Lewis Capaldi ¦ Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent

Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent is the second studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi, released on 19 May 2023 through Vertigo Records and Capitol Records.^[1] It was preceded by three singles—the UK number ones "Forget Me", "Pointless" and "Wish You the Best", as well as the promotional single "How I'm Feeling Now"—and promoted with a 2023 world tour as well as a Netflix documentary titled Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now.

The album received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted atop the charts in the UK—where it became the fastest-selling album of 2023—as well as Australia, the Netherlands, Ireland and New Zealand.

Background and recording

Capaldi stated that his inspiration for writing the album was "go[ing] out and look[ing] out at the world and what's shit, and then [he] would write songs pertaining to that".^[2] In a press release at the time of the lead single "Forget Me", Capaldi explained that he did not want to make a "new sound" for nor "reinvent" himself, and that "The songs [he] want[s] to write are emotional songs, about love or loss".^[3]

The album was recorded with a simple set-up, "only a small interface, laptop, speakers, and a Shure SM7B vocal mic", and songwriters and producers who worked on Capaldi's first album—TMS, Phil Plested, Nick Atkinson and Edd Holloway—with Capaldi stating "at least one of them's on almost every song". Capaldi commented that he "felt like [he] was sounding better because [he] was just chilled out in [his] own gaff".^[3]

Promotion

The album was announced on 18 October 2022,^[4] following the September release of the lead single "Forget Me", which debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart.^[5] It was followed by the second single, "Pointless", on 2 December 2022,^[6] which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart the following month.^[7]

A trailer for Capaldi's Netflix documentary Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now, was released on 16 March 2023,^[8] followed by the promotional single "How I'm Feeling Now" a day later.^[9] The documentary premiered on 5 April.^[8] The third single,^[10] "Wish You the Best", was issued on 13 April 2023^[11] and debuted at number one in the UK the following week.^[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	5.9/10[13]
Metacritic	61/100[14]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	6/10[15]
Evening Standard	[16]
The Guardian	[17]
Hot Press	6/10[18]
i	[19]
The Independent	[20]
The Line of Best Fit	8/10[21]
NME	[22]
Pitchfork	4.0/10[23]
Rolling Stone UK	[24]

Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent received a score of 61 out of 100 based on eight critics' reviews at review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "generally favourable" reception.^[14] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian felt that Capaldi has "a powerful voice" and that he is "better at misery than soaring happiness" but that "there are moments where the Hey Jude-by-way-of-Coldplay piano intros and wounded, roaring choruses merge into one long heartbroken ballad – and occasionally points up his limitations".^[17] Kate Brayden of Hot Press wrote that the album "sticks largely to familiar terrain, but emphasises the talent's jaw-dropping vocal prowess on numerous tracks", particularly "Any Kind of Life" and "How This Ends". Brayden also felt that the "gargantuan weight of expectations" affects the music, as the "results" of Capaldi's writing sessions with London- and Los Angeles-based songwriters "are mixed, with a boatload of raw piano ballads referencing original sin, angels, hell, heaven, undying love and the rest".^[18] Reviewing the album for The Line of Best Fit, Caitlin Chatterton described the album as "a triumphant return from Capaldi", calling "Heavenly Kind of State of Mind" one of its best tracks as it "encourages listeners to put down the tissues and stand up for a boogie", and "Love the Hell Out of You" and "Any Kind of Life" as "tender piano ballads [that] relish, and then anguish over the 'during' and 'after' of falling in love".^[21]

Robin Murray of Clash wrote that on the album, Capaldi "plays it safe, doubling down on the formula that made his debut so beloved by fans, while making only subtle changes" and with a "lack of daring" it "certainly delivers on fan-pleasing trickery". Murray concluded that it "feels slightly too close to his debut to be truly considered a further chapter".^[15] Reviewing the album for NME, Thomas Smith opined that the album "occasionally shows steady growth" as with the groove on "Forget Me", the "tinge" of Americana on "Heavenly Kind of State of Mind", the "'80s power ballad-indebted" guitar solo on "Leave Me Slowly", as well as Capaldi's irony and "candid" lyrics on "How I'm Feeling Now", but that "this potential remains largely untapped".^[22] David Smyth of the Evening Standard noted that "although these songs do nothing new – the back-and-forth piano notes of Wish You the Best, Haven't You Ever Been in Love Before and Any Kind of Life all strongly recalling his huge hit Someone You Loved – any cynicism is undetectable".^[16]

Kate Solomon of i found the music to be "inoffensive and unremarkable" but that Capaldi's "true talent is his relatable lyrics" and that she "found this album moving – when it wasn't trying too hard to be sweet".^[19] The Independent's Annabel Nugent judged that "these gorgeously sung laments turn into a ballad soup of sorts", and that the album lacks Capaldi's "personable charm" and "variety". Nugent felt that the album's "best moment" is the closing track, "How I'm Feeling Now", on which Capaldi "sounds most like himself, instead of a singer striving for something".^[20] Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Laura Snapes wrote that the album as a whole is "unlistenable" as it feels "like watching a play in which every scene is acted as if it were the emotional climax", explaining that "nearly every song starts gently, with Capaldi's voice in its appealing conversational mode—a little boyish and uncertain, as if trying to reach someone—before a chorus smashes in like a wrecking ball". She also felt that the "ceaselessly wet, antiseptic piano proves entirely the wrong foil for a voice forever on the cusp of unraveling".^[23]

Neil McCormick of The Telegraph described the album as "absolutely stuffed to the rafters with another round of big, weepie ballads about how miserable [Capaldi's] love life is", and stated that he "can't help but like Capaldi, even while [he] question[s] whether anyone really needs to hear twelve melodramatic weepies in a row".^[25] Nick Reilly of Rolling Stone UK wrote that, "In leaning too heavily on the balladeering side of things to deliver a sure-fire hit, Capaldi risks neglecting the subtle moments of experimentation on show that hint at an altogether more exciting future" and "a more varied and interesting musical future could still be his. You just wish he'd dare to try that route."^[24] Ben Devlin from musicOMH called the album "sonically and thematically repetitive" and wrote that the lack of Capaldi's sense of humour in his music is "a failure of imagination, and the weaker points on [the album] are unfortunately testaments to that unimaginative approach".^[26]

Commercial performance

Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart dated 26 May 2023, outselling the rest of the top 10 combined, with 95,000 chart sales, making it the fastest selling album of the year in the UK and the largest opening week of Capaldi's career.^[27] The album debuted at number one in Australia, becoming Capaldi's first number-one album there.^[28]

Track listing

Note

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

• Robert Vosgien – mastering
• Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
• Chris Laws – engineering (3)
• Dan Pursey – engineering (3)
• Jonathan Gilmore – engineering (11)
• Chris Bishop – vocal engineering (1, 8, 12), additional engineering (1, 2, 6, 12)
• Matt Barnes – vocal engineering (2)
• Edd Holloway – vocal engineering (3)
• Mike Stephenson – additional engineering (3, 8, 12)
• Tanner Perry – additional engineering (3, 8, 12)
• The LJ Singers – additional engineering (6)
• Matt Wolach – mixing assistance

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References