Single Review: Adele – Easy On Me
George Adamson reviews Adele’s latest single, Easy On Me.
Adele’s ‘easy on me’ is a compelling and deeply introspective account of divorce, a testimonial plea to her son about the ‘highest hopes’ and ‘good intentions’ that would ultimately prove futile. The record marks a return to music after a 6-year hiatus, and listeners have been instantly charmed with the pared-back yet forceful single; it smashed the record for the most streams in 24 hours, knocking BTS’ ‘Butter’ off the top spot.
Listeners expecting a more dramatic ballad from Adele, reminiscent of ‘Hello’ or ‘Someone Like You’, may not be instantly hooked in by the single. However – this is by no means a criticism. The song is not supposed to be a romantic outpouring or the plea of a woman in a troubled relationship. Adele is simply attempting to make peace with the circumstances around her marriage with ex-husband Simon Konecki. She recognises her naivety – “I was still a child”, and even how fame prevented her from making sense of the world “Didn’t get the chance to/Feel the world around me”. ‘Easy on me’, then, is perhaps the most ideal way to inaugurate her upcoming album ‘30’. Now in her 30s, Adele has matured – she has learnt more about herself than she was ever able to since fame, and listeners should not underestimate the emotional gravitas of that.
Adele begins the song recruiting the metaphor of a river – “There ain’t no gold in this river/That I’ve been washing my hands in forever”. The river seems to convey her inner consciousness. She knows that her marriage to Konecki was fruitless, regardless of her repeated attempts to save it, and ‘there is hope’, but this requires her breaking free in order to understand herself more and find out what she really wants from the world. She hopes that her nine-year-old son Angelo will be able to understand that, although painful and difficult, it was vital that she broke this cycle of unhappiness.
A compelling, introspective and mature comeback from Adele
The song is accompanied with a music video directed by Xavier Dolan, whom Adele has described as her ‘creative soulmate’. Indeed, it conveys how Adele has chosen to move on, as she moves out – symbolising how she is ready to move on with her life, and contrasting how she moved into the house featured in ‘Hello’. Her phone conversation before the video helps illustrate this further – she claims that she is “all done”, everything is packed, and she is going to hit the road. These conversations over the phone make her appear more relatable; they emphasise the invisible barriers between people and show that we ultimately have to deal with relationship issues on our own.
‘Easy on me’ is an outstanding comeback from Adele, and I eagerly await ‘30’, which releases on November 19th.
