Review - Sam Smith - In The Lonely Hour

When I first heard Sam Smith, I thought he’d be a great filler while the world waits for Adele’s next masterpiece, but having now listened to his debut album in full, I realize that he is so much more.

‘In The Lonely Hour’ is this year’s ‘21’ in so many ways. If you’ve been dumped (or simply left a relationship in any way--I’m not here for your love life), ‘In The Lonely Hour’ will be on constant repeat. If you haven’t been dumped, you’ll love the CD for other reasons. No matter what you’re going through in your life, the pure emotion backing his voice and the simple compositions here is universally felt, and is stunning.

While there may not be a “Rolling In The Deep”-sized worldwide smash (and automatic winner-of-all-trophies at the Grammys) on ‘In...’, it’s similar in feeling, aim, and it even borrows some ideas. “Lay Me Down” is this year’s “Someone Like You”, and “Stay With Me” is so grandiose we’ll be hearing it backing tearful moments in movies and TV shows for years. “Not In That Way” is comparable to “Don’t You Remember”, and all of these are only scratching the surface.

Smith and Adele share some producers, and it is evident on the album, but no matter--they’re both top notch. While the majority of the album is slow and mournful, the Brit does step it up for “Money on My Mind” and “Restart”, which are more in the vein of his two featured hits: “Latch” with Disclosure and “La La La” with Naughty Boy (fun note: both of those are only now growing in the US due to Smith’s rising star).

The album is already a favorite for me, as I’ve been looking for that deliciously and painfully beautiful and sad collection for a while now. Until Adele is back of course.

Listen to: Every song.