By Nandita Chennakrishnan and Yashas Ramakrishnan

Hey there!

Nandita and Yashas here, back with another article for November’s edition! This month’s theme ‘Spirals’ was one that was so ambiguous and open-ended that  we found ourselves quite puzzled as to what we could bring our readers. 2021 has provided us with a plethora of new music, with album after album being released, ranging from rap to pop. One that ultimately caught our eye and suited our theme perfectly was ‘30’ by Adele. Adele’s new studio album explores, quite simply as she sums it up, “divorce, babe, divorce”. Known to be an eclectic singer and a hallmark in the pop-soul music industry, we hoped that her new album would take us through her downward and eventually upward spiral filled with love, loss and pain after her divorce. As she navigates her way through the spiral by dealing with her turbulent emotions and coping with her mental health, the English song-writer doesn’t fail to bring us another stunning project. 

The first song, “Strangers By Nature”, was written to pay homage to Judy Garland, who played Dorothy in the 1939 film adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz”. The jazzy notes of the piano takes us back to Old Hollywood and whimsical Disney movie soundtracks. Next, the lead single, “Easy On Me”, starts off slow but erupts into power . This track brings us quintessential Adele and reminds us of the reason we keep coming back to her time and time again – her stunning vocals. This track, accompanied by her music video, shows the depth of the artist she truly is. The way in which the video slowly fades into color is the perfect amalgamation of the old Adele who is struggling and hurting and the new Adele who is a stronger, fiercer woman. 

She continues with her next song, “My Little Love”, which is arguably the best song on this album. Written as a confession to her 9-year-old son Angelo, whom she had with her ex-husband. The track includes snippets from a real, raw conversation with Angelo, where Adele tries to explain her emotions and her decisions. This track brings out her maternal side and cleverly combines it with the therapeutic nature of the conversations she has with her son. To describe this as emotional would be an understatement. We found the most memorable snippet to be the one below because it was such a raw profession of her unconditional love for her son.

“Oi, I feel like you don’t love me”

“Why do you feel like that?”

“Do you like-like me?”
“You know mummy doesn’t like anyone else like I like you, right?”

She ends this track with a truly heart wrenching line: “I feel a bit frightened that I might feel like this a lot.”

Moving on to “Cry Your Heart Out”, the fast upbeat nature of the song takes a step away from the world of “My Little Love” and yet still strings along the jazz and reggae elements seen from the very beginning of the album. The next two tracks, “Oh My God” and “Can I Get It”,  add a modern and sensual tone to the album while maintaining Adele’s signature soul style. 

Upon reaching “I Drink Wine”, you will notice a theme switch.This six-minute track is well summed up in its title. Her typical vocals are accompanied by choral voices and the trembles in her voice are as authentic as they can get. The subtle notes of the guitar in “Woman Like Me” fade smoothly into Adele’s powerful voice while she elegantly vents out her frustrations. “Hold On” is another showstopper, where the emotions start flurrying in again with lines like “Right now, I truly hate being me”. 

Adele returns with another six-minute recording in “To Be Loved”, which ends with  an unforgettable climax, where she frantically repeats, “Let it be known that I tried”, while still maintaining perfect pitch without breaking a sweat. The concluding number, “Love Is A Game” ends the album with an important message of self-love and a reminder for all listeners to go and find their joy within themselves. 

This album is probably one of the best works that Adele has produced throughout her career. She explored a variety of different musical styles like jazz and reggae while still keeping to her own roots of deep, soulful music. Her loss, grievances and heartbreak were exhilaratingly  conveyed through this masterpiece. This work of succour and catharsis has evidently not only helped Adele get through her tough times, but will also aid her listeners in their own journeys. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to every bit of it. It’s safe to say that many of the songs from ‘30’ have secured a permanent spot in our playlists.