Album Review: Sam Smith’s “The Thrill of It All’ Shows Love Prevails

Sam Smith has been open that his newest album, The Thrill of It All, was written in heartache, and it can be felt. The album has taken years to arrive, but those years were more than Smith’s growth as an artist. He grew as a person. Thus, grab your tub of ice cream ladies because The Thrill of It All is for the eternal romantic struggling not to become a hopeless one.
Sam Smith – Pray (Official Audio)

I’ll admit it. My breakups have left me jaded, and it takes WORK to turn your heart back from a lump of a coal into its original form: diamond. Thus, Sam Smith feels like a breakup companion through The Thrill of It All. You cannot help but want to text him to come over, bring a bunch of junk food and his Netflix password, and spend the night laughing and crying on how you sincerely believe you will end up alone. Tracks such as, “To Good At Goodbyes”, “Him”, and “No Peace” feel like they were written with tears rather than ink. Smith’s soulful vocals grab sadness by its own heart, and tell it to cry until its healed. In essence, the album feels ways more cathartic and personal compared to his last, hit debut, In The Lonely Hour. Thus, there will be times when you want to cry from Smith’s voice and vulnerability like, in “Say It First” and “Burning”.Yet, The Thrill of It All is more than just a gorgeously melancholic look into heartbreak; it also sings to how the desire to fall in love that pervades through such hurt.
Sam Smith – Too Good At Goodbyes (Official Video)

For however much we crash after a relationships’ end something in our heart says, “Keep Going!”. Thus, songs like “Pray” and “One Last Song” are standouts for me; the latter needing to be a RADIO SINGLE NOW! While many of the record’s tracks can feel like sonically stripped, honest glosses into wanting love because it is something to want, “Baby You Make Me Crazy” and “Midnight Train”, at least, have a 1950’s baseline that would make Amy Winehouse proud. Through it all, Smith is writhing in his ruby voice but shaded heart, of which the album feels like a rollercoaster to regain light/ hope. Yet, this rollercoaster is filled piano melodies, spiritual choirs, and one of the most genuine records on heartbreak. “DAMMIT LOVE! Why do you make people love so much!” is what I yelled after listening to The Thrill of It All. I wish I knew why love, as an entity, is the epicenter of life, but, at least, Sam Smith is here to make it the best epicenter to music, as well. For More Information On Sam Smith And To Buy The Thrill of It All On November 3 Click Here.
Sam Smith – Burning (Live From The Hackney Round Chapel)