Rolling in the Deep, Adele

Adele troubles me. Her popularity is almost certainly due to her voice which isn't exactly up my street - it hints at the soulful, but lacks a certain power, sometimes she overdoes it and belts it out X Factor style, and at other times it's just a little grating. But after so much hype, I decided to give her 21 material a quick listen today, and this is definitely the standout track. It's like an old disco track, incorporating elements of 60's soul (that piano, the gospel choir, the handclaps), accompanying heartbreak with an incongruent upbeat melody, suggesting there's always better things to come. It's quietly catchy, somewhat powerful and it's extremely refreshing to see a popstar writing their own songs.

The problem is though, I think that's the core issue with this song and the album. Throughout the album, and this song, it kind of deals with teenage issues, the end of relationships, heartbreak yadda yadda yadda. I know I didn't complain when Marling covered the same material on Alas I Cannot Swim, but truth be told, she was only 18 then, and added a lyrical grace to the material. Adele's album is named 21 though, surely she has moved on from this and has something slightly more interesting to say. But sadly, lyrically, her songs are a tad 1-dimensional, relying on her voice to power through the song's weaknesses. The arrangement in this is lovely though, and it seems there's plenty of power in her material to keep everyone listening to for now.