Sam Smith's 'Hazel Eyes' Marks Acoustic Pivot From 'Gloria'
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- Sam Smith releases "Hazel Eyes," a largely acoustic, lovestruck album marking a creative reset following 2023's "Gloria"
- Smith has relocated from England to New York and calls the album a "heartfelt ode" to their new home
- The new album features slow tempos, very little percussion, and soaring backing vocals — stylistically distant from "Gloria" singles like "Unholy" and "I'm Not Here to Make Friends"
- Smith worked closely with co-producers Simon Aldred and David Odlum, with contributions from Feist, Moses Sumney, Rob Moose, and the 28-member TwoCity Chorus Choir
- Tracks span from the drum-machine-driven "Moondance" to the gospel-inflected "Oh Mother" to the piano ballad "Love Is a Stillness," with closing "Hold On" and "To Be Free" recalling the 2014 hit "Stay With Me"
- Smith says singing about queer love with "complete honesty and directness" feels important "in the world we're living in right now"
Why it matters: Two years after a synth-pop maximalist album that opened new commercial lanes, Smith is deliberately heading the other way — trading dancefloor reach for hushed, choir-backed intimacy. With five Grammys and an estimated 65 million albums sold behind them, Smith has little commercial pressure to chase radio, and the pivot signals continued willingness to reinvention rather than settling into a proven lane.
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