Tom A. Smith will release his debut album ‘The Golden Gates’ on April 2nd.

The songwriter has decided to fully embrace his story on the incoming record, built alongside some close friends. Tom A. Smith was born with a rare heart condition, and extensive surgery as a child left him with scarring across his chest – something he’s learned to embrace.

The scarring is shown on the cover of his debut album, with Tom A. Smith saying of his decision:

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.

Out on April 2nd, the album was recorded in Sunderland alongside Barry Hyde of The Futureheads – Tom’s former guitar teacher and long-time mentor.

Set to tour across the UK this November and December, Tom A. Smith has just shared new single ‘Carry That Weight’ – built alongside , you can check it out below.