Sam Smith “In the Lonely Hour” Album Review

There was one thing on my mind when I first listened through Sam Smith’s debut album “In the Lonely Hour” and that was Adele. He has been on my radar since I discovered him through Disclosure’s single “Latch.” There’s no denying that he has a phenomenal and unique voice that should be capitalized on. His contributions to “Latch ” and Naughty Boy’s “La La La” are invaluable, but I think that they are put to best use in this album. However, my biggest issues with the album are rooted in the music itself.

“Money on My Mind” is such a strong start to the album and probably one of the best of the album. It’s reminiscent of a song off of Disclosure’s Settle. It treads along the line of a new string of artists condemning the luxurious lifestyle that has swept the industry. The neat production by Two Inch Punch and Smith’s punchy vocals make for a compelling song about denouncing the entire music industry structure from writing for taste or being a puppet to the industry. I think it’s Smith’s defining song on the album and of him as an artist. However, the rest of the album doesn’t hold up to its fantastic opening.

I understand the compulsion to have a cohesive theme on an album. Adele did it with 21 and its theme of scorned love and Arcade Fire had The Suburbs’ theme of regret and wasted youth, but Sam Smith decides to go with the hopeless yearning and complaints of unrequited love. It’s a theme that makes for some powerful songs that purge the emotion of a man who is almost frustrated with what his love life has become. The album could have quickly fell to something insincere matching what he was just condemning in “Money on My Mind”, but instead it takes a genuine approach through soulful R&B tunes like “Stay With Me” and “Good Thing.”

Where my praise turns to some criticism is that there is a monotony in the tone of the album. After the fourth song you realize that it’s just going to be one serving of desperate yearning delivered in easy to take tablets of pop and soul. However, this is where my Adele comparison comes in. Sam Smith drives the album as a vocalist. Instead of going for the strong belt and screaming that is meant to cram insincere emotion down listeners’ throats, he displays restraint and raw emotion that made Adele such a sensation. Right now, what he lacks are the same thematically homogenous tunes, but differing delivery. It is a safe debut album, but I think Smith has the talent to mature as a song writer and deliver something truly remarkable.