ALBUM REVIEW: Sam Fender – “Hypersonic Missiles”

By Emily Marshman

Recommended tracks: “Hypersonic Missiles,” “The Borders,” “White Privilege,” “You’re Not the Only One,” “Will We Talk?”

Despite a summer full of setbacks – namely an illness that caused him to have no choice but to cancel shows and festival appearances, and to delay the release of his debut album – Sam Fender has, without a doubt, given us one of the most important albums of our lifetime. Every track on Hypersonic Missiles carries weight, and Fender never skips a beat, using every second he has to captivate listeners and make a difference in their lives, and to make them view the world in a way they never had before they’d heard his music. 

The opening and title track, “Hypersonic Missiles,” is a soaring spectacle full of admission of guilt and pleas to be better. It’s a way for him to look us right in the eye and to hold us – and himself – accountable for living a life in the shadow of corporations and politicians whose only purpose is to control us. It’s a wake up call. It’s a call to action, but also an understanding that we’re all helpless to the chaos, and that we might as well live our lives amidst it all. The second track, “The Borders,” is a song about brothers – even if they’re not related by blood – and about growing up and understanding, really, truly comprehending the hardships they faced as children. 

The third track on Sam’s album has earned him praise from all the right people and controversy from those who don’t understand him or how the world works in general. “White Privilege” is a song about Brexit, first and foremost, but it’s also a commentary on the faults and failures of people today, how they make futile attempts to make a difference simply to make themselves look better. Sam has acknowledged that he’s another white boy with a guitar singing about his ancestry’s shortcomings, but I think that’s what makes the song pack that much more of a punch. He said he couldn’t release an album in 2019 without adding a song about the state of Britain today, and knocked “White Privilege” out in a matter of days. It was smart of him to put this song so early on the album; it helps to set the tone of it all, despite Sam not having meant for it to be one cohesive body of work.

Hypersonic Missiles as an album was written over the course of about five years, but the themes that string it together – the downfall of society, modern romance, toxic masculinity, and a desperate need for better mental health awareness – are prevalent in every song. 

“Dead Boys” was first released last September on his first EP of the same name. It’s what won him the 2019 BRIT Awards Critics’ Choice Award, and rightfully so. Sam looks mental health awareness in the UK – specifically in his hometown of Newcastle – directly in the eye, and forces the public to understand that what they’re doing isn’t enough. Boys are dying because no one seems to understand how to speak to one another about how they feel. The other previously released songs, “Play God,” “That Sound,” and “Leave Fast,” have all earned their place among the never-before-heard tracks on the album. Back to back, “Play God” and “That Sound” provide solace for anyone who’s listened to Sam before; knowing a few of the songs already made the prospect of so many rousing new songs from such a great writer less daunting. “Play God” is the first song Fender ever self-released, in early 2017. 

“You’re Not the Only One” is an older song on the record, written when Sam was about twenty. It’s another earnest track about mental health, a narrative about a friend going through a dark time in his life, and coming out the other side as far on top of the world as you can be. It’s got the same base, silvery guitar at the back of it that Sam’s known for, but this track makes more noise than the rest of them, somehow. It stands out amongst them, a song made to be belted in the driver’s seat of your car, all the windows rolled down. “Call Me Lover” is another that stands out in this way, written when he was 19 and, despite the song being a little far from how Sam’s style identifies today, it’s still a genuinely good tune. 

Of the few love songs on the record, “Will We Talk?” is my favorite. It’s an honest take on modern romance – or our generation’s lack thereof. It’s almost as if we’ve unlearnt, rather than forgotten, how to communicate with one another, and Fender flawlessly demonstrates that in his narration of a virtually typical night out in your twenties. “Two People,” on the other hand, is the loveliest love song I’ve heard in a long time. The opening lyrics, “Two people under bed sheets / One unrelenting heartbeat / One unrequited belief / Two fools in a one-horse town,” shocked me the first time I heard them, the emotion in those few words like a wave, nearly knocking me out from the heartache of it all. 

“Leave Fast” and “Use” are the slowest tracks on the album, the former being a somber song about how difficult it can be to break out of a small town, how the people who live there still are likely adults who simply got stuck there in their youths. It’s one of Fender’s most popular songs. 

Sam Fender is the champion of kids who would give anything to leave their hometowns in the dust. He’s real, upfront, approachable, and understandable. And that’s only a portion of his appeal. His voice is one you’ll not soon forget when you first hear it. It stays with you, haunting you until you hear it again.

Fresh off the release of this debut, Sam’s going to be playing quite a few gigs before the year is up. He’s teamed up with Spotify to play a small show the 20th celebrating the release of his album – his number one album, if all goes to plan and he’s made it to the top when the charts are announced Friday – in Newcastle, at a yet-to-be-revealed location. Less than a week from now, he’ll kick off the United States leg of the Hypersonic Missiles tour in Seattle, Washington. You can find the rest of his tour dates (and buy tickets, as this is a show I’m sure you’ll be sorry if you miss) on Sam’s website. He can also be found on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.