Hearken to Sam Fender’s hopeful new single ‘Folks Watching’

Sam Fender has launched the primary official preview of his upcoming album ‘Folks Watching’ – you’ll be able to take heed to it beneath.

• READ MORE: Sam Fender reside in Newcastle: a star-studded Toon celebration

Right this moment (November 15), Fender has shared the title observe from the forthcoming album, which is because of arrive on February 21, 2025 through Polydor. You possibly can pre-order the LP here.

The lead single, ‘Folks Watching’, is a euphoric five-minute reduce that was written in honour of Sam Fender’s late mentor and good friend Annie Orwin and is tells the story of his perspective of visiting her at a care house.

Juxtaposing the observe’s sombre theme is a vibrant, hopeful sound and message that encapsulates breaking out of a darkish interval. He sings in opposition to poppy guitar chords within the opening verse: “I people-watch on the best way again house / Envious of the glimmer of hope / Provides me a break from feeling alone / Provides me a second out of the ego.”

The track’s second verse dives deeper into his visits to Orwin: “I got here again house after seven years / Awake, tracing tracks of her tears/ Cornered the nurse to get the gist of it / I promised her I’d get her out of the care house / The place was fallin’ to bits / Understaffed and overruled by callous arms / The poor nurse was across the clock / And the great thing about youth had left my breaking coronary heart / Nevertheless it wasn’t arduous while you love somebody / Oh, I stayed all night time until you left this life ’trigger that’s simply love“.

Fender first revealed the story behind the upcoming single final week and shared that the observe is about any individual who was “like a surrogate mom to me and handed away final November. I used to be by her aspect on the finish, slept on a chair subsequent to her. It’s about what was going by my head, to and from that place and residential.”

He continued: “It’s type of ironic as a result of she was the one which gave me the arrogance to go on stage, and all the time was once like ‘why haven’t you talked about my title in your acceptance speech’. However now a whole track (and album) connects to her. I hope that wherever she is now she’s wanting down saying ‘about time child’.”

‘Folks Watching’ marks the primary official launch from Fender’s upcoming album of the identical title. Earlier this week, he revealed particulars surrounding the file, together with its tracklisting. It was produced by Fender alongside his bandmates Dean Thompson, Joe Atkinson, producer Markus Dravs, and The Conflict on Medication’ Adam Granduciel.

A press launch describes Fender’s album as “his subsequent steps ahead”, promising to supply “vibrant tales and observations of on a regular basis characters dwelling their on a regular basis, however typically extraordinary, lives.”

He first debuted ‘Folks Watching’ reside, together with one other unreleased track, ‘Nostalgia’s Lie’ in August, with each set to look on his long-awaited third album.

Fender’s final album, ‘Seventeen Going Beneath’, was named Greatest Album In The World and Greatest Album By A UK Artist on the BandLab NME Awards 2022. NME gave it 4 stars, calling it a “bruising” second album and saying: “If ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ was the sound of a younger boy kicking out on the world, ‘Seventeen Going Beneath’ sees Fender realise that it might chill lots more durable, and he counts each blow and bruise. However he appears to have discovered that point passes and that almost all wounds – even the deepest – will finally heal, if he can permit them to.”

His forthcoming UK and Eire tour contains two nights at The O2 in London. £1 from each ticket offered for these dates shall be donated to the Music Venue Belief in help of grassroots venues. Find any remaining tickets here.