I just wish Sheeran had added a personal twist, and made some effort to sound different, instead of sounding like another carbon copy. I know there is no such thing as an original idea, and that immature pop musicians borrow while mature pop musicians steal. Well, apart from a big video starring Sheeran as a vampire, which seems to have got more attention and interest than the actual song itself. Ed Sheeran without his guitar is like a dog without a bone, especially as there’s nothing to replace the guitar in this song.
Heavy synth production is not only unsuited to Sheeran’s musical aesthetic it is also not what people recognise and listen to him for. It’s as though Sheeran heard last year’s excellent Róisín Machine (or, as Alexis Petridis suspected in his review for the Guardian, The Weeknd’s After Hours) and has intended to blindly copy it, rather than sophisticatedly apply it to what he does. But for the most part the song sounds, production-wise, like a budget Róisín Murphy. I am particularly keen on the song’s opening refrain, with an atmosphere partially reminiscent of The Cure‘s ‘Lullaby’, and Sheeran’s “hoo-ooh, hoo-oooooh” vocal hook running over the top. The lyrics feel equally generic and perfunctory, with no clear relevance to his real-life experiences.ĭon’t get me wrong, ‘Bad Habits’ is a fine pop song. Not only is ‘Bad Habits’ heavily synth-based to the point of ostracising Sheeran’s acoustic guitar – his unique selling point and most distinctive feature – but when I first heard it, Sheeran’s voice seemed unrecognisable. I could see this working if Sheeran was to take inspiration from, say, Robert Fripp or Tin Machine, but not Daft Punk. This in itself is fine and admirable as a way of avoiding stale artistic complacency, but only truly works when the finished product, while being different and surprising, still sounds recognisably like the artist in question. So I wanted to go in the studio and make something that was totally different.”
“People see me as the acoustic singer-songwriter who does ballads and there was just a lot of that. The main headline here is that Ed Sheeran has attempted to reinvent himself – “I always aim to push myself and my music in new directions and hopefully you’ll hear that on the new single,” he said while promoting the single. ‘Bad Habits’ leaves me with mixed views – mainly because it doesn’t sound a lot like the Ed Sheeran we know and love at all. But on top of all this, he is working on the follow-up to 2017’s internationally successful, if overplayed, Divide album, as teased with the arrival of this new song, entitled ‘Bad Habits’. I thought he would be too busy spending time with his family and managing other artists such as Maisie Peters on his Gingerbread record label. The announcement of a new Ed Sheeran single took me somewhat by surprise. Noise11.Should I praise this single for its understanding of mainstream pop consumers' tastes, or condemn it for its inoffensive conformity (and lack of philosophical stimulation)? The Official Singles Chart Top 100 is revealed on every Friday at 5.45pm. Tom Grennan hops one place to Number 10.įurther down, Doja Cat & The Weeknd’s You Right – taken from Doja’s newly-released album Planet Her – opens at 14, while Becky Hill & David Guetta’s Remember is on course to break into the Top 20, up four places to 18. Italian rockers Måneskin are on track to continue climbing the Top 10 with two songs: I Wanna Be Your Slave lifts one place to Number 5, while their cover of Beggin’ is up three spots to Number 7.Ĭalvin Harris could score his 27th Top 10 single this week as By Your Side ft. After five weeks at the top, Olivia Rodrigo’s Good 4 U looks set to drop to Number 2, while The Weeknd’s Save Your Tears completes the Top 3.
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