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MUSIC FEATURE

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FEATURE

SAM SMITH It turns out the golden-voiced cherub is hiding a leather harness under the gospel robe, as SAM SMITH delivers a truly candid exploration of their identity on fourth studio album Gloria . Here's our take. Words Zoë Radas The glory era of

disarming than any aerial acrobatics or vocal fry. The album's centrepiece is beast-hit Unholy featuring German

Smith in the clip for Unholy feat. Kim Petras

vocalist Kim Petras, and it's almost criminal to listen without watching the accompanying video. That experience is an Eyes Wide Shut spectacular of sexuality directed by Italian-Canadian icon Floria Sigismondi (who has worked with Björk, Rihanna, and David Bowie among a pile-on of others). The clip's male protagonist peacocks his way through the parlour setting before appearing semi conscious and upside down on the roof of a car (with one leg bent a la the 'Hanged Man' tarot position), the bonnet of which is spray-painted with the words LIAR, CHEAT, FUMIER – look that last one up in your French-to-English pocket dictionary! Meanwhile, the choreography is inspired, Smith body-rolling their way through “Body Shop" mechanic-cum-dominatrix wordplay and genuflections, while gender fluid dancers ripple in fits of pearls, tassels, harnesses, riding crops, and corsets. Nestled in the middle of the

T hey may possess an already-stacked trophy cabinet (multi Grammys, multi BRITs, a Golden Globe, an Oscar and more), but London singer-songwriter Sam Smith has finally found their destined niche. They've gracefully captured the tears-on-the dancefloor torch from Robyn and wrapped it in layers of psalmic back-ups, their voice riding the waves of discerning dance electronics with a light step and a canny eye locked on how we sabotage, build and (eventually learn to) cherish our own self-worth. The nature of the journey is clear: even if you're unfamiliar with the UK media scrutiny surrounding Smith's every move (outfits, dating history, weight loss and gain, and the recoil which followed Smith's coming out as non-binary in 2019) as well as their well-documented discomfort with the trappings of fame, the 18-second Hurting Interlude will clue you in to the sort of isolation Smith has been contemplating: “Having to lie, I feel, is the saddest and the ugliest part of being a homosexual,” comes a resigned voiceover sample from an unidentified personage. “When you have your first bad love experience, for instance, you can’t go to your brother, or your sister, and say: 'I’m hurting.'” To dismantle this 'ugliness', Smith believes, the place to begin is within. “Have you ever felt like being somebody else/ Feeling like the mirror isn't good for your health?” they ask in flay-hearted confessional Love Me More , before realising with cautious optimism: “Lately it's not hurting like it did before/ Maybe I am learning how to love me more.” Even the beat transmits compassion: it's a sweetly chilled R'n'B rhythm reminiscent of mid-tempo Janet Jackson circa The Velvet Rope, with little dabs of electric guitar and bassline

– but it all exists in subtle service to the vocal. Stand-out Perfect shines with an arresting chord structure and Smith's deep croon. “I'm not perfect, but I'm working on it” they sing in their lower, caramelised registers before leaping up alongside instrumentation rich and refreshing. How to Cry is another bit of brilliance – Smith's gentle vibrato is more

tracklist, the song doesn't hit out-of place – it's simply another facet on the diamond that is Smith's unified self. The title track (co written with Northern

Kim Petras

Irish singer-songwriter Foy Vance) begins in a monk-like chant, before opening into a waterfall of hymnal beauty. And closer Who We Love is a ballad of sweet solidarity featuring Ed Sheeran: “It's not wrong to want the world for someone/ It's not a feeling we can run from/ We love who we love, so let go,” the pair entreat, in a duet we couldn't have guessed would be so affecting.

On Gloria , Sam Smith uncages their messages of hope and lets them fly out to lovers, friends, allies – and themselves. There is vulnerability, and definitely yearning, but the threads of self love are stitched between the pain, and the connection to self gets stronger each time Smith takes up the needle.

Gloria by Sam Smith is out now via Universal.

FEBRUARY 2023

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