Rather than make a predictable vocal-pop record, Smith mixes R&B with a range of production new and old to make a record that is truly one of a kind. As a new kind of art-house Amy Winehouse, she delivers great cutting commentary, a devastating vocal and the music to make it all memorable.

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PopMatters

This is not a first album that sounds like a first album; it is a first album that sounds like it came from an artist who has been doing this for years and years, an artist who already has award shows and headlining tours in her rear view mirror. As such, it's hard to keep from seeing those things in Jorja Smith's future. Lost & Found is a revelation.

Jorja Smith is beyond talented in her gift of devising such work with her voice and ability to make music that sticks. The soulful voice and production working collectively brings emotion and life to each track. Understand, this project introduces the prodigious capabilities of this young soul.

Comprising a brisk but dense 12 songs (including four previously released tracks and several others Smith has teased live), Lost & Found is the biggest test to date of Smith’s commitment to making music on her own terms. The result is a bold statement of artistic purpose.

A powerful tool for repairing a broken heart and indicative of an even brighter future, Lost & Found is satisfying and promising at once.

There’s a diversity of stylistic approach and yet a singularity of vision that few artists are able to combine so early on.

While ‘Lost & Found’ doesn’t feel like Jorja Smith’s magnum opus, it’s a brilliant first draft.

Her debut is skilfully arranged so that most music fans will be able to unearth some element that they can relate to. Smith’s debut may cast the net wide, but she is an artist with ambition, who doesn’t want to be limited to one specific market. A multifaceted performer, her music reflects her personality.

Ebbing and flowing with daydreams and a glossy but gritty pulse, Lost & Found is quietly, confidently remarkable.

On her debut album, the singer ... resists the urge to call in favours from her high-profile friends. Instead, she wisely sticks to the creative path started on her 2016 debut EP, Project 11, which is what got her noticed in the first place.

The album is a debut in the truest sense of the word: an introduction, a declaration, a compendium of Smith’s artistry up to this point, and a tantalizing taste of what’s to come.

The Sydney Morning Herald

7mo

As a whole, Lost & Found finds Jorja Smith making a name for herself with presence and poise. Throughout these 12 songs, she commands a mastery of various styles, with enough experiments to flesh out a varied, captivating album.

Lost & Found occasionally feels like more of a collection than a full album; it’s a compilation of music she’s been performing for years and contains previously released songs going back to when she was 16. But it barely matters.

Jorja Smith’s debut resonates with the sounds of Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill; Smith isn’t afraid to fill songs with bare emotion as she writes melodies about love, racism and her life’s path.

While ‘Lost & Found’ is most successful when diving into the realities of being a British teenager today, Smith’s most consistent weapon is her voice.

It is regrettable that the album lacks any trace of contemporary advances in electronic production trends – nary a sign of PC Music, Yaeji or Arca here. It lends a curious sense of short-term nostalgia to proceedings, and a destiny, alas, not to be remembered as a defining statement of its times that the early hype might have suggested.

As far as the poetry of trying, failing and picking yourself up again goes, this has merit, but as for staking a claim as pop’s biggest new R&B talent, it doesn’t quite stand five stories tall.

Smith’s made the grade on this serviceable first record ‘Lost & Found’, and the path to her becoming Britain’s next global export is looking pretty clear. If only it was made to feel less of a drag.

Her voice is silky yet barbed with solemnity, rendering her profound heartbreak and joy palpable to the listener. It's a potent tool for storytelling that's present during every moment, both golden and dull, of her debut album, Lost & Found.

User Reviews

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exception

Smith has a good voice and is a solid writer, but the lack of original ideas and risks taken leads me to toss Lost & Found into the "vibe" carried Mainstream R&B dumpster.

buttholewasabi

The album might be on the safe side, but god damn there are so many good tracks on this album. Jorja's voice is beautiful, full of character and passion, and the production is a great compliment to it as well. So many moments on this where her voice reaches notes that are so real, and give me chills, you can feel the emotion she is feeling and trying to convey. While some songs may overstay their welcome, the vibe isn't ruined necessarily. Great album to put on during an after party to chill ... read more

Benny

VSCO GIRLS,HORNY BOYS,E THOTS AND E GIRLS
COME AT ME BITCH CUZ JORJA IS FUCKING OVERRATED IN TERMS OF MUSIC AND LOOKS

My problem with Jorja Smith is the same problem i have with almost every R&B artist and that they do nothing interest
Same topics
Same vibe
Same everything

I always see people on instagram forcing themselves to like Jorja Smith just beacuse of her looks and if im being honest she isn't all that in terms of looks and music

If a woman's body is the reason you like her ... read more

Zach

Keep you're eyes peeled for Jorja Smith, she's about to take the music industry by storm

p.s. u were right sarine :)

JoaoSantos

It's a pretty good neo soul album. The problem is that it plays too safe. It's all very nice but it doesn't really mean anything in the big scheme of music. If you're looking for something simple and calm, this is the album.

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