Ed Sheeran returns with two new songs 'Castle on the Hill' and 'Shape of You'

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Ed Sheeran has returned from his year-long hiatus to release two new songs titled "Castle on the Hill" and "Shape of You."

The tracks released Thursday have been teased on the pop star's various social media channels throughout January after returning online in December exactly one year after announcing his break from online activity "to travel the world and see everything I missed."

"Cause I've been away for a bit here's two singles rather than one," Sheeran wrote on Twitter alongside a mash-up teaser video for both tracks.

Both songs have also made their way onto YouTube with official lyric videos.

"The club isn't the best place to find a lover, so the bar is where I go/ Me and my friends at the table doing shots drinking fast and then we talk slow," Sheeran sings on the upbeat "Shape of You" while on "Castle on the Hill" the singer looks back on his childhood proclaiming "I can't wait to go home."

The two songs are set to appear on Sheeran's third studio album. In keeping in line with previous releases, the 25-year-old tweeted out the division symbol which point to the album's title following 2011's + and 2014's X.