[rating=6.00]
With his debut album, the aptly titled In the Lonely Hour, London singer Sam Smith spends just under an hour bemoaning the loneliness, sorrow and self-doubt that love leaves in its wake. Packed with smooth R&B crooning and energetic dancehall grooves, the album has enough variety to become more than simply a vocal showcase, though considering Smith’s vocal prowess, that would still be enough.
While most tracks fit comfortably into the slow R&B mold, Smith also experiments with pop rock in the palm-muted guitar shuffle of “Like I Can.” With “Restart,” Smith channels 80s dance pop in the best way. The sentimental ballad “Good Thing” features an appropriately overbearing string section straight out of a film from Hollywood’s Golden Age.
In the Lonely Hour explores the darker sides of love, with Smith lamenting unrequited love (“Leave Your Lover”) while yearning to find his soul mate (“Make It To Me”). “Stay With Me” strikes a chord with its portrayal of the vulnerability felt by a lover’s departure. “Deep down I know this never works, but you can lay with me so it doesn’t hurt,” Smith sings. The jazzy strut of “I’m Not the Only One” finds Smith at his most confrontational. “You say I’m crazy ’cause you don’t think I know what you’ve done,” he says, calling out a cheating lover’s lies.
While the album is thematically monotone and Smith’s lyrics are sometimes overly reliant on weak metaphors (“you’re my life support”), Smith makes up for it with a flamboyant showmanship. Even the dumbest lyrics – such as the entirety of “La La La” – are adequate enough due to compensation from the catchy grooves. Mostly, however, it’s about that voice. Smith boasts an impressive vocal range along with a soulful tone seeped in pain, a brooding low end and tearful vibrato. While at times the vocals are over the top – “Money On My Mind” finds Smith singing the song’s title in an obnoxious yelp that Ylvis might attribute to a fox – most of the time they’re perfect.
Thematically, lyrically and vocally, In the Lonely Hour is far from subtle. When it works, such as with the infinitely catchy “I’ve Told You Now,” Smith’s soulful balladry is both beautiful and heartbreaking. Even when it doesn’t, it’s still pretty fun. Smith’s tone and his soaring vocal leads pack enough of a visceral punch to overcome moments of oversinging and sentimentality. In each song Smith sounds on the verge of tears and it’s not hard to imagine his music putting listeners in the same state.
