When Adele’s album 21 first hit the airwaves, people were obsessed with her mature-sounding voice and ability to belt out a tune. Now, 10 years later, Adele’s voice continues to grow and ripen with age as heard on her newest album 30.
The lyrics in 30 are based upon Adele’s eventful life. She explores her newly refurbished voice and the emotional aftershocks of her divorce from Simon Konecki. After recovering from vocal cord microsurgery to correct a vocal fold hemorrhage, Adele had to work hard to re-establish mastery of her craft. Combined with the emotional turbulence of divorce during production, the album grew into an autobiographical testament to her turbulent emotions and the rebirth of her singing prowess.
30’s 12-track album exhibits a variety of musical styles and heart-on-the-sleeve emotions. The opening song, “Strangers by Nature,” is characterized by a smooth, heartfelt vocal gliding over a jazzy keyboard and strings as she wistfully describes a relationship that has withered away. The second selection, “Easy on Me,” sounds like she is talking directly to Konecki, her ex. Adele exclaims that they’ve both changed and need to move on, a theme also prevalent in the “Game of Life.” On this track burning emotion is supported by a keyboard hype-man who fully supports her newfound independence. Another song, “My Little Love,” addresses how divorce impacts a parent-child relationship. The piece is composed of recordings of Adele talking to her son, Angelo, with lullaby-esque interludes accompanied by subdued strings.
30’s account of the pain of divorce required Adele to use new, and sometimes adventurous, singing styles. In “Oh My God,” Adele combines searing vocal licks with a Temptations-inspired groove to create a booty-shaking phenomenon. Once a broken girl, Adele screams to the world “who cares about him, I only need ‘me, myself, and I’.” The idea of moving forward is carried into the electro-country cowboy whistling of “Can I Get It” as Adele wonders if it’s safe to love again. 30 closes on “Love is a Game.” The mellow orchestration supports Adele’s reflections about how to pick up the pieces after a destructive divorce.
By the time 30 comes to a close, Adele has taken her audience through a typhoon of emotions. From the depressive acceptance of “Easy on Me” to the victorious strut of “Oh My God,” Adele explores the highs and lows of a marriage gone wrong. 30 is a remarkably strong, yet openly vulnerable collection of songs. If anyone needs 100mg of breakup support stat, this is the album to pick up on speed dial.