Sam Fender : A Once In A Generation Talent

Words: Keira Knox

Three years after the release of his wildly popular album ‘Seventeen Going Under,’ Sam Fender plans to make a comeback with the release of his latest single, ‘People Watching,’ this Friday. His prolific and prominent lyrics make him one of the greatest songwriters of our generation. His lyrics are still as important and relevant as ever, and ‘People Watching’ has ignited the music community with heated anticipation for its release.

He has had a huge influence on the northern music industry, but what makes him so unique? The experience of youthful, left-wing northern England is passionately expressed by Fender, who blends upbeat rock with songs that criticise the negative effects of austerity. A seldom observant and captivating person who produced one of the most relevant and poignant albums of the 21st century, abandoning the conventions of corporate music to establish himself as a truly significant cultural figure.

Let’s reflect on the dire cultural situations in which we find ourselves in. Labour’s winning government has now surpassed an imposing Conservative government that appeared poised to dominate a democracy for the ensuing years. The unrest this nation has endured over the past ten years has not gone ignored; young people, particularly those from the northern regions, rarely have their views heard. It has been Sam Fender who has given the silent a voice. His ability to translate personal challenges into language makes the listener feel understood.

The songs in which he writes are in keeping with a long tradition of British rock composers who have explored the poetry and banalities of working-class life in their lyrics. With those self-reflective, unrepentant, and socially conscious lyrics, he has fashioned out this amazing indie anthemic sound with guitar-driven energy reminiscent of the 1980s. Sam Fender exposes the struggles of a fractured generation through his words.

Fender creates a soaring homage to ten years of social injustice and the rise of adolescent revolt that the political establishment is intent on erasing. His compositions consistently convey a number of significant and poignant social and political themes simultaneously, usually with a hint of hope and determination.

‘People Watching’ couldn’t come at a better time. It marks a new era of Fender’s music, another musical comfort to grasp a hold of. A lyrical guidance for those who find themselves lost within the dark world in which we live.