Honesty, especially regarding the difficult and less glamorous parts of life, is at the core of Myles Smith’s music. Emerging in 2024 with the enormous, breezy hit ‘Stargazing’ and a boy-next-door demeanour, he initially gave the impression of a radio-friendly singer-songwriter focused on lighthearted success.
That remains true, but as Smith noted on social media prior to the release of his debut album, My Mess, My Heart, My Life, it is vital for his audience to know the real person behind the music. The record opens with the title track, ‘My Mess,’ which sets a vulnerable tone for the entire project.
“I was born into a fractured family / Where a word can start a war,” he sings, before opening up on childhood abuse: “He grabbed my shirt and he bruised my cheek / Sad a man had to go toe to toe with a boy thirteen.” It is a striking, courageous note on which to begin an album that reveals the songwriter’s deeper layers.
Speaking in a previous feature, Smith admitted he faced pressure to release an album to capitalise on the runaway success of ‘Stargazing.’ However, his commitment to patience has resulted in a more rounded and representative record. Across the album, he presents romance in ‘Hold Me in the Dark,’ depression in ‘Sertraline,’ and barnstorming energy in ‘Stay (If You Wanna Dance),’ with each emotion committed to fully.
What sets Smith apart from his contemporaries is a willingness to embrace and translate the confusion that persists within him. This is an album that tracks his journey of discovery but refuses to signal any neat ending. “My mission statement is to write songs that don’t necessarily end with a pretty bow,” he explained. “There were so many times in my life where I used to write songs that basically said: I was heartbroken, then I figured it out, now everything’s OK. But the reality is: I was heartbroken, it was really shit, and it’s still really confusing.”
The best example of this is ‘My Mess,’ which contains lyrics taken verbatim from one of Smith’s therapy sessions, admitting that there is a long road still to travel. “I hate the way that I’m still like this / I’m still learning to walk on my own,” he sings, with the bracing honesty that defines the album. Continuing his openness, he sings on the album’s standout track, the divine ‘Dying Day’: “I have no secrets / I’ll bear my soul.”
When announcing that the album release would be delayed, Smith told fans: “I’m close to burning out… I don’t want to meet this moment exhausted.” It was another moment of refreshing frankness from a singer providing far more than first meets the eye.