Taken from his debut album +, Sheeran blends smooth mellow tones of violins with a beautiful ‘tip-toeing’ riff at the beginning- a contrast from the percussive beat of ‘You Need Me, Man I Don’t Need You’. He retrieves what can only be described as his tribal stamp towards the final chorus, through the effective drumming and harmonious backing vocals. Sheeran raises the pulse of the song with unexpected challenges in his vocal scale, heavy beats and the intensified violin section. For more on the starting influence of this tribal effect which grips elements of the record, try listening to Sheeran’s cover of Jamie Woon’s ‘Wayfaring Stranger’.
Sheeran never over-complicates the lyrics but keeps them as real and as simple as they need to be, although sometimes it feels as if he isn’t really using his full potential. Whilst using less word play than can be noticed in ‘The A-Team’ or ‘You Need Me, Man I Don’t Need You’, ‘Give Me Love’ achieves the ultimate easy listening effect which is emblematic of Sheeran. No fuss, no over-complications in the composition, he strikes a fine balance between the two in demonstrating his musical ability without overpowering the song with his voice. Although not as edgy or challenging as some of his other works he recognises sometimes you just need a song to be a song. A great listen.
8/10
