Following Subtract (stylized as -), topping his most well-rounded work was going to be tough. Ed Sheeran gives that his best shot with Autumn Variations — an album that prioritizes music over radio-friendly bops.

The journey to Autumn Variations

Full disclosure, Sheeran's Equals (stylized as =) album is my favorite of his. I think it balances his pop hits like “Bad Habits” and “Tides” with some beautiful love songs (“First Times,” “Love in Slow Motion,” “Collide”).

But Subtract was by far Sheeran's biggest step in his career. While it didn't have something as anthemic as “Castle on the Hill” or as radio-friendly as “Shivers,” but “Eyes Closed” filled the void of a radio-friendly single. Subtract also contained a love song on par with the likes of “Thinking Out Loud” and “Perfect” in “Colourblind” — a throwback to the likes of the Righteous Brothers and “Unchained Melody.”

It's his best album as a singer-songwriter. So where would he go from here? Autumn Variations is Sheeran making a record for himself first, fans second. And that's okay. If more artists were able to prioritize making good music over appealing to labels, they'd have longevity like Sheeran.

Autumn Variations review

“Is this how it feels, to be in love? This is magical,” Sheeran sings on Autumn's Variations's opening track, “Magical.”

This is the obligatory”Perfect”-like love song that Sheeran has on his albums. He's able to once again show that he's not short on writing catchy love tunes. It's a relatively simple song, but sometimes simple is effective. The choir-like backing vocals in the choruses add an extra layer of beauty.

While there aren't going to be singles from Autumn Variations, you know what songs Sheeran has the most faith in. Those would be ones he played during his Amazon Music set — “American Town,” “Magical,” “Blue,” and “Plastic Bag.”

All four are standouts on the album. Granted, “Plastic Bag” actually sounds better during the live performance. That's mainly due to the reverb dominating Sheeran's vocals in the verses. Every time it begins, I'm fooled for a millisecond thinking it's “Here Comes the Sun” (tell me you don't hear it).

“Blue,” as the title suggests, is akin to Phoebe Bridgers' early days. It's Sheeran's answer to a song like “Scott Street” and falsetto-laden in the verses. Foy Vance, an Irish musician whose fingerprints are all over “The Hills of Aberfeldy,” has a songwriting credit on “Blue.” It's a song basically saying that silence isn't always golden — something true in all relationships.

Even if Sheeran wrote Autumn Variations for himself, he's still looking out for his fans. And if you want a radio-friendly pop song, the closest is “American Town.” It has that contemporary Christian worship music guitar riff that was stolen from U2 in the background as Sheeran sings about the mundanity of relationships. “England,” the album's second track, has a triumphant sound that makes you want to stick your head out of a window and smell fresh air. I'd be shocked if this isn't used in an opening of a coming-of-age film someday.

Flexing his musical muscles

Sheeran also extends his musical range on Autumn Variations. There are artificial beats heard throughout the album, but Sheeran's last two albums have prioritized guitars first. In fact, “The Day I Was Born” actually has a guitar solo! The song features a solo for the first time in a long time. Its verses nearly push country music, or at least what country music has become. Think “Baby I'm Right” by Darius Rucker minus the twang.

“Spring” notably brings Sheeran back to his guitar roots. He has fallen in love with the loop backing tracks on most of his recent songs (Subtract included), but it's always refreshing to hear real music in the forefront. An acoustic guitar melody carries “Spring” as Sheeran croons about longing for spring. (Does this mean Spring Variations will have a song called “Autumn” about missing the fall?) There's also a notable amount of piano sprinkled in Autumn Variations. Songs like “Amazing,” “Head > Heels,” and “The Day I Was Born” are all driven by a piano.

Should you listen to Autumn Variations?

On “Tides,” the inaugural track off of Equals, Sheeran sings the line, “Life is changing tides.” Autumn Variations signals a new shift in Sheeran's career.

Sure, it sounds like he will still make pop music — he revealed the first project post-Autumn Variations won't be another season-themed album, but rather a pop album. But you have to imagine that Sheeran will retain his desire to make this type of music.

Ed Sheeran is the king of writing honest albums — he's like the everyman for music. This time around, it's not all about sorrow. How many artists write about the temptation to drink away your sorrows at your lowest point or eating Chinese food on the floor?

Autumn Variations doesn't quite reach the heights that Ed Sheeran did on Subtract lyrically, or have the same type of foot-tapping effect that Equals had sonically, but it barely misses those marks. It's a lot more upbeat than Subtract — not to say that's a high bar — and is the perfect (pun intended) warm hug needed for fall that's usually reserved for pumpkin spice lattes.

Grade: A-

Autumn Variations is out now.