Scottish musician Lewis Capaldi has been one of the most interesting artists to pop up in recent years, no doubt due to the massive explosion of success that he achieved in a such a short amount of time, and the unprecedented reach of his debut album. The best part is, every drop of it is well deserved and justified by great songwriting and undeniable talent and skill.
I remember watching a cover of Bruises at a small school concert, and to the credit of the singer it was well performed, but I found the song nice and went back home to find the original version of it, only to be absolutely astounded by the voice of this singer. It's unmistakable that part of what makes his songs so good is his utterly angelic vocals. Whether it's the emotion-laden grit, the Scottish tinge or the elegant control he has, his voice has been one of the more iconic and unique ones this decade.
I didn't catch the hype of Someone You Loved or Before You Go, but I eventually got around to listening to the album as a whole, the extended edition to be specific. I was (and still am) in awe of how impressive this debut album was, with a standard of quality rarely seen in first releases. His songs aren't production heavy, there's barely any fancy effects or sounds, it's just heartfelt singing over simple piano and guitar melodies, which only goes to show how talented he is at singing and songwriting, where even the most raw and unfiltered tracks sound amazing.
Every song, from the major smash hits to the deep cuts, are extremely polished and well made. Even for a pop song, which never needs as much complexity as genres like metal and EDM, you can tell there's a lot of thought put into his songs. Although it is true that his songs don't vary too much in style and musicality, they're all easy to listen to, emotionally moving and memorable. Headspace gets a shoutout for being one of favourites of the album, I absolutely adore how great of a song it is for having the barebones essentials, being one of the calmest songs on the album and being one of the least streamed songs (it deserves more but at the same time I enjoy the idea of it being a deep cut).
A good majority of the world can agree with me that this is a terrific album, and the critical reception for this album has been insane. His record-breaking career is barely a few years old, and this album is the testament to what can become of great potential and even greater talent. I love to spin this record when I need something soft or when my heart wants to feel, there's nothing quite like singing along to Lewis Capaldi when you're emotionally vulnerable, and there's definitely nothing quite like Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent.
Rating: 9/10
