Review: Sam Smith "In The Lonely Hour"

Brit soul singer gives voice to shy guy



Let's cut to the clear chase, Sam Smith isn't doing anything innovative, but that by no means makes "In The Lonely Hour" a bad record, on the contrary, the stripped down back-to-basics plays on Smith's strengths, his vocals, which have the ability to stir even the most hardened of souls.

We see Smith with gospel tinged ballads such as "Stay With Me", and a reworked "Lay Me Down", along with brooding tunes like "Like I Can" and "I'm Not the Only One" with most of the tracks hitting a solid middle ground.

Set Your Blocks: "Kimbra Stays 'Golden'"

First and foremost, Set Your Blocks, is my segment about promotional tracks, off of upcoming albums.. just for clarification

Kiwi songstress Kimbra has just released promotional singles "Love In High Places" and "Nobody But You" as part of promotion for her sophomore release The Golden Echo , with "Love In High Places" featuring bass from Thundercat, reminiscent of no other than Ms. Erykah Badu with a dash of Prince, and yes, you've read that right. While "Nobody But You", is a John Legend collaboration, where you can see
Kimbra taking on an R&B flair, perhaps delving further into the genre than previously, but still keeping the jazz flair to her vocals.