Jorja Smith - Be Right Back

Pitchfork 72

Read Eric Torres’ review of the album.

The Guardian 0

(Famm)
This eight-track halfway house between Lost & Found and Smith’s next full album covers familiar ground

Why is the shortest track always the sweetest? Under two minutes long, Time, on Jorja Smith’s eight-track Be Right Back, is a tender arrangement of vulnerable vocals over acoustic guitar. “I’m not here to hug you, I’m just for the night,” she howls.

Smith’s 2018 debut album, Lost & Found, was a coming-of-age tale of self-discovery. Not much has changed since then: the same themes of disorientation that appeared in songs such as Blue Lights emerge here in Addicted and Burn: “You tried so hard. Don’t you know you’re burnt out?” This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just means that Be Right Back lacks some suspense. Smith doesn’t owe anyone fresh narratives, but as her muse Amy Winehouse candidly showed us with Frank and Back to Black, your perspective on life and love can shapeshift in just three years – enough to make you sound like a different artist.