- (Subtract)

Even if - (subtract) wasnt the predestined title for the last of Ed Sheerans mathematic titles, the name would suit the haunted 2023 album. Absence hangs heavy over the record, perhaps the inevitable result of the singer/songwriter coming through a period where he fought a plagiarism lawsuit over his hit "Thinking Out Loud" (he emerged victorious the day before - (subtract) was released), supported his wife as she discovered a cancerous tumor during her second pregnancy (it was successfully removed after her daughters birth), and saw the death of his close friend Jamal Edwards. As a method of processing, Sheeran hunkered down to collaborate with Aaron Dessner of the National, thereby mimicking an introspective move Taylor Swift made a few years earlier in the 2020s. Dessners work with Sheeran is as subtle and sympathetic as his collaborations with Swift, yet they dont bear a distinctive fingerprint; he doesnt force the songwriter to follow his lead, he fleshes out their ideas with taste and restraint. As Sheeran is naturally a laid-back performer, the pair fit almost a little bit too neatly: where certain hooks and melodic refrains wouldve been pushed into the spotlight on previous Sheeran albums, theyre lying in the background here. That tender touch when combined with a preponderance of ballads turns - (subtract) into a curiously recessive album; its emotions are raw, but its execution is reserved. Listen closely and the record teems with grief and uncertainty -- and sometimes, as on the bonus track "Toughest," which explicitly mentions his wifes cancer, it doesnt take much concentration to note this turbulence -- yet Sheerans musical instincts lead him toward resolution. Deep feelings are calmed within the music itself, either through the gentle sway of acoustic guitar strums or Sheerans keening falsetto, recorded moments that offer reassurance in a way the songs themselves dont. Ultimately, that means - (subtract) provides a sense of comfort thats possibly accidental; even at his darkest moments, Sheeran steers himself toward the light. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

メジャー・デビュー以来続けてきた、数学記号をタイトルに冠した〈マスマティックス・プロジェクト〉もついにこの作品で最後。シリーズ4作目となる新作はナショナルのアーロン・デスナーがプロデュースを務め、いくつかの曲ではソングライティングにも参加している。本人に起こった悲しい出来事を背景に制作されたこともあってポップな楽曲はほとんどなく、アレンジもシンプルで全体的に内省的でシリアスな内容。ゆえに歌声とメロディーは心の叫びを表現したような生々しさがあり、これまでの作品とは違う儚さと美しさを放っている。彼のシンガー・ソングライターとしての意地とプライドを示したような作品だ。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二