At the height of his powers, Prince swerved left—dropping a psychedelic curveball and telling the label to hold the singles. Forty years on, it still feels like a risk only he could pull off.

Neil Booth braves Ed Sheeran’s new album so you don’t have to. What he finds is less music than meringue — offensively inoffensive, stadium-sized filler, designed to smother rather than stir. Netflix for your ears.