Sam Fender

Sam Fender is back with the third single from his upcoming album ‘People Watching’ which is due for release on the 21st February. It’s a song which was very close to never seeing the light of day. After playing it to old friend, and now member of the Sam Fender band, Brooke Bentham. Sam said “For a while, it wasn’t even going to be on the album…but thankfully Brooke joined and was like, are you mad?? It originally came from one of those magic moments where you’re messing around, and a song literally falls out of the sky. It’s about being avoidant and flighty. But also just a simple pop song, which I love”.

And it’s the simplicity of the track that makes it so special. In a time where we’ve seen the complexity of choruses and middle 8’s being created throughout popular music, it’s refreshing and genius to see a track with generally one big hook that dominates the majority of a song that is just under four minutes. And it could be easily done to have a song that has such a repetitive line that tires out the song and makes it feel endless. But this isn’t the case here. In fact, the track feels nowhere near the length that it is.

When Sam performed the song live for the first time in Dublin, he joked that it had “the sh***est guitar riff you’ll ever hear.” But if you really break it down, the riff is actually quite intricate and requires solid rhythm to execute, let alone compose. It’s this kind of humility that seems to drive Sam to keep writing songs that genuinely reflect his personality and influences, all while continuing to climb the charts. For this record, he collaborated with one of his biggest musical idols, Adam Granduciel of The War On Drugs. Adam, when talking about working with Sam, called him a musical savant.

You can really hear the influence of The War On Drugs in this track, especially in the driving instrumentation that kicks in after the so-called "awful" guitar riff that opens the song. This collaboration could take Sam’s music to the next level. While we’re used to Sam’s fast-paced storytelling in songs like The Borders and Will We Talk? Here he takes a moment to breathe, all while maintaining that sense of momentum, allowing him to both narrate and compose with a more relaxed flow. It’s like a train pulling into a station that still has that rhythm and chug and power you know it has, despite it slowing down to arrive at its destination.

Sam embarks on a European tour that starts in March, followed by a US tour in April, and then a massive UK stadium tour in June, that includes three sold out nights at St James Park, which is the homecoming this musical savant deserves.