Since bursting into the charts in 2011, Ed Sheeran has made his mark with a string of hits, an army of fans and praise from pop mega stars such as Taylor Swift. Now, he is back with his highly anticipated second album ‘X’.

‘One’ is a classic Ed Sheeran track, with soft vocals and playful guitar, it is exactly what fans would expect to hear. Despite never really reaching a peak, it is still a pleasant track and the chorus will resound in your head after you hear it.

The lead single from the album, ‘Sing’ is a little less like what is generally expected from Ed. It is fast paced and extremely catchy, and even though it keeps it’s acoustic core, there are elements of different genres within the track. Ed touches on rap for the verses and the chorus is laced with disco. Definitely, the stand out track on the album.

‘Don’t’ beautifully showcases how much Ed has grown since his first album, there is a lot more maturity in his song writing and the control in his voice is admirable. Once again, this track is based on an acoustic sound, but is padded out with really catchy beats and nods to some r ‘n’ b.

‘Photograph’  is like a throwback to Ed’s first offering ‘+’ , his soft vocals are moving and the guitar parts are played beautifully. However, the track seems slightly lost among the big hitters on the album and will be easily forgotten. The lyrics seem to lack meaning and it has all the hallmarks of a filler track.

After the slight dip in the record, ‘Runaway’ provides yet more rhythm and blues and further cements Ed’s progression as a songwriter. The songs best attribute is the throbbing bass line, that is discretely hidden under the steady and rough acoustic guitar.

When an artist has great success with a debut album, they often find it hard to match and dwindle back into obscurity. However, with this offering, Ed Sheeran has created his own unique sound. As well as the more r ‘n’ b and rap inspired tracks he has also included some of the acoustic lullabies that brought him so much success, with this eclectic mix he will no doubt please his die hard fans and attract some new ones.