★★★★★
Knowing Sam Smith from his hits 'Nirvana' and 'Money On My Mind', it surprised us that, when by track two of this debut album, we were slumped under feathery folk guitar and cheesy bursts of strings. After four tracks, you're wondering where the fire is on this record. Smith is a banging singer, with a knack for the most inquisitive of vocal earworms, but the power comes from hearing him push those pipes to the limit over next-level pop production...
- www.clashmusic.com
2014-06-06
★★★★★
There were some loud tuts when Smith won the critics' choice award, because of the success of La La La. But Smith promptly went to No 1 again in February with a single under his own name - the first Choicer to do so. Not even Adele, the doyenne of double winners, did that. Like Jessie J's Price Tag, that No 1 - Money on My Mind - claims that Smith isn't motivated by filthy lucre...
- www.theguardian.com
2014-05-25
★★★★★
Last year, Sam Smith told the Observer he wanted to write an album for those who have never been in love. Having never "physically experienced" it himself, he was keen to give voice to the dejected. While his debut certainly wallows in sadness, he forgets that true misery is more than just rhyming couplets about pain and rain - it's an angry, unstable emotion, too...
- www.theguardian.com
2014-05-23
★★★★★
?????????? 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...
- www.glidemagazine.com
2014-07-17
★★★★★
It's a testament to Sam Smith's talent, as well as his haunting and emotive vocals that the video currently going viral features him singing a song that is not on his very good album, In The Lonely Hour . Smith covers Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know," and he comes as close to owning a Whitney Houston tune as can be possibly expected. Backed by a keyboard, Smith transforms a dance song into a torchy ballad...
- www.soultracks.com
2014-06-29
★★★★★
For those of you who don't listen to the radio on a regular basis (and judging by the abundance of metalheads on Sputnik, it's likely that most of you don't), the top 40 has started moving back in the direction of a rose-tinted affirmation that the past had some darn good music. The most obvious (and cringe-worthy) example is MKTO's "Classic," bearing the flag of pop's "return to roots" with the subtlety of a sledgehammer and a proclivity towards slickly-produced arena-fillers worshipping at...
- www.sputnikmusic.com
2014-06-21
★★★★★
In a musical climate devoured by EDM and inundated with Auto-tuned vocalists of the "pour from a can and serve" variety, London-based singer-songwriter Sam Smith is a welcome reminder that natural talent can still flourish in mainstream music. He may not possess a remarkably distinguished name, but there is nothing ordinary about that voice...
- www.popmatters.com
2014-06-20
★★★★★
From the beginning, Sam Smith seemed set for stardom: his debut came at the start of Disclosure's world domination and gave them a show-stopping performance on the lingering mega-hit "Latch". Less than a year later, he appeared on Naughty Boy's "La La La", a summer smash that went to number one in the UK and the top of the charts in the rest of Europe. By the time he released "Money on My Mind" at the beginning of 2014, it was already a done deal...
- pitchfork.com
2014-06-19
★★★★★
Available on: Capitol The opening words of Sam Smith's debut album are "When I signed my deal, I felt pressure", which is a brave move. By directly addressing the hype that he's been surrounded by ever since appearing on Disclosure's 2012 chart hit 'Latch' and the high stakes of his major label deal, he shoots for honesty and point-scoring self-awareness by staring straight into the many critical eyes that are focused on his next step...
- www.factmag.com
2014-06-19
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