Sam Smith- Love Goes

    Finally, we have the big Sam Smith transition into main stream pop music. It might be more shocking if this album came out when it was supposed to but at this point Sam has been releasing music like this for years. Over the months leading up to this record I managed to get excited about it and then ambivalent, singles quality varied greatly and constant pushing back the release made me question if it’ll ever actually see the light of day.

   Couple of title, cover and tracklist changes later it’s called Love Goes and features almost none of the previously recorded singles. It looks a lot like a case of label shitting it’s pants that they won’t make back their money if they drop the album during pandemic, waiting so long that all the singles become too old to be released as part of a new LP and releasing the record during pandemic anyways, only filled with material that feels like an afterthought. Love Goes has only one card to play and that’s Diamonds. Refrain is catchy, beat hits hard and Sam’s vocal performance is the strongest out of any track on the record. Smith finally makes the case that a dance pop tune with him on a vocal has a lot to offer and it’s a logical way for him to progress. Thank god for that song, because the rest of the album doesn’t make a case for anything. The autotune intro overstays it’s welcome, vocal mixing on Dance is just hideous, Sam voice is the one consistent element throughout this record but even that sounds off on that track. The quiet, piano cuts are pleasant but it’s just Sam staying in his comfort zone. The tile track tries to mix his old sound with a production of a modern dance track, which results on an awful, cheap drum beat ruining any atmosphere Sam may have been going for.

Love Goes finishes relatively strong with Kids Again. It’s a pretty standard pop rock tune but it has one of the strongest refrains here. After hearing it all I just feel bad for Sam. I don’t think what we got is the end product he planned on putting out, just another casualty of covid’s influence on the media. Hopefully with his next project he’ll be able to show his true potential.

Rating: 3/10