Ed Sheeran’s “Bloodstream”: Listen To The Angsty ‘X’ Track

Welp, it’s officially The Summer Of Sheeran. (Well, not quite official just yet — but you can vote for “Sing” to make it official in our Song Of Summer ’14 poll!)

As the release of X creeps closer with each passing day, Ed’s been unloading track after gorgeous track from the upcoming LP (due out on June 23) on iTunes — from “Sing” to “Afire Love” to his maybe Ellie Goulding-shading “Don’t” to his forward-thinking “Thinking Out Loud.”

Now there’s “Bloodstream,” the latest cut to come from the upcoming collection. And this time around, Ed’s finding solace at the bottom of a bottle. Listen to the song after the jump.

The aching track sees Sheeran getting lost in an haze of booze — and perhaps something heavier — across a smooth, folky guitar strum: “This is how it ends/I feel the chemicals burn in my bloodstream/Fading out again,” he resigns. As the ending draws near, the production blossoms into something much heavier: “Tell me when it kicks in,” he repeats over and over again across gritty textures, dramatic organs and chilling background vocals in the distance, “brokenhearted.” It’s a somber, sort of morbid tale — but gorgeous nonetheless.

What do you think of Ed’s latest X track? Tell us in the comments below.

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