Love, self-discovery and learning, are all themes that come across and are intermingled within “Gloria,” English singer-songwriter Sam Smith’s fourth studio album featuring the voices of Jessie Reyez, Koffee, Ed Sheeran, and RuPaul Charles. 

Love

One of the primary themes in “Gloria,” love seems to be expressed in multiple forms. From the self-love in the first track “Love Me More” to the romantic love discussed in the penultimate track “Lose You.” 

“Love Me More” talks about the negative inward feelings that one might have felt or is currently feeling and the release of said feeling leading to a greater sense of self-love and self-appreciation. 

“I wrote this song for anyone who feels different, anyone who has to stop themselves every day from saying unkind things to themselves in their head, all the time,” Smith said in a press release for the song.

“Lose You” takes listeners into a relationship that seems to be ending. It’s told through the lens of the person being left. The person leaving is saying that the pressure of being with them, perhaps in a relationship with a high-profile person, is too much and they need to leave. 

Smith then uses the chorus to show us how the person being left feels. Proclaiming how they value the love that the other gave and how they aren’t ready to give that up and walk away from it. 

The way Smith speaks of love throughout the album serves as a way to empower individuals to be confident about themselves and what they feel they deserve when it comes to love. 

Self-Discovery

Another key theme that comes across in the album is self-discovery. More so the discovery of what one needs for themselves. 

An example of this would be the second to last track, “I’m Not Here To Make Friends.” This song is about the downsides of dating while being in the public eye. “I was just so sick of going on dates where people treated me like a friend or just wanted to meet me because I’m Sam Smith,” Smith said.

Another example would be the title of the album itself, “Gloria.” It is not the name of a physical person, but the name of a person or spirit that exists inside everyone.

“There’s a fighter voice in all of us and you’ve just got to look after that. My album Gloria, I’ve called it Gloria because I’ve called that voice inside me Gloria. It’s like a voice in my head that just says, ‘You can do it’,” Smith said in an interview for Billboard. 

Through the name of the album, Smith sends a message to listeners that once someone finds “Gloria” inside of them they can call on it to help them keep going and encourage them not to give up.

Learning

The biggest and most recurring theme in the record is learning, specifically learning from something or learning a new perspective on something. 

The album’s fifth track features fellow singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez and is about learning how to love and how to be okay with one’s flaws. In the song, Smith and Reyez ask what can be assumed to be a potential lover, if they like them “crazy” or “troubled” and admit openly to being both. 

However, the focus of the song isn’t being crazy or troubled, it’s about accepting one’s personal flaws as a part of them. Lines like “I’m not perfect,/but I’m workin’ on it/I go up, I go down, I go all the way around/I’m not perfect, but I’m worth it,” and “I wear my flaws like jewelry/And I’m dripping,” are proof of that.

Another piece of the album that serves to help learn perspective is “Hurting Interlude,” which plays right after “No God” and continues the same backing music. The track is actually an audio snippet from the news anchor, Lilli Vincenz on New York’s very first Pride celebration.

“Having to lie, I feel, is the saddest and the ugliest part of being a homosexual/ When you have your first bad love experience, for instance/ And you can’t go to your brother or your sister and say, “I’m hurting.”

This offers some perspective into what it was and is like to be a part of the queer community for most people. It is in sharing these kinds of perspectives that can cause growth and acceptance to combat hate and ignorance. 

RATING

Overall this album captures a certain view of humanity. It gives us a glimpse into not only the mind and heart of Smith as the singer but into the minds and hearts of the people who experience some of the things they talk about in the songs.

However, there is one song, “Unholy,” featuring Kim Petras, that brings down the overall cohesiveness of the album. While being similar to “Gimme” featuring Koffee and Jessie Reyez in a lyrical sense, the song doesn’t express any of the realness and feeling that is underscored in the lyrics of “Gimme.” 

This album is an 8.5/10. There are many great things about it such as the message and how the vibe of every song is something different and presents new ideas. This album speaks to and empowers people to be their most bold and most authentic selves.