Sam Smith sings soul songs, but not in the usual way.
Where most of this genre’s singers shout, he moans. While anger fires
many, Smith focuses on hurt. It’s the sound a wound would make, a cry
without defense or deflection.
It’s so raw, it isn’t always easy to listen to, yet millions can’t help
it. Smith’s debut album, “In the Lonely Hour,” shows why.
In the last year, Smith has become a phenomenon in his native U.K.,
where he sang lead on three huge singles: “Latch” by the dance act
Disclosure, “La La La” from DJ Naughty Boy, plus his own No. 1 smash
“Stay With Me.”
That last single has also gone Top 5 in the U.S., earning Smith a
musical guest spot on “Saturday Night Live” more than a month before his
first album even appeared in this country.
To add to the attention, several
weeks ago Smith came out as gay, revealed by a casual mention to a
reporter that every song on the album reflects his spurned love for
another man. That gives Smith a bit of history: No other out gay person
has entered the U.S. marketplace for the first time with so much
commercial juice behind them, including Frank Ocean.
The album’s subject matter also gives it an edge. If Adele’s “21” was
about a busted relationship, “In the Lonely Hour” ups the pain factor to
deal with a love that never happened at all. Smith’s vocal approach
suits that subject. It’s a virgin’s cry, a falsetto simper that yearns
for flesh.
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