Myles Smith: My Mess, My Heart, My Life

My Mess; Hold Me In The Dark; Hate You; Grandma’s Place; Mary’s Song; Sertraline (Where Am I Now); Drive Safe; Heaven; Dying Day; Lifetime; Dublin Lights; Stargazing; Nice To Meet You; Stay (If You Wanna Dance); Gold.
(RCA)

Myles Smith has been one of the biggest British musical successes over the last year or so; his melodic songs have easily found a home on radio stations not only in his home country but also in the rest of Europe and beyond in a landscape that has been dominated by American artists, especially on the continent.

His appeal is easy-to-understand songs that are tuneful and memorable and ones that will still be played and remembered in years to come.

The album could be subtitled a Greatest Hits album – at least five of the tracks here have already been big hits. Any doubts about whether Smith could sustain the quality of songwriting across a whole album have been quashed here as he admirably demonstrates.

Hate You comes with a chorus that is as catchy as getting hooked on barbed wire and a song that sounds very familiar. Grandma’s Place sees Smith reminiscing about his grandma in a folk-driven number with a lyric where he remembers the smell of her oxtail soup and his church visits when he was aged ten years old. Coming from a broken family, you can feel Smith trying to make sense of growing up in that environment.

The folk influence comes through again on Sertraline (Where Am I Now) that recalls Joan Armatrading at her peak.

Dublin Lights comes naturally with a Celtic vibe, complete with a tin whistle that shines through the song like the sun through the early morning Dublin mist.

Whilst Stargazing and Nice To Meet You, two of his biggest hits, changed everything for him, the tracks do not define Smith, as there is far more on offer here on this accomplished album that consolidates the global reach he has achieved so far besides laying the groundwork for future album releases.

The songs here sound big and bold and connect easily with a euphoric energy and will sound perfect on his upcoming arena tour this autumn.

A fine collection of rousing and folk-pop songs that will be hard for his contemporaries to surpass.