Myles Smith Releases Debut Album ‘My Mess, My Heart, My Life’: Review
TOPNOTE reviews the debut album from Myles Smith, released today via Sony Music. Image credit: Chuff Media
‘My Mess, My Heart, My Life’ lacks substantial interest – which is both a surprise and a shame for a title and talent which promised such introspection.
Myles Smith took to Instagram a few days ago to share how nervous he was in the build up to his debut album’s release. Understandably so, as the Luton-born singer-songwriter is fairly new to the whole ‘global phenomenon’ thing. His debut release was a cover of The Neighbourhood’s ‘Sweater Weather’ back only in February 2023, before his first original single crept forward a couple months later.
In many ways, Smith has been catching up with his own success ever since. Following the explosion of 2024 single ‘Stargazing’, a collaboration with Niall Horan on the universally adored ‘Drive Safe’, a headline O2 Arena date already in the books for November, and a bit of life lived later, the day has finally arrived for Smith’s first substantial body of work – his first collated statement as an artist – to be feasted on by an audience of multi-millions. Most artists would hope to see their debut album track some level of attention; not find themselves experiencing their first extended serve of vulnerability on a global stage.
And yet… ‘My Mess, My Heart, My Life’ just doesn’t sound that vulnerable. For the most part lacking in emotional conviction, it’s difficult to render Myles Smith’s debut as more than a solid first attempt; rather than meeting the admittedly insurmountably high expectations he’s being held to.
‘My Mess, My Heart, My Life’ is out today via Sony Music – read on for our review of the album.
Myles Smith, ‘My Mess, My Heart, My Life’ album artwork. Image credit: Chuff Media
The Myles Smith blueprint seems to be as follows: acoustic verse, a teased tempo increase, a soaring chorus, a paled-back bridge, and a doubled-down uplifting outro. At 15 songs, ⅓ of the record could be removed and the listener would likely have the same opinion of it as a whole.
“It seems just as likely that any of these songs could have paved Smith’s path to virality had they been released as singles instead. Either Myles is tapping into a psyche that was going to connect with the masses sooner or later, or his music rides on the crest of the uber-popular before him.”
Such a mould means that the 28 year old‘s breakout track ‘Stargazing’, exceeding 1 billion streams at time of writing, does not hold this album down as a one-hit wonder; since the structure of its tracklist does not depart far from it. It seems just as likely that any of these songs could have paved Smith’s path to virality had they been released as singles instead. Either Myles is tapping into a psyche that was going to connect with the masses sooner or later, or his music rides on the crest of the uber-popular before him.
Mumford & Sons and Ed Sheeran influences are very audible, sometimes scraping a little too close to impersonation. ‘Dublin Lights’, for example, sounds suspiciously similar to ‘Galway Girl’... and doesn’t do anything for commercialised Irish trad that the 2017 single hasn’t already. ‘I’ll have no secrets, I’ll bare my soul’ Smith sings in ‘Dying Days’. But not with us, it seems. At the end of this album, it’s hard to get a deeper sense of who Myles Smith is, beyond a musician talented at crafting a swaying chorus.
That’s with a couple of exceptions. ‘Grandma’s Place’ showcases Smith’s best songwriting, presenting a vignette of his childhood-into-adult relationship through perceptive storytelling: ‘her roses were dead, but the lights were still on’. ‘My Mess’, the album’s opener, also succeeds at delving into Smith’s past, offering harrowing glimpses into his ‘fractured family’ upbringing, transforming into an emerging self-acceptance that does reflect Smith’s reference to his songs as ‘therapy notes’.
“‘Grandma’s Place’ showcases Smith’s best songwriting, presenting a vignette of his childhood-into-adult relationship through perceptive storytelling: ‘her roses were dead, but the lights were still on.’”
In these cases, there’s a ‘show-don’t-tell’ approach that creates a much stronger emotional resonance, but elsewhere it’s traded for basic metaphors and hand-fed soundbites on surface-level themes. ‘Heaven’ suffers from some disappointingly lazy songwriting that is a surprise to hear on the final version of such a hotly anticipated debut album that made no rush to arrive: ‘All your imperfections / ain’t no need to perfect them… I know you don’t believe me / but you gotta believe me’. ‘Mary’s Song’, which tells the vague and overdone story of a vulnerable, exploited young woman doing her best, fails to land any kind of blow when its chorus is ‘sings her song and it goes like / do do-do do, do do-do do do’. Surely there was something, anything, that would have been better than that?
*
‘My Mess, My Heart, My Life’ ticks along harmlessly. It’s not one that will stop you in your tracks, for good or bad. Easily palatable, Smith has for now found his niche in radio-spinning folk-tinged pop, despite seeming capable of becoming a much more nuanced musician.
In essence, the album lacks substantial interest – which is both a surprise and a shame for a title and talent which promised such introspection. The briefly chuckled ‘’urry up I’m waiting’ ad-lib in penultimate track ‘Stay (If You Wanna Dance)’ provides a better peek at Smith’s personality than the majority of his album’s lyricism or instrumentation. Certainly, this album does not shout ‘Mess’ – offering instead a more polished batch of algo-friendly foot-tappers.
It seems Myles Smith has opted for an eked out tribute to his predecessors that plays commercially safe. ‘I don’t wanna live in a world where people don’t share openly about how they’re feeling and what they’re going through’, Smith said in a recent social media post contextualising a perceived lack of presence surrounding his debut album’s release. Smith’s ethos is admirable and authentic, but on this occasion, his music fails to follow through. Let’s hope his next record will better showcase a fantastic voice and charismatic personality.