People Watching
It was during a time-out after the whirlwind success of his 2019 debut *Hypersonic Missiles* and its 2021 follow-up *Seventeen Going Under* that Sam Fender realized what his third album needed to be. Those two records had made the singer-songwriter from Northeast England one of the breakthrough artists of the past decade, a homegrown superstar who’d gone from playing local venues to stadiums and now had a pair of BRIT Awards sitting on his mantelpiece. But Fender had felt a little rushed making *Seventeen Going Under* and he was determined that it wouldn’t happen again, no matter how long it took. Allied to that, he also wanted to hold to a simple and concise aim. “When writing the past two albums I started with a clear goal and concept, but towards the end of recording it always morphed into something else—at least for me it did,” Fender told Apple Music when announcing *People Watching* in November 2024. “I wanted to go in there and write good songs; not think about some grandiose overblown message, just 10/11 good songs about ordinary people.” His patience paid off. *People Watching* is Fender’s most perfectly realized release to date. Its title neatly sums up the emotional connection at the heart of the 30-year-old’s music and his supernatural gift for wrapping everyday tales in an exhilarating, euphoric release. It’s still his beloved hometown that remains the primary focus but in Fender’s dexterous hands, the place has become a prism through which he sings about grief, family, mental health, poverty, homelessness, the government, and more. Sonically, *People Watching* is the most sumptuous work of his career, one that builds on the bounding, Springsteen-style expanse and emerges with a technicolor indie-rock masterpiece stacked with another raft of killer choruses for the masses to sing along to. Fender nodded to his love of The War on Drugs on *Seventeen Going Under* and here he goes one step further, enlisting the band’s mercurial leader Adam Granduciel as co-producer alongside Markus Dravs (Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Florence + the Machine). Nothing here is overloaded. Even at its most epic, there’s an intricacy and airiness about these songs, Granduciel’s synth flourishes adding a dynamic counterpoint to Fender’s rousing hooks. It’s a record of many shapes and textures, taking in the urgent classic rock of the title track, yearning anthems (“Little Bit Closer”), contemplative Americana with a bit of a swagger about it (“Wild Long Lie”), and wistful ’80s pop (“Crumbling Empire”). At its best, it pairs his love of US heartland rock with an Oasis-style jubilance. In its minor chord acoustic strums, “Chin Up” even has echoes of “Wonderwall” about it. But it’s hard to imagine Noel and Liam attempting a song like “Remember My Name,” the stirring, stark closer made up of nothing but Fender’s vocals and the moving horns of the Easington Colliery Band, an emotive salute to his northeast roots and a song that places Sam Fender out there on his own. *People Watching* may well be the sound of an artist entering his imperial phase.
On his third album, the UK’s own heartland rocker casts an empathetic eye on modern British life. Even as he shouts at max volume, he sometimes gets lost in the wall of sound.
People Watching feels more introspective, without losing any of that gargantuan Sam Fender shine.
Feeling existential, uprooted and disconnected from his old life, Sam Fender channels it all into 'People Watching' – read NME's album review
Sam Fender is no longer just a vital voice in UK rock; he’s perhaps the most essential one.
An album that undoubtedly firms up his position as one of the great songwriters of our time.
North Shields’ answer to Bruce Springsteen is back with stories of his tattered heart and the pride and poverties of his country – but the songwriting on his latest album plods more than it ricochets
After Seventeen Going Under skyrocketed him into stardom, Sam Fender releases his long-awaited third album, People Watching.
Sam Fender’s third studio album, ‘People Watching’, was introduced harmoniously with the heartland rock title track. Released in late 2024, ‘People
On his third album, People Watching, North Shields' answer to Bruce Springsteen presents a poignant picture of post-industrial Britain.
The North Shields singer-songwriter wrestles with how far life has propelled him away from his roots on his musically adventurous third album
Sam Fender takes another big step forward on People Watching, which includes a satisfying collection of songs about the human experience.
People Watching by Sam Fender album review by Beau Goodwin for Northern Transmissions, the UK artist's album is now out via Universal Music
On his third album, produced by the War on Drugs, the North Shields singer-songwriter shows just how gifted he is at pairing stadium choruses with sharp, bleak vignettes
North Shields’ Springsteen, the young rocker’s third album is a mighty – and mightily miserable – slice of polemic pop. Plus, Tate McRae
Devastating observations about the trials of everyday life are part of what the English singer-songwriter is all about
On People Watching, canny chanter Sam Fender comes to the crossroads on this vexed but heartfelt third album