Where Lonely Hour led with beats, Thrill of It All opens on lonely piano chords and Smith’s whispering high tenor, which sweeps up to falsetto on the pre-chorus, soon echoed by a choir and handclaps. Now, doubling down on his magnificent, gender-nonconforming voice while pushing his songcraft forward, Smith’s second LP knights one of the mightiest, most expressive vocalists of his generation. His debut LP, In the Lonely Hour, clarified matters, racking up ridiculous stream and sales numbers, plus four Grammys. But given the digital-chipmunk high notes and other effects, the jam gave little indication of his full power. Sam Smith’s breakout moment as a deep house don on Disclosure’s “Latch,” arguably the sexiest club banger of 2012, was a feint.
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