Hot on the heels of the release of her highly acclaimed second album falling or flying, British singer-songwriter Jorja Smith celebrates her triumphant return with the announcement of two intimate U.S. headlining dates in Los Angeles on October 24 and New York on October 26 (see below). 

falling or flying is a sonically vast LP – sleek and shiny R&B, vibey and heated U.K. funky, elsewhere intense and raw alternative; a record which finds an artist stepping into a new chapter. Smith’s acknowledging the ever-whirring cogs of her brain but also moving through it, growing, respecting herself above everything else. She says the first half of the album is the flying, the feeling herself, and midway through there’s a switch from the confidence to the insecurity and self-doubt of falling. We go from 2023’s summer anthem “Little Things” to a glorious J Hus feature “Feelings”, to the title track, all of which find Jorja navigating friendships, her relationship with herself, and trying to move to men at parties – and often finding them coming up short. Then there’s “Go Go Go”, a propulsive indie-adjacent track that nods to Jorja’s teen love of groups like Jaws, The Kooks, Bombay Bicycle Club. “I’m in my little alt bag, but I’ve always kind of been in it,” she grins, “People might be like, ‘I didn’t expect this’, but I’m like: ‘well, I would.’” The track also marks the shift to the ‘falling’ half of the album, switching to a sound that’s more intense but also perhaps more introspective. Beyond that point, there are beautiful songs like “Try and Fit In”, which utilizes the choir of 11 to 18 year old girls she’s started since moving back to Walsall, recognizing the dearth in spaces for young people to congregate and create with the closure of youth centers. There’s the touching letter to her younger self in the form of “Greatest Gift”, featuring Lila Iké, which is an acknowledgement of her pride in herself, but also the desire to get back to her inner-child. There are tracks about being made to doubt herself in the face of a man gaslighting her, reflecting on whether past “loves” were ever really love at all; songs which explore the realities of the limelight versus life for those who are behind-the-scenes, airing her upset or gratitude for people who she’s not sure will ever realize the lyrics are about them. 

On falling or flying, Smith is reminding herself (and her listeners), that whether things are up or down, she’s very much in control. 

falling or flying: October 24 — The Theatre at Ace Hotel, Los Angeles, CA 
Purchase Tickets here.

falling or flying: October 26 — Apollo Theater, New York, NY
Purchase Tickets here.

Listen/Share falling or flying by Jora Smith here now.