Albums of the week

Pop

Ed Sheeran: ÷ (Atlantic)

Ed Sheeran is back, as unstoppable as he is inexplicable. Who really knows how or why fame’s fickle finger first pointed so determinedly towards the Suffolk busker-turned-megastar, but his third album of rhyming couplets and risible rapping makes it clear his formula remains a winning one. It’s also critic-proof.

For all his bashful gurning, slovenly attire and permanent bed head, Sheeran is as calculatingly career-focused as the most ...