Though Sam Smith’s just-released Spectre theme song begins with dramatic, retro strings reminiscent of other Bond themes, it very quickly shifts gears — the track is tonally different than most Bond themes you’ve heard, and is staunchly Sam Smith-y.
“Writing’s on the Wall” — which accompanies the film that’s being released on November 6 — is now available to stream and to download, and it has already hit #1 on iTunes. Though the song is chock-full of everything you’d expect from a James Bond theme — an encumbered, romantic thirst for danger and mystery — it turns out that love is the central force of this song, over even enigma and adventure. “How do I live? How do I breathe?/When you’re not here I’m suffocating/I want to feel love, run through my blood,” Smith croons, using ominous horns to keep him from the precipice of being too maudlin. Listen:
Smith shared his enthusiasm for the release — as well as Roger Moore’s — on Twitter: