He says going to these difficult places is crucial for the intent of the album. While Stargazing is on there, he says, “I don’t just want to shoot for absolutely massive radio songs. I want to do it the right way, not because I’m chasing numbers.” It means you’ll find Grandma’s Place about the safe space his grandmother gave him — “10 when I started to sing, oh she’d bring me to church, and she’d cover my ears, when my dad would scream horrible things…” — and Sertraline, referring to the antidepressant. Smith says, “Talking about my mental health is important because so much of what we see online is, ‘I was really bad and now I’m fine’, and the journey in between is missed. It paints an unrepresentative picture of what it means like to be in the thick of it.
