When Sam Smith was approaching the follow-up to their 2014 debut album—the Grammy-winning, multi-platinum In the Lonely Hour—safety was their priority. “I’m not ashamed of that,” Smith told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in 2020. “At a moment of such unsafety in my life, all I wanted was to feel safe. That’s honest to me.” Honesty, of course, is the currency that made Smith’s debut album so valuable—and led them to surf a tidal wave of global success. They have described the years after their debut release as “a vortex”, one that consumed them—and that ultimately inspired their second album, 2017’s The Thrill of It All. “I guess I got lost in the moment/I guess I got lost in the fall,” they sing on the title track. “I guess I got lost in your heartbeat/In the thrill of it all.” This admission—and Smith’s craving for something solid and secure—helps explain the recognisable musical palette of the album. “Too Good at Goodbyes” echoes the gospel power balladry of In the Lonely Hour’s “Stay With Me”, “One Last Song” and “Baby, You Make Me Crazy” are packaged with retro neo-soul flourishes and “Say It First” has the same understated yearning as Smith’s very first single, “Lay Me Down”. But for all its familiarity, The Thrill of It All does gesture toward thornier themes. “Burning” is a gutting warning about the pitfalls of stardom, with Smith admitting: “Had respect for myself/That river ran dry.” On “Pray”, which features surprisingly pared-down production by Timbaland, Smith shares their ignorance about serious global issues (“There’s dread in my heart and fear in my bones/And I just don’t know what to say”). Then there’s “HIM”, which remains one of their most daring songs. “Say I shouldn’t be here, but I can’t give up his touch/It is him I love,” Smith sings on the hymnal-like track. “Don’t you try and tell me that God doesn’t care for us.” It’s a potent and impassioned plea against anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry, one that finds Smith step explicitly and unequivocally into their queerness. Smith may have felt safe recording The Thrill of It All, but “HIM” is an early sign of just how subversive their approach to pop would become.