Ed Sheeran – Play (Pink Vinyl)

Long having broken from his breakout mathematically represented spurt of LP titles (+, -, x, # and a fifth, =), folk superstar Ed Sheeran now offers the world Play, breaking into media control symbology: perhaps the new record will be stylised as ? in due course. Made after spates of travel to Goa, India, the album reflects yet a renewed, internationally informed spark by the ginger folk-pop great: lead single ‘Azizam’ incorporates Persian musical elements – the LP centrepiece, “azizam” translates from Persian as “my beloved”, drawing on Sheeran’s relationship with his wife Cherry and collaborative streak shared with Iranian producer Ilya Salmanzadeh – while ‘Old Phone’ offers a nostalgic look back on his early career. Later songs like ‘Sapphire’ and ‘Symmetry’ go on to exemplify Sheeran’s newfound passion for expressing and channeling the heritages of his closest beloveds and associates.