Tim de Lisle, writing for the Daily Mail, gave Ed Sheeran’s new album Play two stars, describing it as an improvement on his previous release but faulting its lyrics, intermittent rapping and moments of self-congratulation.
De Lisle wrote that Play is "brisk and buoyant" and represents some artistic development for a performer whose recent fortunes appeared to be ebbing after Autumn Variations failed to sustain long-term chart presence. The reviewer noted that Sheeran incorporates Indian influences on the record, including songs in Hindi and Punjabi, and called the album a response to a "darkest period" in the singer’s life that included his wife Cherry’s cancer diagnosis during pregnancy, the sudden death of mentor Jamal Edwards MBE, and two court cases over alleged plagiarism.
While praising the album’s energy, De Lisle criticised many of the lyrics as clichéd or clumsy, asking provocatively whether Sheeran had been "using ChatGPT to write his cheesy lyrics?" The review singled out moments of what it called unconvincing rap and lines the critic described as gloating, such as the lyric "I won both cases." De Lisle also pointed to a lyric about "building my own bricks" and a love-song line that reads, "We're alone, two silhouettes just touching skin," as examples of the album’s weaker moments.
The review identified For Always, a paean to fatherhood, as one of the sweeter tracks, and A Little More, about a deteriorated friendship, as among the least effective. Another track, Sapphire, was described as anthemic but reminiscent of Sheeran’s earlier work, prompting the critic to suggest that the singer may be reverting to familiar territory.
Sheeran, 33, has been a dominant figure in popular music, but critics and commentators have tracked a softer commercial performance in recent years. De Lisle referenced the short chart life of Autumn Variations — which left the U.K. top 100 after eight weeks — and contrasted it with Sheeran’s earlier albums, some of which sustained far longer runs. The singer’s recent greatest-hits collection, confusingly titled +-=÷x (Tour Collection) and released last September, still remained inside the top 12 at the time of the review, buoyed by tracks such as Shape of You.
Beyond the album, Sheeran has made public comments about sizable changes to his personal and professional life. In a recent appearance on the 2 Johnnies podcast he said he was "just about to move to America" and intended to settle there while on tour. He did not specify a city, but has previously named Nashville as a preferred destination and spoken about a desire to transition into country music, saying that "when you transition to country, you can’t transition back." Sheeran has spent much of his time between his Suffolk estate known as Sheeranville and properties abroad; reports have placed his property portfolio in the tens of millions of pounds.
The singer’s remarks on identity have also attracted attention. On the Louis Theroux Podcast earlier in the year, Sheeran said he identifies "culturally as Irish," referencing his father’s roots in Belfast and musical childhood experiences in Ireland. That comment prompted debate and some criticism in media coverage, with Sheeran telling Theroux that he considered Ireland a second home musically and culturally.
De Lisle framed Play as a record that contains both advancement and retrenchment: the inclusion of South Asian sounds and non-English lyrics were cited as signs of exploration, while recurring stylistic habits and lyrical lapses were presented as continuing weaknesses. The review’s two-star rating places Play as a middling effort by the standards of Sheeran’s earlier commercial peak, even as the singer navigates personal recovery, legal disputes and a prospective move to the United States.