Tom A. Smith announces debut album 'The Golden Gates' out April 2nd via Fiction Records + releases new single "Carry That Weight" co-written with Hugo White (The Maccabees)

PRE-SAVE / LISTEN TO “CARRY THAT WEIGHT” HERE

Sunderland's Tom A. Smith announces his long-awaited debut album The Golden Gates, arriving April 2nd, 2027, via Fiction Records. Accompanying the announcement is the electrifying new single “Carry That Weight”, co-written with The Maccabees' Hugo White, and backed with “When The Angels Sing My Song”, introducing an ambitious record that reveals a previously unseen side of the 22-year-old songwriter.

Alongside the announcement, the 22-year-old songwriter speaks publicly for the first time about living with a rare, life-limiting heart condition, revealing the deeply personal experiences that inspired his debut record. Born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, Tom has spent his life navigating an uncertain future while keeping much of his medical history private. Now, through The Golden Gates, he is ready to share that story in his own words, with his full personal statement included below.

Recorded in Sunderland and co-produced alongside Barry Hyde of The Futureheads, Tom's former guitar teacher and long-time mentor, The Golden Gates brings together twelve tracks of impassioned alternative rock, intimate songwriting and emotional honesty.

Leading the release, “Carry That Weight” is a ferocious, riff-driven statement born from a spontaneous writing session with Hugo White. Created in a single day around White's Fender Six guitar, the track combines Tom's instinctive musical energy with an exploration of love, uncertainty and the fear that his health condition could become a burden to somebody he cares about.

“Hugo knows my story, knows the situation. We did it all in a day,” Tom explains.

Across the album, that personal journey unfolds through three distinct emotional chapters: frustration, love and acceptance. From the urgent intensity of “Everyone Else” and the searching introspection of “Answers” to the tender piano ballad “Flower”, Tom confronts experiences that have shaped his life while delivering some of his most ambitious songwriting to date.

The album's striking artwork, featuring the surgical scars across his chest, reflects an equally significant personal transformation. Having spent much of his childhood hiding those scars, Tom now places them at the centre of a record about understanding and embracing his identity.

Yet he is determined that the album should be recognised for its music and message of hope rather than defined by adversity.

“The main thing for me is that this isn't a sob story. It's me being myself – and, as the final songs on the album show, there's happiness in my acceptance of my situation.”

Already celebrated for his commanding live performances, he has appeared at Glastonbury, SXSW and a locked out Great Escape show this summer, sharing stages with Elton John, The Maccabees, Gang of Youths, The Kooks and Miles Kane, among others.

The Golden Gates will be available on CD, standard black double vinyl, a signed gold double LP exclusive to Tom's online store, an independent retailer-exclusive gold double LP and a Rough Trade-exclusive gold splatter double LP.

Combining explosive musicianship with an extraordinary personal perspective, The Golden Gates marks a defining moment for an artist ready to share his most important story yet.

Tom A. Smith live:

11th Nov – Brighton, Patterns,

12th Nov – Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach

13th Nov – Stoke, The Sugarmill

14th Nov – Bedford, Esquire’s

19th Nov – London, Electric Brixton (supporting Meek)

21st Nov – Plymouth, The Junction

22nd Nov – Portsmouth, The Wedgewood Rooms

25th Nov – Hull, Polar Bear

26th Nov – Whitehaven, Yellow Earl

27th Nov – Huddersfield, The Parish

2nd Dec – Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire

3rd Dec – Liverpool, Arts Club Theatre

5th Dec – Bristol, Thekla, Paint By Numbers (afternoon headliner)

5th Dec – Wrexham, The Rockin Chair

6th Dec – Nottingham, Bodega, Paint By Numbers

22nd Dec – London, Barfly: Radio X ‘X-Posure Live’ (headliner)

10th Apr – Bridlington Spa, This Feeling By The Sea

5th June – Cornwall, The Great Estate

A Personal Statement from Tom A. Smith

I was born with a rare life limiting heart condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Which means I was born and continue to live with only one side of my heart. By the age of 4 I had undergone 5 lifesaving open heart surgeries.

From the occasional memories that come to me from that time and also the rest of my childhood, I know how difficult it was for not only me, but my family as well. My current state isn’t a long-term option, as a result of that my future is quite uncertain and I will require more extreme medical care as I move deeper into my adult years.

Upon my chest, etched on to my skin, is a scar. A scar that, and with everything that comes with it, haunted me for 20 years. I was scared of it. I couldn’t look at it in the mirror, I would pretend to be ill as a kid so I could miss things like swimming lessons or PE lessons because I was so scared of what the other children’s reactions may be. In case they didn’t see me in the same way they see everyone else.

It served as a constant reminder to me of who I really am, where I’ve been and what’s to come. I was ashamed of it. People would say, it’s just a scar. It’s just a scar… It’s not just a scar.

It’s a map of everything that has gotten me to where I am right now. It’s a symbol for everything myself, my family and hopefully all of you will continue to go through with me and there is absolutely nothing to be scared or ashamed of or to want to hide.

Over the last two years I’ve done a lot of thinking about how it has impacted me as I’ve become an adult and most importantly, I’ve written an album about it. I always knew and wanted this to be what my first record was about; it was just a case of when the right time for me to talk about it was.

Though at first, when I started writing it, I was frustrated, angry and my emotions towards it hadn’t changed. I then started to think about how it impacted the people I love and finally I began to accept it, and in a sense, I started to appreciate it. Though I am not fully there yet, I do believe this is the final stage towards it. Taking ownership of something that has owned me my whole life.

‘Carry That Weight’ co-written with Hugo White from The Maccabees, is the first single from my debut album ‘The Golden Gates’ is out on 2nd April 2027. Thank you for all your support.

DISCOVER TOM A. SMITH

lorraine longNovember 10, 2026