The queen of the charts is back. Six years after the release of her Grammy-winning 25, where she reflected on and in some cases longed for her pre-fame days; Adele is back with her fourth studio album, 30.

A lot has happened in the singer’s personal life, as many are aware, since the release of 25. Notably, the breakup of her marriage. There was also a weight loss journey that had some fans happy for her, while others felt betrayed.

Adele brilliantly addressed the latter in her CBS Special interview with Oprah Winfrey, noting that it’s not her job to validate people’s feelings about their bodies. I concur. However, her weight loss isn’t a topic on 30, which is all about the emotional journey she undertakes throughout the subsequent breakdown of her marriage.

It’s raw, guttural, painful, and honest. What it isn’t, especially sonically, is a newer version of 21 or 25. So if that’s what you expected when you started listening to the album, chances are, you may have felt a little disappointed.

However, while 30 may not boast the same sleek, ear-worm pop goodness of 21, or even 25, it still delivers the same achingly beautiful honesty, told with Adele’s ever impeccable vocals.

When I first began working on this review, I vacillated between writing a summary, versus a song by song breakdown. I decided to do a song-by-song review, but then the perfectionist in me immediately started obsessing about having the perfect words to express my feelings.

However, I realized that in the spirit of the album’s honesty, the best approach would be to not overthink and go with my first impressions. So read on for my stream of consciousness, slightly rambling, initial impressions of each song.

• Strangers by Nature – It’s fitting that the first two lines of this track are, “I’ll be taking flowers to the cemetery of my heart/For all my lovers in the present and the dark”. There is a dirge-like quality to the song’s overall sound. It also brings to mind a bit of the 40s-50s classic sound.

• Easy on Me – The album’s lead single and possibly, most radio-friendly. It’s a straightforward lament of someone seeking if not forgiveness, understanding, and empathy for making what may be considered a selfish choice.

• My Little Love – Judging by social media chatter, this appears to be many fans’ favorite song on the album. Essentially a love letter and apology to her son Angelo for leaving his father and ultimately breaking up their family, what is particularly interesting about this song is that sonically it has a very chill vibe. Yet lyrically, it’s one of the saddest and darkest songs on the album.

• Cry Your Heart Out – Haven’t we all been there? Who hasn’t needed a good cry or two or three (you get the point) once in a while? Like the above, I love that despite lyrically being emotionally heavy, sonically there is an easy, almost breezy vibe to the song.

• Oh My God – Love everything about this number. The vibe, production, and of course, the adage that being bad is always so much more fun.

• Can I Get It – Sonically, this gives me 90s pop/rock tees, especially the whistling interlude. The first word that comes to mind is simply fun.

• I Drink Wine – Possibly my favorite track. I love the soulful sound, and while not a wine drinker myself (not much of a drinker at all), I connected so strongly with this number. Aren’t we all on a journey of complete self-acceptance and self-love?

• All Night Parking (with Erroll Garner) – Love this one. It gives me early ‘00s Jill Scott and Erykah Badu vibes.

• Woman Like Me – I like this number lyrically but not sonically. It drifts a little to the sleepy side with the one chord progression throughout.

• Hold On – I call this one, “Adele lays her broken heart out raw and unfiltered for all the world to see.” You’re made of ice if the soaring refrain at the end to hold on, doesn’t get you right in the gut.

• To Be Loved – And this is Adele laying out her vulnerable truth – for better or worse. There is a slightly old-school Whitney Houston-like sound to the production. That concluding breakdown, begging for understanding from her audience (theoretically her ex-husband and us, the listener), is everything.

• Love Is a Game – Probably one of the most depressingly cynical views of love. But I guess a divorce will do that to you.

In conclusion, no, this album will not give you the radio-friendly pop sounds of 21 or 25. But it is, in many ways, Adele’s most heartbreakingly honest and mature album.