WORTH A LOOK?: ****

OUT: 20/11

TRACKLIST: Hello; Send My Love (To Your New Lover); I Miss You; When We Were Young; Remedy; Water Under The Bridge; River Lea; Love In The Dark; Million Years Ago; All I Ask; Sweetest Devotion.

What’s that we hear? The sound of business as usual and no risks being taken.

Which is undoubtedly welcome to those wanting a repeat of the 30 million sales of Adele’s last album 21 as well as its songwriting quality.

There are three stand-out moments here: the first being new single Hello, which topped the US and UK charts on its release last month. Its lyric is the perfect sequel to Someone Like You and fits perfectly with the  supposed make-up (as opposed to break-up) theme of the album.

Second stand-out moment is the nostalgia-fest that is When We Were Young with its beautiful: ‘You look like a movie, you sound like a song, my God this reminds me of When We Were Young.’ Nostalgia is a recurring theme on 25 which is unusual in one so young, although Adele’s always sounded older than her years. She’s also closer in age now to 28 than 25.

Final stand-out moment is in the 60s-tinged Million Years Ago which catches fire as plucked guitar and bluesy heartbroken croon sings: ‘I miss when life was a party to be thrown but that was a Million Years Ago.’

Our favourite Adele song is Rolling In The Deep and we would’ve preferred something a little faster in tempo than the no more than second gear achieved here with only really the country-ish closer Sweetest Devotion coming anywhere near. We’re also baffled why the rousing Sia co-writes (Alive and Bird Set Free) don’t feature, although they perhaps ultimately sound more Sia than Adele (both appear on Sia’s next album This Is Acting out 29/1).

What should Adele do next? Announce the tour we all want to see her on including a Glastonbury headliner slot.

• Picture via Facebook courtesy Adele
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