Sam Smith Hazel Eyes
Released Aug 21, 2026 PLG - Capitol
Consensus forming 3 professional reviews Updated Aug 27, 2026
Mostly positive consensus
Consensus is still forming across 3 professional reviews. Sam Smith's Hazel Eyes opens as a tender, seasonally textured collection that trades pop spectacle for intimate storytelling and restrained vocal drama.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
When He’s Gone
2 critic mentions
“Hate it when you speak to me with cruel and careless words/Everything you say to me, can't you see it hurts?” — Shatter The Standards
Oh Mother (feat. The TwoCity Chorus)
2 critic mentions
“By the fourth verse, she becomes sweaty, can’t breathe anymore, and begs her mother to come faster.” — Shatter The Standards
Love Is A Stillness
1 critic mention
“the little gem that is ‘Love Is A Stillness” — Hot Press
Full critic consensus
Sam Smith's Hazel Eyes opens as a tender, seasonally textured collection that trades pop spectacle for intimate storytelling and restrained vocal drama. Across three professional reviews the record earned a 70/100 consensus score, and critics point to songs like “When He’s Gone”, “Everlasting Love”, “My Guy” and “Oh Mother (feat. The TwoCity Chorus)” as the album's emotional anchors. Those tracks emerge as the best songs on Hazel Eyes because they pair warm songcraft with gospel-tinged soul or art-pop color, letting Smith's voice carry scenes of love, distance and reconciliation.
The critical consensus emphasizes recurring themes of love and commitment, seasonal and nature imagery, and the tension between public scrutiny and private dialogue. Reviewers consistently praised the record's sparse acoustic arrangements and the use of a large human chorus on select cuts, which foreground Smith's restrained, intimate delivery. Hot Press and Slant Magazine highlight how narrative-driven pieces such as “When He’s Gone” and “Thief” give the album its most vivid stakes, while Shatter The Standards notes that several pleasant songs drift into filler, producing a mixed but respectful reception across professional reviews.
Ultimately critics agree that Hazel Eyes offers rewarding high points that make it worth listening to for fans of soulful, narrative songwriting, even if its mid-section undercuts momentum. The consensus suggests a confident step into genre exploration - from soul and gospel touches to art-pop and blues inflection - positioning the record as a nuanced chapter in Sam Smith's catalog rather than an unequivocal return to form. Read on for full reviews and track-by-track notes.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Everlasting Love
Hazel Eyes
Moondance (feat. Feist)
My Guy
When He’s Gone
Thief
Love Is A Stillness
Sugar Rush
Oh Mother (feat. The TwoCity Chorus)
Constant Companion
Hold On
To Be Free
Get the next albums worth your time.
Critic-backed picks in one clean digest. No clutter.
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Ho
Critic's Take
Sam Smith leans into tenderness on Hazel Eyes, a love-letter record that foregrounds intimacy over spectacle. The reviewer highlights “Everlasting Love” as a gently strummed opener and elevates “When He’s Gone” as a standout, while Feist’s touch on “Moondance (feat. Feist)” and “My Guy” brings art-pop colour. Production choices - sparse instrumentation and a large human chorus on tracks like “To Be Free” - let Smith’s voice take centre stage. Overall the best tracks on Hazel Eyes are those that combine warm songcraft with gospel-tinged soul, especially “When He’s Gone” and “Everlasting Love”.
Key Points
-
The best song is praised for emotional immediacy and production fingerprints, making it the record's standout.
-
The album's core strength is intimate, gospel-tinged songcraft that foregrounds Sam Smith's voice.
Themes
Critic's Take
Sam Smith makes quiet reinvention the point on Hazel Eyes, where tenderness and suspicion sit cheek by jowl. Where tracks like “Thief” and “Constant Companion” push narrative stakes into blues and outlaw myth, the album sustains a surprising coherence through acoustic instrumentation and Smith's restrained vocal approach. This is an album about choosing to love without perfection, and its standout moments are the ones that make that cost feel palpable and specific.
Themes
Sh
Critic's Take
There is a recurrent sense that Smith's voice still makes almost any lyric singable, and these standout tracks show the push that the artist says shaped the record. However, several songs are pleasant but go nowhere, so the album feels strongest in its dialogue-driven pieces and weaker in its filler.
Key Points
-
The best song is "My Guy" because its summer-day energy, matched lyrics and vivid small images make it the album’s most convincing moment.
-
The album’s core strengths are Smith’s voice and dialogue-driven songwriting that convey intimate hurt and tenderness, though several tracks feel pleasant but directionless.