WASHINGTON — Heartbreak takes time to heal. It can consume you if you let it, but it鈥檚 important to spend time alone and reflect on how the romance broke down.
Maybe that鈥檚 why Adele took so long to create her new album, 鈥�25,鈥� and return to our collective view. It鈥檚 tough to trek through old flames, even if they helped catapult the singer to almost mythical proportions.
After the rousing success of 2011鈥檚 鈥�21,鈥� the singer stepped far away from the spotlight to live a life of normalcy, to raise her young son and repatch her spirit. In a recent , Adele took solace in the little things that get lost with superstardom: like going to the supermarket and driving through rush-hour traffic. Adele is in what she聽calls聽a very serious relationship with her son鈥檚 father.
In a way, Adele is the anti-superstar. She alludes to feeling uncomfortable when she meets her idols, that she鈥檒l snap out of this dream and return to the crime-riddled district of Tottenham where she grew up.
Musically, the singer sounds like she鈥檚 in a better place. Adele trades in most of the melancholy vibe of 鈥�21鈥� for a brighter, forward-looking perspective. Throughout her new album, 鈥�25,鈥� Adele looks back to when life was simpler.
In getting over the tumultuous relationship that fueled 鈥�21,鈥� this album finds the singer embracing the bad times and walking toward certain freedom.
鈥淓verybody tells me it鈥檚 鈥榖out time that I moved on,鈥� Adele croons near the top of 鈥淩iver Lea,鈥� a standout near the album鈥檚 end. 鈥淭hat I need to learn to lighten up and learn how to be young.鈥�
At 27, Adele sings with the same fervor of soul music icons Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack. The music occasionally feels big, yet the soundtrack is largely recessive, allowing Adele鈥檚 great tenor to ascend to the fore.
On 鈥淗ello,鈥� soft piano keys waft in the background, slowly rising to accompany Adele鈥檚 picturesque viewpoint. 鈥淗ello from the outside!,鈥� she wails, as if to forcibly push the apology she references. Elsewhere, on 鈥淲hen We Were Young,鈥� Adele asks for just one more moment of familiarity: The past is slowly trickling away, and these moments won鈥檛 resurface again.
In the end, 鈥�25鈥� stands as a valiant comeback for Adele. Her days are a bit brighter and they’re clearly shining through.
Watch Adele’s video for “Hello,” below.
