November 19, 2021
Columbia Records
2xLP
Adele’s 30 is an album so anticipated that it’s print-run temporarily threw a wrench into global vinyl manufacturing. Water under the bridge at this point. Inspired by the fallout from her recent divorce and the personal inventory that comes with turning the album’s titular age, 30 shows Adele in a typically introspective mood. Her range remains just as wide at the age of 30 as it did at 19, 21 and 25 but her arrangements have switched up slightly. There are still plenty of piano ballads here that would sound right at home on previous albums but also present are also straightforward dance tracks like the Max Martin-produced “Can I Get It”.