Review Summary: The proclaimed "male version of Adele" brings in a solid debut record that sees Smith directing his music for a more sadder tone.
Sam Smith is having himself a career year, especially with the entire music establishment looking to him. His singles with Disclosure and Naughty Boy have done nothing but earn him massive acclaim, as well as give him multple opportunities to make his presence felt in other regions of the globe. Few artists obtain the richness and wide vocal ability that Smith has, a crooning voice that is both empowering and passionate. Europe has adored this then-unknown singer-songwriter, with numerous people proclaiming him to be the male version of fellow British singer Adele. He may just be, as his debut record "In The Lonely Hour" shows with his wide vocal range that also is both empowering and passionate, along with beautiful instrumentation that laces a good portion of the freshman record. This debut record is undoubtedly one of the better pop records of the year, and is a promising first step from the young British man.
The freshman record entirely sees Smith overhauling his sound, in which with his features in "Latch" and "La La La" being more up-beat and light-hearted. Sam Smith trades that away, directing his music in this album to a more mournful, depressing tone which showcases him as a heartbroken man who's quite lonely. It can relate to many, those who haven't had someone love them back which Smith talks about in some of the songs he does in the record. Deep sorrow drowns most of the material here, and you can really feel the immense emotion Smith has in his vocal sets which is a massive plus. "Stay With Me" is a definite highlight, one that is both electrifying and empowering with the incredible gospel performance made in the chorus. Smith's vocals shine here, as he does in the entire record with a voice that is spectacular and makes him sound human. He is able to bring lasting emotional effects on the listener, something that few artists have been able to replicate. The majority of the sounds here are again nothing like his earlier material, going with stripped-down backgrounds that feel like you are seeing an un-plugged performance along with heavenly instrumentation which dominates the album and also gives Smith's vocals the headliner in the tracks. "Not In That Way" is another highlight, with Smith at it with a nice acoustic guitar playing in the background while he talks about his past love didn't love him back. If he were to put out another single off this debut, "Not In That Way" certainly would fit the bill and likely win many people's hearts.
"In The Lonely Hour" never lets up, the sad and hopeless tones keep on going along with the fantastic vocals Smith has obtained. However, some of the tracks do come out as a little bit too sappy. "Leave Your Lover" is a great example of that, with Smith telling the ladies to leave their guys for him. His vocal sets still continue to shine, however the heart-wrenching ballad just sounds way too romantically sappy for people to take seriously. Plenty of ballads occupy the freshman record, with solid success but it would've been nice to see some more variety come from Smith. More up-beat sounds like his first two tracks that made him big and directed a little bit towards a more positive approach, but then as Smith stated to Digital Spy in an interview "I was sad and I wrote about being sad. Hopefully I'll be happy soon and write about that." It would be certainly nice if he can speed that up soon and get on with creating more lighthearted material, as the sad and hopeless tone set in the record can backfire a little bit on the talented vocalist. Smith only attempts the different direction once in the album, with "Money On My Mind" which turns out to be one of his best tracks so it would be great to see him experiment more with that direction of sound.
"In The Lonely Hour" is a solid freshman record from Sam Smith, displaying his dynamic vocal abilities with grace and awe. His very versatile vocal pipes along with his heartfelt, tearful musical material is sure to impress many who aren't familiar with the pop vocalist. His powerful formula is able to capture an emotional effect on the listeners, which in music is pretty hard to do especially on the side of pop ballads. While it works well, the sad and hopeless tone along with the numerous ballads can sometimes get a bit repetitive and lacking of variety. If he is able to bring that empowering formula of his to a more rhythmic and happy approach, then Sam Smith will be able to garner further future success as a singer-songwriter and appeal more to other audiences who aren't into sappy pop ballads. This freshman record is easily one of the better pop albums of the year, and gives Smith a very bright and promising future to the British singer-songwriter with this great first step in his music career.
