Sam Smith’s ‘In The Lonely Hour’: Review Revue

Calling the lonely-hearts club to the stand!  Your moment has arrived. English singer-songwriter Sam Smith has finally released his first ever album, In The Lonely Hour, and, unlike “Latch,” his uptempo, insanely successful, collabo track with electronic duo Disclosure,  Sam tries a more melancholy look on for size as his debut explores the painfully universal subject of unrequited love.

No doubt, this highly-anticipated record had the music world buzzing about. Here’s the round up of some of the reviews across the web had to say after the jump.

:: Digital Spy called In The Lonely Hour “a fearlessly vulnerable debut.”

:: The Guardian gave it 3/5 stars, stating “Thematic monomania is one thing, but musically, In the Lonely Hour could have done with more variety… But Smith has two things going for him – believability and exquisite restraint. Not for him The X Factor school of show-off belting that serves only to cheapen emotion. He could do it. He doesn’t.”

:: While Rolling Stone acknowledges Smith’s incredible vocal talent, they were unimpressed with the album as a whole. “The album’s team of producers gives Smith a mostly blank canvas to showcase his vocals, providing room for soaring riffs over fingerpicked guitars on ‘Not in That Way’ and ‘Leave Your Lover.’ But neither leaves as indelible a mark as Smith’s lost love has left on his heart.”

:: The Telegraph echoed Rolling Stone, saying that “Much of the boy-band-style soul-lite that follows suggests he should have followed his instincts and taken some time to develop his songwriting, or found more experienced co-writers to give his emerging material more spine.”

:: Baeble Music gave the album a 4/5, stating that “Smith seeks to discover how many different sweet sounds can be wrung from the same rind, and the result is an album that may not be the most philiosophically thrilling, but is lovely to listen to, sounding soaked through with honey, sweet and slow-moving.”

:: NY Daily News agreed with Baeble Music. “On the one hand, there’s something retrograde about Smith’s role. His focus on songs of unfulfillable love recall the sad gay love ballads of the pre-liberation era. On the other hand, there’s something modern and brave about a man who’s utterly unafraid to sound feminine — to leave himself prone. It’s the sound of tears, yet in letting them flow so freely, there’s a kind of strength.”

What’s your take on Sam Smith’s debut? Let us know in the comment section below.

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