It's finally here. After months of waiting and having to make do with singles and feature spots on other artist's releases, we finally get to hear Sam Smith's debut album in all its full-lengthed glory. The album includes a rather imposing number of songs (fourteen, to be exact), and while it's length isn't unprecedented, the fact that it's over ten tracks long is in fact a pretty bold statement. The London-based vocalist has already seen his fair share of the spotlight leading up to this release, and with the buzz nearing its saturation point, anything less then total victory from the album would probably be considered a letdown. To combat these ultra-high expectations, other artists in the same situation have opted to trim the fat and go for smaller releases, affording no oportunity for fluff to be sniffed out and decried by the critics. Sam Smith doesn't seem to be too worried about those guys, though. In fact, In the Lonely Hour embraces the sprawl much more than anybody probably expected, and the types of sound he's put into the project range from R&B-infused soul-pop to straight-up piano power-ballads. Yes, the album still has a discernible theme that runs the length of the project, but his decision to devote roughly a third of the album to concert hall-style soft-rock (a facet of sound always in danger of sounding contrived) speaks volumes to his faith in the quality of the music. Going the direction was a huge gamble, but as far as were concerned, it paid paid off tremendously. Displaying an air of wisdom and sophistication that far outstrips the vast majority of his contemporaries, Sam Smith has accomplished the near-impossible and put out an album which feels more like a swan song than the opening notes of a long and successful career. His voice will perk your ears up with its silky rasp, but the true success of the album comes when you let yourself absorb the subtleties of the composition and the poetry in the songwriting. At times, he uses his voice to weave together complex metaphors about things both exotic and familiar, but he never forgets the power of simplicity, and the most impactful moments in the album come when all the intricacy is swapped for blunt honesty that will have you mulling over the songs long after they end. When judged holistically, In the Lonely Hour is still technically a pop album, but the sheer quality of the music is going to ensure Sam Smith won't get pigeonholed as a mere mainstream mechanism, no matter how popular the music gets. Songs like "I'm Not The Only One" and "Life Support" are just objectively superior, and it really doesn't matter what type of music you usually listen to, because these tracks deserve your respect. Normally, this is the part where we recommend a couple more tracks that have risen above the rest, but in this instance, you might as well just click at random, because while each track is different, they're all unbelievably worthy your time. We've pulled a few for you to whet your appetite with, but you'll be missing out entirely if you don't go and get the whole album. It's every bit as good as we're advertising it to be, so waste no time in finding and falling in love with it all on iTunes, though only for residents in the UK right now (it'll drop in the United States on June 17th).
Sam Smith