Adele’s single-boring and self absorbed ( and slightly cringeworthy)?

[TheReluctantPhoenix]

Firstly, I love Adele’s music and very much admire her character and was very much looking forward to her new music.

However, her new song never goes anywhere. There is nothing, musically, to make your hair stand on end or really want to listen. If I were having a conversation in the car, I would not notice it in the background.

Of course, her voice is, as ever, sublime, but many of the ornaments sound forced and some good clear long notes would have been far better. In addition, after about 90 seconds it is , effectively, ‘on repeat’.

As for the words, I can just imagine her child listening to them as a teen or young adult and cringing.

Of course, the professional reviews love it, but I suspect they would not review Adele badly regardless of what she put out.

So AIBU or do I just not appreciate what is being done here (open to any opinions)?

It's horribly self-indulgent. Her ex and her child have to listen to this...... and he's maintained a very dignified presence in her life before and after their split.

She's a triumph of PR and marketing.......... not talent, IMO.

She is talented and shes got a gorgeous voice. Her accent doesn't bother me at all, but she always felt very authentic before. Not so much now. If she'd gone to the USA, lost weight and got fit and produced a new album without all the fanfare, i think people would still respect her.
Its all too much now.

Also i dont care what she calls her albums, thats up to her. Im not mad for her music but im an old git. But she has a lovely voice.

@Springplanting

no problem with her London accent. It's the affected 'chayance' in an American 'deep south' twang that grates.

Didnt someone ask john lennon why he sings in an American accent and he said cos it sells records?

The lyrics don't make any sense, as it's supposedly about her divorce. She was a child at 30? I've only listened once so maybe I missed something?

I heard the song for the first time this evening. It seemed self conscious and a bit bland. She has a great voice but I had no idea what she was singing about.

I liked ‘Rolling in the Deep’, not so keen on everything else.

but it's not a good attempt at the deep south accent - just fake and i cringe

It is so boring. So very, very boring.

Really interesting to see the threads on her, plus the comments on The Guardian and the Daily Mail. The public, for the most part, as not as enamoured as the media.

I love love love Adele, I couldn't be bothered to listen to the whole song. It was a bit like hello, but less interesting. I had big hopes too!

I imagine that she probably meant she thought she was emotionally immature or unprepared for what happened rather than actually a child. "Child" and "baby" get used a lot in songs without referring to actual children and babies.

I do like Send My Love To Your New Lover. Rolling in the Deep was good but got overplayed.

I am pleased to see, after 10 pages, and more than 500 votes, that my musical judgment is not totally askew, with the vote being roughly 7:1 in favour of it being boring.

Goes to show most of the DJs (and many, although not all, professional) reviewers eulogising it have clearly been incentivised one way or the other.

Interesting how good PR works.

I love Adele and was excited for this new release but find it very unlikeable. Not only is it rather dull and unmemorable, but also really quite whiny and self-indulgent. I read that the album is an open letter to her ex and 9yo son. If true, I think the whole tone of 'it's not my fault' is very unpalatable. I'm
looking forward to hearing the rest of the album though.

Goes to show most of the DJs (and many, although not all, professional) reviewers eulogising it have clearly been incentivised one way or the other.

I agree. I mean if it was as amazing as they’d like to make it out to be, there would surely be more people telling you YABU. It’s a decent enough radio filler song, but hardly worth orgasming about like some DJs seem to be. There’s a lot better music out there. Adele definitely seems to have this holy status in the music industry. Some of her songs are great, some are distinctly average and some are just boring. But there’s nothing groundbreaking in my opinion.
‘Chasing pavements’ is the worst I think - just because I’ve never understood how to chase a pavement. They don’t move, you just step on. It’s always bugged me 🤷‍♀️

I mean, her voice is powerful as all get out, but I'd like her to do something different with it.
Adele strikes me as music for the sort of people who buy their entire music collection from Tescos.

@Rosesareyellow,

Adele’s voice and compositions have always been far better than her lyrics, which have varied from self pitying to ‘diary of a stalker’…

Having said that , I loved ‘fire to the rain’ , ‘rolling in the deep’ and ‘Skyfall’.

She needs to take a leaf out of Elton John’s book and find a good lyricist to work with.

She is also a little obsessed with vocal ornamentation, rather than hitting a note with power and strength. Shirley Bassey will always be remembered for that last long note of Goldfinger (amongst other things).

This thread was not started to ‘beat up’ Adele, though. She is admirable in many ways, but risks wasting a great talent unless she is a bit more self-critical.

These days people stream their music or just let Alexa play them a tune.
I can't remember the last CD I bought !
It's sad that seeing the artwork on an album and reading the lyrics ( if that was on there ) or who produced the music and where they recorded it etc is slowly dying out. It was an event buying an album of your favourite artist!
Vinyl is quite expensive to buy these days

I take back what I said upthread.

(I suggested that this single was being pushed in the UK as she had good PR, and Adele being British)

I am on the other side of the world and it's now just as bad here. 🙈. I was driving and it came on the radio. So I changed channels. And bloody hell, there it was again on a completely different station. I only heard it for the first time on Friday I think it was. Two days later and it's already overplayed. And it's hardly a memorable song along type song. It's just the same as every one of her others.

And here was me thing Ed was seriously overplayed.

@the80sweregreat I’ve bought 3 CDs in the last fortnight having not bought any for about 5 years. Absolutely loving being immersed in ONE artist and screeching along in the car.

And yes… I’ve been reading the booklets and the lyrics.

… and it’s been in part due to the repetitive radio stations and ads - I just want to play the music.

Video is a snore fest too. Has there ever been a music video that did the "story" thing, with at least 90 seconds of film before the song starts, that worked apart from Thriller and Backstreet's Back (which was an obvious homage to Thriller and clearly tongue in cheek anyway)?

Wombats lemon to a knife fight 21 seconds needed before song starts Excellent video Lana del rey Ride - monologue (marmite to many but I love the song so can get past the daddy issues ) 3 minute 24 second intro! (streetwalker/artist finding solace in older father figures/biker gangs) Fantastic production on the music (Rick Rubin)

Controversial opinion: Adele would have no career if Amy Winehouse had lived

My opinion too. Adele is talented but Amy was another level entirely.

I just played it on Spotify. Same old sound. Very underwhelming.

60 seconds of Sam mooching I can manage Queen Bey's monologue in All Night is beautifully done. Lemonade was a concept album though. That monologue is 3 minutes but I love her Twisted Sister's sadistic father's drill sergeantesque vitriol (2.40) makes sense with the title (We're not gonna take it)

Just looked it up on youtube...and dare I say, I like it! lol. I just genuinely like her voice and hearing her sing. But yes I do like Hello and my all time favourite is Hometown Glory. People like what they like, don't get so het up about it.

Just looked it up on youtube...and dare I say, I like it! lol.

Noooo, heretic. Haven't you read all the stuff upthread about her having a working class accent and a child out of wedlock? How dare you like her music?

I find the combination of her music and her voice to be utterly depressing