ED SHEERAN - +

In recent years the contours and boundaries of the mainstream have shifted, with its leading figures embracing an eclecticism that erases its sources and promising more than pop music can reasonably be expected to deliver.

Ed Sheeran sinks the knife into buttery britpop after five years of tormented folk-pop.

The success of "The A Team" (58,000 copies sold in its first week) sounded like a triumph for the artist, and a defeat for all the managers who had refused the young Yorkshireman their support and credit.

Pressure hasn't let up even after the brilliant chart success, since the rules of the music business always favor pigeonholing an artist with a handful of traits the general public can easily latch onto. But Ed Sheeran resembles those charming, baby-faced protagonists of 70s English pop, capable of churning out a string of hit singles with no allegiance to any single style.

"You Need Me, I Don't Need You", the musician's second offensive, is an overwhelming hip-hop track dripping with r&b and mod, forgoing the clean, linear appeal of a TV commercial, and opening the door to Ed's varied and fascinating world.

Autobiographical just enough, outrageous in its references to drugs and emotional alienation, "+" is a collection of hits waiting to be heard.

His music leaves itself open to criticism and doubt, but he is undoubtedly a fine songwriter, capable of updating the atmospheres of Damien Rice with the rhythm of Bruno Mars without his music losing any honesty or directness: the sufferings of the drug-addicted prostitute in "The A Team" are told with the same force as his most personal songs.

Ed Sheeran reins in the emotion in his voice with a style that links the exploits of old folksingers on "U.N.I." with some forgotten figures (Chris Clark) of blue-eyed soul on "Grade 8". His is a pop steeped in white soul that honors the noble tradition of songwriters like Elton John while asserting its modernity with sounds borrowed from the internet generation.

Like a new David Gray, he absorbs drum'n'bass on "Drunk", reinterprets acoustic pop to brilliant effect on "Small Bump", crosses hip-hop with hard rock on the sprightly "The City" and tackles the chimera of the noblest pop with just the right pathos on "Give Me Love".

A few missteps ("Wake Me Up", "This") reveal a fragility that could prove damaging down the line, but Ed Sheeran is constantly searching for new elements that might steer him away from the shallows of the mainstream.

The presence of the four bonus tracks on the limited edition is a reassuring touch: songs like "Autumn Leaves" and "Little Bird" sketch out songwriting territory closer to Paul Simon, and give hope that "+" is something more than just a container of good pop songs with no promise for the future.

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21/02/2012