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Sam Fender review – cathartic songs delivered with passion and a humble presence
Even when the entire crowd of 23,000 are bellowing his ‘whoah-oh-ohs’, understated Fender quips ‘got some singers here, haven’t we?’ as if performing in a local boozer
The former North Shields barman’s deeply personal themes – such as Seventeen Going Under’s raging line about the benefits system (“I see my mother/the DWP see a number”) – are made universal by fantastic, epic songs, passionately delivered by what could be a geordie version of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. The thunderous title track – where “somebody’s darling’s on the street tonight” – paints a vivid snapshot of “this crippled island”, glimpsed sorrowfully through the window on a late night journey home. Fender starts rifling through the songs that got him here: a thrillingly punky Howdon Aldi Death Queue, a beautifully reflective Spit of You, a topical Hypersonic Missiles et al. With his minimal chatter and affecting vocal tremor, the singer-guitarist cuts an understated, humble presence.
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