After four years of anticipation, Adele has finally released yet another album that will pull at your heartstrings and make you question every relationship you have ever had. “25” plays to a lot of the talented singer/songwriter’s strengths and weaknesses all in the same album.

Adele’s previous albums are very similar to “25” in style and mood. In her past albums, Adele has expressed her true, raw feelings which holds true for “25” as well. On the bonus track “Can’t Let Go,” her use of heavy vibrato gives the song a really somber tone, which fits with the song’s message about how Adele has fallen for someone who does nothing but hurt her, yet she can’t let go.

Unlike her previous albums, in a majority of her new songs, the piano is often the only instrument accompanying her singing. While this is a nice technique to set the mood, it can be too much yet not enough at the same time. After hearing song after song with nothing but piano, it begins to make you feel sleepy and wish for something more interesting and stimulating to add to her beautiful vocals.

Fortunately, not all of her songs are slow and feature only the piano. Some songs like “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” have catchy lyrics and an upbeat, happy feel that will make you want to tap your feet along with the beat. Even though they are the more upbeat songs of the album, they still have the chill vibe that Adele is known for.

Adele has a recurring theme to leave you wanting more, and sometimes she will give you more. In her more upbeat songs, right after the main choruses finish, the songs slow down considerably and make you think they are ending. Out of nowhere, Adele then comes back in at a true forte dynamic and picks back up where she left off. Other times, her songs will end more abruptly, leaving an uncertain feeling of finality.

Adele is known for is her ability to belt high notes with tons of vibrato, and while this is a very impressing feature, it does not cater to everyone’s liking. A lot of songs on this album follow a format of starting off slow and moderate in volume, and then just build and build to the main chorus. When the main chorus hits, Adele usually sings at a very high volume which can be really overpowering, especially when song after song sounds like that.

Overall, “25” is a B- and not for everyone, but for those who enjoy slow, emotional music that makes you think long and hard about your feelings, this album is well worth the heartache and money.