Description
Lewis Capaldi – Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent – Vinyl Record
Lewis Capaldi’s Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent, released on May 19, 2023, is a deeply emotional and vocally powerful follow-up to his blockbuster debut Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent. On this sophomore album, Capaldi leans even further into his core strengths: raw heartbreak ballads, soaring melodies, and deeply personal lyrics. The record doesn’t aim to reinvent his sound—instead, it doubles down on vulnerability, focusing on themes of love, loss, mental health, and self-doubt, all conveyed through Capaldi’s unmistakable, gravel-edged voice.
Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent remains rooted in piano-driven pop, acoustic guitar balladry, and grand, cinematic crescendos. This consistency is intentional. Capaldi himself noted in interviews that he didn’t feel the need to experiment wildly or chase trends—he wanted to stay authentic and write songs that emotionally resonated, the same way his earlier work did. And indeed, the album delivers that familiar emotional punch from the very first track.
The lead single, “Forget Me,” sets the tone: a pop-rock anthem that’s upbeat in tempo but biting in content, dealing with the pain of being discarded in a breakup. The song channels the spirit of early 2000s pop with a polished sheen, and it shows Capaldi’s increasing confidence in blending emotional lyricism with more radio-friendly arrangements.
But it’s the ballads that form the heart of the album. “Wish You the Best”, one of the most powerful songs on the record, showcases Capaldi’s ability to capture grief and resignation with aching sincerity. It’s a song about letting go while still carrying love, and it resonates with anyone who’s experienced that bittersweet goodbye. “How I’m Feeling Now”, the album’s closer, is a candid, almost confessional look at Capaldi’s struggles with anxiety and self-worth—a song that gained even more significance after the release of his Netflix documentary How I’m Feeling Now, which revealed the immense pressure and toll fame had taken on his mental health.
Other tracks like “Pointless” (co-written with Ed Sheeran) and “Any Kind of Life” are built around swelling choruses and themes of longing and sacrifice, cementing Capaldi’s status as one of pop’s most emotionally transparent songwriters. His lyrics often avoid metaphor in favor of directness—sometimes devastating in their simplicity, and always resonant.
Vocally, Capaldi delivers with passion and control, though the album’s reliance on big ballads means the emotional intensity rarely lets up. That lack of dynamic variation has been a point of critique for some listeners and critics who wished for more sonic diversity or experimentation. However, for fans of his emotionally cathartic style, Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent offers exactly what they love: unfiltered feelings, big choruses, and voice-cracking honesty.
The album was a commercial success, debuting at No. 1 in the UK and performing strongly internationally. It confirmed Capaldi’s staying power in a crowded pop landscape, even as he announced a hiatus from live performances to focus on his health—an act that was widely praised and humanized him even further in the public eye.
In essence, Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent is not a reinvention, but a refinement of what made Lewis Capaldi a star in the first place. It’s emotionally intense, vulnerable to the core, and built around a voice that feels both grand and deeply human. While its thematic and sonic consistency might not surprise longtime listeners, it offers comfort in its familiarity and honesty in its storytelling.
Brand new, never played and still in the factory plastic sealed
Track Listing
Forget Me
Wish You The Best
Pointless
Heavenly Kind Of State Of Mind
Haven’t You Ever Been In Love Before?
Love The Hell Out Of You
Burning
Any Kind Of Life
The Pretender
Leave Me Slowly
How This Ends
How I’m Feeling Now
