From the very first guitar riff on the album’s opening track ‘Glasgow’, the album continuously uses instrumentation that echoes that of indie pop and rock staples like The Cure’s ‘Wish’ or ‘Disintegration’. Whilst these guitar riffs and various synth elements are unquestionably pretty on the ears - notably the blissful opening section of the album’s first released single, ‘Perfume’ - many of the songs fail to offer much of a new or inventive take on this style. Parallels also became apparent between the sound of this album's instrumentation and that of fellow outfits signed with Dirty Hit Records such as The 1975. This is most evident in the almost uncanny resemblance between the instrumentals of ‘Hate to Hurt You’ and The 1975’s smash hit ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’. However, where this album falls shorter than the impact of other albums in the genre is that, for most of the songs, the songwriting is relatively safe and uninspiring. Lustful love songs such as ‘Kiss Me Again’ are not bad in principle, but the lyrics play out with only a vague sense of longing.
Writing such as this is not the case for all of the album though. The album’s third song, ‘Gravity’, offers a much more personal portrayal of an LGBTQ+ relationship being prevented because of the love interest’s religion. Whilst this could arguably be explored in more detail, the depiction of the love interest "Talking too much to Mary" and therefore "now she wants the ordinary" is certainly a striking exploration of the topic. Throughout the album, Heather Barron-Gracie's vocal performances are enjoyable, and it must be said that the melodies on most notably the songs ‘Miss America’ and ‘Gravity’ are infectious and incredibly catchy when combined with the generally smooth pop-rock production.
Overall, whilst ‘Smitten’ is by no means unlistenable or even a bad album, it suffers rather heavily from a sense of being just another generic, albeit catchy and at times satisfying indie pop-rock record.
Rating: 2.5/5
