Brighton-born singer-songwriter Sam Tompkins has built a career on unfiltered transparency, using his incredible vocal range to tackle heavy themes like mental health, masculinity, and profound loss. Following a difficult period marked by the passing of his father, Tompkins has channeled his grief and healing into his upcoming second studio album, Are We Gonna Sing?, arriving 4 September 2026. Ahead of the record, he has shared its most vibrant preview yet: the refreshing new single, ‘Crawling Out My Skin’.
Shifting away from the strictly structured piano ballads of his past, the new track highlights a lighter, more spontaneous approach to his songwriting. Created entirely in a garden at the end of an intense writing camp in Norfolk alongside producer Humble The Great, the track captures lightning in a bottle. The production relies on a raw, jam-led arrangement and live instrumentation that gives the rhythm an organic, forward-facing bounce.
What makes ‘Crawling Out My Skin’ stand out is its unpolished charm. Recording the vocals outside gives the track a sense of atmosphere and space that studio booths simply cannot replicate. Tompkins’ world-class vocal delivery remains as powerful as ever, but here it feels unforced, riding an upbeat, nostalgic groove that stands as one of the most positive offerings of his new era.
Lyrically, the song avoids complex metaphors to focus on an instinctive, fleeting feeling. It is a song about gratitude, specifically wishing you had fully appreciated the quiet moments in life when things were simply fine. It feels less like a calculated radio single and more like an honest diary entry captured in real time.
By balancing an infectious, rhythmic pulse with deeply resonant storytelling, ‘Crawling Out My Skin’ proves that Tompkins can deliver high-energy pop-R&B without losing an ounce of his signature emotional weight. It is a highly promising glimpse of a mature artist learning to find joy and rhythm in the middle of a storm.
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