say what's on your mind/And I am only, being honest with you, I I get lonely/And make mistakes from time to time/Se enioma enko ye (if thing's aren't working out)/Bibia Be Ye Ye (everything will be alright).”

15. “Nancy Mulligan”

Like “Galway Girl”, “Nancy Mulligan” has a Celtic folk sound, which I am typically not a fan of. However, the story behind the song makes it more compelling to listen to since it is the love story of Sheeran’s grandparents. Told by his eventual father-in-law that he could not marry Mulligan [Sheeran’s grandmother], William Sheeran ran off with her anyway, and they would later raise eight children, who would themselves have 22 grandchildren total, according to the lyrics. The love story is beautiful and perhaps my favorite part of the song is near the end, when it skips to later in their lives. The lyrics include: “From her snow white streak in her jet black hair/Over sixty years I’ve been loving her/Now we’re sat by the fire, in our old armchairs/You know Nancy I adore ya.”

16. “Save Myself”

The final track on Sheeran’s album is quite easily one of the biggest tearjerkers that he has ever produced. His most recent album release is probably the most honest, and this song is no exception. The lyrics that stuck with me from “Save Myself” are: “Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels/I drown it with a drink and out of date prescription pills/And all the ones that love me, they just left me on the shelf, no farewell/So before I save someone else, I’ve got to save myself.”