"Thinking Out Loud" - Ed Sheeran

You know, I like Ed Sheeran's new angle just fine, but I also feel that he may be straying a bit too far from his roots. Sensitive, soulful cutie-pie roots. Where's a good balance between the two? I'd say it's this song.

"Thinking Out Loud" is my favourite Ed Sheeran song. It combines what was good about old Ed Sheeran, and what's good about new Ed Sheeran. Essentially, it's Ed Sheeran, fully refined. So, to understand where I'm coming from, let's go over both sides of Ed Sheeran again. What works about them, and what doesn't work about them.

So let's start with old Ed Sheeran first. This one was a certified sweetheart. He knew how to write songs about girls and for girls. And dammit, his cheeks just looked so pinchable while he was doing it! The cheeks on his face, I mean.

Okay, so it's obvious what works here. He's got that soulful cuteness that's bound to make all the girls swoon. But it also puts him in a position of being typecast as an artist, because many of his earlier singles sounded the same. Acoustic guitar, crooning voice, sweet lyrics. Fine if that's what you're aiming for, but it doesn't give you a whole lot of range.

Fast forward to April 2014, where Sheeran releases the debut single off his new album, x. That new single is called "Sing".

Well, it's certainly more exciting and a hell of a lot different from his older stuff. But the problem with "Sing" and his other experimental songs kind of stem from the problems with his older music: he's already built up this reputation, and that makes the new Ed Sheeran kinda hard to buy. I like "Sing". I like it a lot, in fact. But my affinity for that song doesn't completely erase my disbelief that Ed Sheeran is now this suave, funky musician that wants to get it on. His reputation precedes his newest album.

So this is where his newest hit, "Thinking Out Loud", comes in. I think it bridges the gap between old and new perfectly. It kind of starts out that way, too. It's slow and meandering, like an old Sheeran song, but the guitar also sounds more lively, like a new Sheeran song. This is exactly the song that Sheeran needs for me to really get into him as an artist. With more songs like this, he might just supersede his reputation without being too alienating. But I'm just thinking out loud.