Album Review: Ed Sheeran - +

Ed Sheeran - +

Despite being around since back in 2005 and having recorded countless EPs, + is Ed Sheeran's debut album and the mainstream arrival of a big new star (although don't tell the 20 year old that - as he says on You Need Me, I Don't Need You 'they say I'm up and coming like I'm fucking in an elevator'.)

It's been hard to avoid Sheeran's this summer. The lovely debut single The A Team has spent three months inside the UK top 20 whilst follow-up single You Need Me, I Don't Need You remains in the top 10. Next single The Lego House is also sure to reach the upper echelons of the chart when it's released over the next few weeks.

Sheeran is hard to pigeonhole. At times, his beautiful acoustic songs are reminiscent of recent greats such as Damien Rice or Newton Faulkner - indeed Wake Me Up, Small Bump and Give Me Love are amongst the best acoustic tracks you'll hear this year. However, he does then occasionally show his hip-hop influences, replacing gentle melodies with energetic, staccato sounds, rap and quite some attitude.

Whether this makes the 20 year old James Morrison for the kids or Dappy for the adults, I'm not sure. Still, I enjoyed + more than I thought I would and when Sheeran is good, he is very, very good.