Photo Credit: Collier Schorr

Sam Smith lets heartbreak gather like distant thunder on “When He’s Gone,” the third single from their forthcoming fifth studio album, ‘Hazel Eyes.’

The song begins with little more than an acoustic groove and Smith’s voice before gradually opening into something far larger, with ghostly backing vocals and a cinematic sweep.

“This album explores every shade of a relationship and ‘When He’s Gone’ is more of a melancholy shade,” Smith says.

That melancholy comes from the fear of losing someone who has become inseparable from your sense of home, stability and everyday life.

Smith recorded the original performance live without a click track, then built the arrangement around it to preserve the looseness and tension of the moment.

The result moves with its own pulse. Its understated beginning carries shades of classic soul before the instrumentation steadily expands toward a dramatic crescendo.

“When He’s Gone” follows “Oh Mother,” featuring the 28-member TwoCity Chorus, and the romantic “My Guy.”

Together, the singles are revealing the emotional range of ‘Hazel Eyes,’ which Smith describes through different shades of intimacy, devotion, fear and love.

The 12-song album was recorded over 3 years in spaces including New York City’s Electric Lady Studios.

Smith co-produced the record with David Odlum and Simon Aldred, while collaborators across the project include Feist, Shahzad Ismaily and string arranger Rob Moose.

‘Hazel Eyes’ follows 2023’s ‘Gloria,’ the album that included Smith’s global Kim Petras collaboration “Unholy.”

The new record also includes previously released songs “Love Is A Stillness” and “To Be Free,” the latter giving its name to Smith’s ongoing series of intimate residencies.

Those shows have already welcomed surprise guests including Hozier, Ed Sheeran, Brandi Carlile, Sienna Spiro and Petras.

The “To Be Free” residency continues in Mexico later this month before moving to the U.K. in September for 2 nights at Manchester’s Albert Hall and 8 performances at the London Coliseum.

“When He’s Gone” is available now, with ‘Hazel Eyes’ arriving August 21 through Capitol Records.