Sam Smith 'In The Lonely Hour' Review: A Haunting First Effort

With a falsetto voice that takes center stage, Sam Smith's debut, In the Lonely Hour, is a myriad of beautifully solemn moments that really convey the emotions and vulnerability of loneliness.

I’m not the biggest fan of love songs. In fact, the only guilty pleasure I’ll own up to is Leona Lewis. But In the Lonely Hour and Smith’s signature voice immediately entranced me. Smith was able to create a decent collection of tunes mixed in with emotional expression that is never overbearing. “Leave Your Lover,” will tug at your heartstrings with its supple melodies backed by Smith’s hair-raising crescendos.

Smith’s falsetto voice is really what makes this album such a delight. He strikes high notes like a pro, but holds it back at times, such as in “Life Support.” The quietness and solidarity of his voice yearns for the companionship of a lover. But the album is not all melancholy, with “Like I Can” sure to be a club hit with it’s groovy beat.

But In The Lonely Hour isn’t a flawless package. The album dabbles on the shallow side lyrically. “Money On My Mind” is by far the worst offender. It’s simply an inadequate way to start this otherwise beautiful album. In the song, Smith sings about his indifference to the glamorous life of a pop star. He conveys that he values other things instead of penny-pinching, which is supposed to make him seem different from the rest of the mainstream musicians. But instead he sounds off-putting: “I don’t have money on my mind… I do it for the love.” The message is clichéd and the chorus repeats itself in an insufferable way, much like a broken record.

Some of the other tracks also suffer from lack of depth. For example, “Leave Your Lover” recycles a lot of what’s been said: “I don’t have much to give, but I don’t care for gold/ What use is money, when you need someone to hold?” Other times, Smith does present compelling narratives, like in “Stay With Me” when he asks, “Why am I so emotional?/ No, it’s not a good look, gain some self control.”

Music and sound is what makes this debut In the Lonely Hour truly shine, and as a debut album, it earned Smith a solid first impression from me. But I think Sam Smith can benefit from more innovative songwriting for his next project and use his unquestionably superb voice to express more emotion and ideas. But for now, Smith’s loneliness is taking him places.

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