Autumn Variations

1. "American Town"Released: September 29, 2023

***Autumn Variations*** is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 29 September 2023 through his record label, Gingerbread Man Records. All tracks on the album were solely produced by Aaron Dessner, except the track "Spring", which was produced by Dessner together with his twin brother Bryce. The album also serves as Sheeran's second project of 2023, following the May release of his previous album *-*, and is the first studio album for which he owns the copyright. It is also his first studio album with a title which does not include any mathematical symbols.

## Background

On 24 August 2023, Sheeran announced the album on social media, in which he said: "Last autumn, I found that my friends and I were going through so many life changes. After the heat of the summer, everything either calmed, settled, fell apart, came to a head or imploded". He also added: "My dad and brother told me about a composer called Elgar, who composed *Enigma Variations*, where each of the 14 compositions were about a different one of his friends. This is what inspired me to make this album."

The album was his first album released independently on his own label, Gingerbread Man Records. Sheeran said that there would be no singles or videos released to promote the album. Although one single, "American Town", was sent to Italian contemporary hit radio the same day as the album was released.

## Critical reception

*Autumn Variations* received a score of 63 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on five critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.

James Hall of *The Telegraph* gave the album five out of five stars and called it "meatier, more absorbing and more varied than the slightly monotonic *Subtract*", opining that "Sheeran sounds like a supercharged David Gray. Grown-up. Energised. Forget Autumn, this feels like an album of bright new dawns." Helen Brown of *The Independent* found that Sheeran "sticks to the busker'n'beats style that's made him the best-selling male artist of the past decade" and on the album he is "in mellow, misty-eyed mode, rather than the cringier dancefloor zone of *Collaborations*".

*NME*'s Thomas Smith wrote that "the nuance and specificity of his last album's songwriting is largely absent; instead *Autumn Variations* is akin to aimlessly swiping through Instagram, blurry snaps of followers' leafy happenings whizzing past in a distracted daze." Rachel Aroesti of *The Guardian* described the album as a "another occasion to despair at the colossal popularity of such proudly unimaginative, staunchly unoriginal and intellectually bereft music", with "dashed-off lyricshalf, arsed even by Sheeran’s standards" and that "many don’t rhyme, scan or even make basic sense".

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Ed Sheeran and Aaron Dessner except where noted. All tracks are solely produced by Dessner, with "Spring" also being produced by his twin brother, Bryce..

## Personnel

**Musicians**

* Ed Sheeran – vocals (all tracks), acoustic guitar (track 12)
* Aaron Dessner – guitar (1–4, 6–11, 13, 14), drum programming (1–4, 6–9, 11, 14), Mellotron (1, 2, 4, 6–8, 11, 13, 14), synthesizer (1, 3, 4, 6, 8–10), Juno synthesizer (1, 4, 7, 8, 14), percussion (2–4, 6–10, 13), piano (2, 3, 6, 10, 13, 14), bass synthesizer (2, 3, 14), Wurlitzer (2, 6, 9), acoustic guitar (5, 12), drums (6, 13), Prophet synthesizer (9), synthesizer programming (14)
* Benjamin Lanz – brass arrangement (1, 2, 4, 6), trombone (2, 4, 6, 11, 13), synthesizer (2), horn arrangement (11)
* J.T. Bates – drums (1, 2, 6, 7, 13)
* James McAlister – Prophet synthesizer (1, 3, 4, 6–8, 13), synthesizer (1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11), guitar (1, 3, 6), Omnichord synthesizer (1), drum programming (2–4, 6, 11), percussion (2, 4, 6, 8), Moog (3, 4, 6, 7, 13), Juno synthesizer (3, 4, 6), drums (3, 4, 9), maracas (3, 4), piano (3, 6); drum arrangement, sampling (3); egg shaker (4, 6), synthesizer programming (4, 7, 11, 13), lyra (6, 7, 13), tambourine (6–8), drum loops (7); bass Moog, loops, shaker (8); Minimoog (9)
* Josh Kaufman – guitar (1, 3, 4), synthesizer (4)
* James Krivchenia – shaker (1)
* Clarice Jensen – cello (2, 10)
* Bryce Dessner – loops, orchestral conductor (2); acoustic guitar, orchestration (10)
* Yuki Numata – violin (2, 10)
* Thomas Bartlett – Mellotron, Prophet synthesizer (3, 4, 7, 11, 13); piano, synthesizer (3, 4, 7, 11); Wurlitzer (3, 4, 11, 13)
* Bryan Devendorf – drums (3, 8, 11)
* Glenn Kotche – drums (4, 7, 14), shaker (6, 14), bongo drums (6); drum fills, percussion (7); tom-toms (8, 14), tambourine (14)
* Rob Moose – orchestration, viola, violin (5, 7, 8, 11–14)
* Reggie Pace – trombone (6, 11)
* Walt Martin – organ (9)
* Misty Boyce – piano (12)
* Bridget Kearney – upright bass (12)

**Technical**

* Randy Merrill – mastering
* Jonathan Low – mixing (all tracks); engineering (1–4, 6–14), recording (1–4, 6–14)
* David Chalman – mixing
* Bella Blasko – engineering, recording
* Clarice Jensen – recording (2, 10)
* Kyle Resnick – recording (2, 10)
* Benjamin Lanz – recording (2, 13)
* Aaron Dessner – recording (3)
* James McAlister – recording (3, 4, 6–8, 11, 13)
* Thomas Bartlett – recording (3, 4, 7, 11, 13)
* Walt Martin – recording (9)
* Bryce Dessner – recording (10)
* Rob Moose – recording (11, 12, 14)
* Ryan Olson – audio assistance (2)

## References

1. ↑ Autumn Variations [Explicit by Ed Sheeran on Amazon Music]. Gingerbread Man Records (2023-09-29).
2. ↑ Willman, Chris (24 August 2023). Ed Sheeran Announces Second Album of 2023, *Autumn Variations,* Reteaming with Aaron Dessner.
3. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
4. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
5. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
6. ↑ Ed Sheeran - American Town (Radio Date: 29-09-2023) (it) (September 29, 2023).
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 *Autumn Variations* by Ed Sheeran Reviews and Tracks.
8. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Carr, Tom (29 September 2023). "'Album: Ed Sheeran - Autumn Variations: Interesting moments are too far and few between in the popular singer-songwriter's latest". *The Arts Desk*. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Aroesti, Rachel (29 September 2023). "'Ed Sheeran: Autumn Variations review – as flat and dull as a grey sky". *The Guardian*. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Brown, Helen (29 September 2023). "Ed Sheeran review, *Autumn Variations*: Enough soupy, seasonal sentimentality to keep you warm on a cold night". *The Independent*. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
11. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Murphy, Lauren (29 September 2023). "Ed Sheeran's new album, Autumn Variations, has landed. The news is not good". *The Irish Times*. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Smith, Thomas (29 September 2023). Ed Sheeran – *Autumn Variations* review: a pumpkin-spiced snoozer.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Hall, James (29 September 2023). "*Autumn Variations*: Sheeran channels Elgar, with surprisingly stunning results". *The Telegraph*. Retrieved 29 September 2023.