25

Overall, “25” does live up to the legacy of “21” – ok, it holds few surprises and it would be interesting to see Adele try alternative styles and ideas but when it comes down to it, it’s the sense of “every-woman” emotion that is what people respond to in Adele and her ability to share the secrets of her heart with authenticity and no pretense.

25 is not a bad album, nor is it an excellent one — it’s just good, that’s all. Given her towering accomplishments, Adele doesn’t need to do much more than gift listeners with the glory of her magnificent voice.

25 doesn’t necessarily meet the fire of its predecessor, but it meets its mark — a whole different undertaking when tasked from the top.

Regardless of how one might feel about the spiritual utility of pop music, Adele’s instincts as a singer remain unmatched; she is, inarguably, the greatest vocalist of her generation, an artist who instinctively understands timbre and pitch, when to let some air in. It does not seem unfair to ask that dynamism of her songs, too.

UK singing sensation Adele is back with a new full-length album.

25 is sumptuous; it’s ballad heavy, yet every note teems with emotional investment.

Adele's voice has never sounded more certain and more dominating. Even the quietest songs, Million Years Ago and All I Ask, seem to expand to fill the space.

These are mostly decent songs but the lyrical landscape feels wearily well-trodden and it’s hard not to just want a bit more from an artist with the freedom to risk anything.

English soul singer returns with another hit-filled blockbuster.

Adele is a singular talent, and the moments of brilliance are well worth wading through the few flashes of average.

The finished product here seems like an attempt to up the ante on the drama and showstopping that permeated 21.

It's that refusal to commit to anything completely edgy that will keep 25 at the top of the charts and in the stocking of every kid, parent and grandparent everywhere, even if the snobs don't buy in.

Even if 25 is a bit dozier than its predecessor, it’s worth noting that some of its strongest songs are its most minimal.

Never one for youthful giddiness, her third album is strikingly authoritative, tending towards the imperious even when expressing vulnerability yet rarely coming over as soullessly efficient.

Next time round it’ll be good to hear her break out of that comfort zone: while she’s earned the right to stick to that tried and trusted formula, a little bit of experimentation could go a long way.

Wrapped around a pervasive piano-and-strings combination that runs through the album, things soon become a little predictable, and her co-write with Ryan Tedder, Remedy, is simply boring.

This is the sound of someone playing the game so safely they might as well have strapped on shin-pads and a crash helmet.

Adele and her collaborators clearly seem to understand what the world wants from her — giant, tear-out-your-heart (and maybe your hair) songs that provide the same kind of sobby emotional wallop of, say, watching The Fault in Our Stars while eating a tub of ice cream and looking through old high-school yearbooks.

‘25’ is as straight-down-the-line ‘Adele album’ as it gets. Adele could’ve done whatever she bloody well liked at this stage – it’s a bit of a shame to see her so content to settle into old habits

Adele has created an album with universal appeal powered solely by her vocal gifts. It goes down easy, but there’s a reason albums like this don’t come around that often: it’s exhausting to feel this much emotion.

The bulk of 25 is more mindful of using the correct knife and fork, with piano chords dialled up and crunchy specifics dialled down.

25 is, like its predecessor, weighed down by its soggy, vanilla ballads, few of which manage to escape their '70s- and '80s-indebted singer-songwriter schmaltz the way “Hello” (just barely) does.

As 25 continues, it’s gradually swamped by the kind of dreary piano ballads that are Adele’s fall-back position ... It leaves things sounding a little too much like they had been designed by committee.

Maybe she’s playing it safe particularly because it’s such a widely regarded return and it’s easier to do this than come back with a sound that goes against your normal modus operandi.

The album picks up where 21 left off. While the title might suggest change, Adele shows no interest in reinvention, I guess why should she?

25’s big issue is that, in every sense, it dwells a little too heavily on the past.

The fact that Adele has eschewed reinvention this time around, and instead tried to make a whole album of ‘Someone Like You’s, is a shame.

25 is a clear attempt to cash in on the success of its mega-selling predecessor by dealing in heartbreak.

Safe as houses, emotionally manipulative, a touch depressing and entirely forgettable, this is a dreary lesson in how to manage expectations.