SAM SMITH - THE THRILL OF IT ALL

Sam Smith is proof that you can have the fame, the talent, the success (an Oscar, three Brits and four Grammys etc) and still be knocked down by the gut-wrenching sadness of heartbreak. Luckily, he is skilled enough to turn his misery into music and, on The Thrill Of It All, Smith lays himself bare, raw from a painful break-up.

But that's not to say his second album is just a collection of mood-busting melancholy. While, yes, there is a fair amount of lyrical woe, Smith shows that all is not lost in love and life with upbeat tracks Baby You Make Me Crazy and One Last Song.

Not one of Smith's songs is weak: there is no filler. The album is a compilation of the good, the great and the "good God, that's exactly what I need right now". Highlights are No Peace - in which he shows how flawlessly his voice works with a female vocal, unsigned artist Yebba - and Him, a clever choral anthem about his sexuality (his version of a hymn) that will no doubt inspire the global LGBTQI+ community.

After a three-and-a-half-year wait, Smith has produced an album that seriously rivals his critically acclaimed debut.

9/10 - Lucy Mapstone