ADELE

adele returns a little older & more mature since her debut, ‘19’. ‘21’ finds her in fine voice, managing to be both tender & belting in equal measure, serving up a solid set of soulful pop that will no-doubt shift by the bucket-load. current single ‘rolling in the deep’ is a modern soul stomper about an errant ex; the literally banging ‘rumour has it’ channels the avenging rock‘n’roll soul of wanda jackson; there’s a fine, mellow, acoustic bossa nova-style take on the cure’s ‘lovesong’ & ‘don’t you remember’ is a classically styled ballad which feels like the kind of song you’ve known all your life. with production from rick rubin no less, this affirms adele as a talent who will be around for a long time to come. “it really is so marvellous, you’re almost compelled to stand up & applaud it after the first listen” – bbc.