Comebacks are not what they were. Time was, a pop artist had to be away from active music-making for a decade or more before the rumour mill circulated whispers of writer’s block, “personal problems”, management disputes or profound stylistic change. But when you name your albums after the age you were when the music was being made, as Adele has done with 19, 21 and now 25, passing time can seem rather condensed and the comeback stage-managed. The “long” absence was, in fact, a strategy rather than a sign of uncertainty. She had announced in April 2012 that a new record would take time.If 21 was a break-up album, it is logical for her to position 25 as a make-up record: sober, trim, a mum, in love, and in love with herself again, but playing the field with a