30 -8/10 The queen of heartbreak has returned but this time she's the instigator. Throughout her press tour of the album adele has been brutally honest with the truth yet still vague enough to suggest problems she won't report but she's said enough to let us know:it was her choice.

This heartbreak coming during her most transitional age 30,one that signifies the crux of adulthood and the age of definitive change, things present throughout this record's maturity. There are no fingers pointed (unless sometimes to herself) and she navigates the fine line between acknowledgement &self depreciation.

A lot has happened to Adele in overwhelmingly short periods from her debut to her breakthrough to her marriage and motherhood and now to her breakdown framed through the lense of a shifting paradigm. Her divorce is a supporting character in this record showing up for a few scenes and disappearing for a few songs giving the album space to breathe.

The intro begins with an almost camp dramatic couplet set to the most uncharacteristically Adele sounding production. We know that she is taking stock of herself, saying goodbye to moment's past. "Strangers by nature" feels like an astronaut setting foot on an alien planet light years away after waking up from hibernation:scared but aware of the fact they can't go back and this strange world would be their new normal. Epiphanies like that spot the record and probably prompted her strength to leave that nuclear world she'd tried to build.

Following that the record breaking single that despite having been underwhelming as a lead is a necessary component in the records process. She is not asking for pity but that they be understanding of her story. "Easy on Me" can be applied to Adele, her son or her ex- husband. It's the first revealing song in an album filled to the brim with them reaching a breaking point when she gives up on biting the bullet to put them first.

"My little love " sequels "Remedy" off of 25 but here is set to black. Sounding more somber both musically &lyrically. It's scenes between the despondent depression clouding Adele and Angelo's innocent confusion and fear make this a poignant conversation most products of divorce could remember feeling or having. The addition of the private voice recordings don't ruin the songs momentum elevating it to new highs on Adele's consistent discography.

Like in all encompassing grief comes few moments of reprieve that while still in it find buoyancy in a more cathartic release,this is the case in "cry your heart out". Even beginning with the chorus seems significant to seeking out the best part first when in the thick of it and here despite the deceptively upbeat delivery she's a ghost cosplaying as a person. She is using an old map to find herself on new terrain coming to a black wall ("i created this storm it's only fair i have to sit in it ")but that only lasts so long before the recovering "oh my god" stomps in. She's losing herself in other people she's finding excitement in the release but under tge condition it must be able to be love again. Here she's almost fed up saying how she's made her choices abd that she doesn't need to justify them to us(the public) it's one of the most outrageously pop moments on here which turn into a pray for strength during the bridge.

"Can i get it" is so fun despite the subject matter being so frustrating. She's looking for a relationship whilst the single world around her is looking for fun. It's funny how the song is built up by these genuine heartfelt wishes only to crash against a plea to fuk. It's a sobering moment for Adele to realize that love as difficult as it is to sustain is just as difficult as it is to find . No one is serious. This calls on the black current as a glass is half empty on the "I drink wine". Performed in her special we were given a taste of just how grown this record was but on the studio version it's severe. Touched by church sent choral backing vocals her crisis feels religious. Her loss so important. It's a sensitive Elton John-esque monologue that feels shorter than it's runtime suggest. A full composition not too out of place in a opera. It's mournful but glad it's moving past it to something else.

"All Night Parking " may be an interlude but it's given the same development as the rest of the record. She's finally found something adjacent to love and the falling is taking it's time. Wanting the lover near at all times and getting lost in it's newborn intensity she feels safe. A cooling break before the frustration of "Woman Like Me" where she's looking back and seeing the cracks. Admonishing a lover for not trying and reminding them the worth of a woman like her. She's recovering. This sounds like the year after 30. Once dust has settled and the ruins stand as eyesores. But this heat cools with the slow burn of the 1st of the Inflo produced tracks,"Hold On". A meditation on being hopeful, on getting better which has one of adele's best couplets:"sometimes loneliness us the only rest that we get/and emptiness actually let's us forget "

"To Be Loved " is the album's centerpiece and a landmark song in Adele's full discography. It's a great swell of retrospective longing, wanting to heal your past self who's wading through hurt. The delivery do more than the lyrics but they both collaborate in devastating symbiosis. When the song wavers and her voice reaches a heartbreaking peak its already to late to not be a crying mess. I was devastated. Let it be known she succeeded.

Fortunately, however tempting,she did not end the record on that note. The Winehouse adept "Love is a game " which sounds very classical in age would do that job. Apparently recorded with "breakfast at tiffany " on in the background it takes that into consideration with wrapping up the entire albums message and still promising to fall in love again.

30 is a manifesto of just how to fall apart abridged with just how you can come together. It's a stunning effort from Adele returning to the confessional 21 after the pop songs collection of 25. It's a promising direction for Adele's never wanning star.