Coming back from four years out of the public eye, one of pop’s most soulful and sincere artists, Adele, released her highly anticipated album “25” last month, reappearing in the most perfect way possible.

After “breaking the Internet” with her soulful single “Hello”, which came out on Oct. 23, the singer made the world wait four weeks before releasing the rest of “25”, only building the anticipation of her eager listeners.

With precision in both lyrics and instrumentation, it’s clear that she had been calculating a comeback for some time now, but wanted to do it in the right way.

Each of the 11 songs does what Adele is known for, thanks to her previous albums “19” and “21”: they reveal a true and unadulterated version of Adele’s thoughts and feelings.

In an interview with i-D, Adele talked about her desire to become a surgeon when she was younger, because she wanted to fix hearts. If you listen to “Hello”, the album’s opening track, you’ll see that she absolutely has the capability to do that.

The single, regarded as a piece of music alone, leaves you feeling strong enough to fight for what you want, but ready to face the unexpected – an empowering but comforting melody that feels good to listen to.

The rest of the album carries that same “honey, I’m home” feeling that Adele’s music gives off. Her strong vocals contain so much pure emotion that all her songs feel personal and demand your ears to pay attention.

“I Miss You” is a song filled with intimacy and longing. The beats that flow over repeatedly with each bar are like the lull of the ocean, creating a vibe that’s hauntingly beautiful. When she gets to the chorus, she makes it sound like she’s scraping the words from the bottom of her heart, careful to get every ounce of urgency in her voice out.

“When We Were Young” reminds me of something Elton John could’ve sung back in the 70s – the feeling of a good memory translated into song. The restlessness and yearning that Adele sings with leaves a lingering feeling, especially when she sings  “I’m so mad I’m getting old/  It makes me reckless”. Her smooth, wishful voice swells with each note, and makes you want to slow dance with someone you love.

I heard “Million Years Ago” as a song about accepting what you’ve done and who you’ve chosen to be; a song about reminiscing, and wanting the past to be the present again. The folksy, stripped down feel to this track added even more to the rawness of Adele’s voice. The most captivating lyrics in the hook: “Sometimes I just feel it’s only me/ Who can’t stand the reflection that they see/ I wish I could live a little more/ Look up to the sky, not just the floor”. Those words were the most honest ones of “25”.

The album ends on a higher note with, “Sweetest Devotion.” The song radiates pure and simple love. When she sings about someone being her “everything, everywhere,” it’s hard not to smile. The only criticism I had for this song was that the music sounded almost too grandiose; the lyrics, though sweet, didn’t always match up with the big, multi-instrumental background.

The song that stood out the most is “All I Ask,” co-written with Bruno Mars. This song sounds like “the old Adele”, the Adele so heartbroken and wishful that she just needs to get it out of her system.

“All I Ask” makes me feel like whipping out a tub of ice cream and crying about life. It’s by far the best song of “25”.

Overall, what made this album so pleasing to the ears is the way passion, lyrics, and instrumentation melt together so immaculately. Listening to it all, I can tell that the time she took off helped her make this album so outstanding. Those four years may have seemed long, but they were worth every second with this outcome.