Sam Smith - The Thrill of It All

Sam Smith
The Thrill of It All
2017
Spotify

The British songman is back with his new album The Thrill of It All a follow up to his heralded debut record In the Lonely Hour. At just 25 its hard to believe that Sam Smith has a number one record and a Grammy under his belt. It seems crazy that all this happened even knowing what an interesting and otherworldly voice he has. Sam for the most part on the album takes the position of the pinning lover, not a place you normal find a male soul singer. He is far more vulnerable in his version of R&B than we are usually used to from male singers. He lays it bare and has a real feminine softness to his music. "Latch" the song that broke him produced by Disclosure was far more dance focused and it seemed like singing hook for dance songs was going to be his lot in life. However the James Bond song fell into his lap and it seemed like overnight Sam Smith was heralded as having the greatest voice of a generation. While having a Grammy is no longer the end all be all of music fame, having one certainly propelled his star further. The only problem with all this is that the goods have never really been there. "Latch" was an organic smash and was more or less Disclosure at the height of the powers, the song certainly wasn't just the Sam Smith show. On his own this music feels a bit dated and paint by numbers. Sparse piano tracks and over the top big numbers are sort of just what you do when you are in this realm of music so it does not feel all that inspiring or bold.

However it is perfectly good music that Sam Smith sings the hell out of so why isn't it moving the needle more? I think because the record feels so expected, exactly what Sam Smith "should" do, is the reason it's not more exciting. By the time you look up you've almost finished the album without even realizing it. The Thrill of It All just feels like an album that has already been made, conclusions that have already been drawn a million times. This is such comfortable territory for Sam Smith it feels like no risks what so ever are being taken. He knows He has a sense for the melancholy so he sticks there rather than trying to innovate. At ten tracks the album struggles to stay interesting and the 14 tracks deluxe addition is even more of the same. "Pray" the albums closer is the only song that feels emotionally real and raw even as the rest of the songs try desperately to reach that point. The Thrill of It All is unfortunately anything but thrilling and far to basic of a record to propel Sam Smith forward. He's only 25 there is still plenty of time to course correct, but one more album of this kind of slog is not going to benefit his career.

5.9 out of 10