Wielding electric guitars and rolling rock beats, Sam Fender has built a career on singing the untold stories of North England’s working class, covering everything from local politics to struggles with mental health. By nature of these complex topics, the majority of Fender’s catalogue paints a dark picture, trapped in the cyclical struggle of his hometown. His recent deluxe edition of the award-winning record “People Watching,” released Dec. 5, takes the singer into uncharted emotional territory as he moves beyond the narratives of his hometown with unfamiliar experiences characterized by newfound fame.
Released Feb. 21, the original “People Watching” told the story of Sam Fender’s life after fame, following him as he toured the world and returned to his hometown in North Shields, England. Fender spoke about the conflict inherent to his identity, with his recent stardom contrasting his working class upbringing, making larger statements about success and change. He also introduced topics of grief and religion into his catalogue, with “Remember My Name” closing the record as one of his most personal songs to date.
“People Watching” featured a cleaner, tighter sound than previous album “Seventeen Going Under,” with upbeat instrumentals and bright backing vocals. “People Watching (Deluxe Edition)” continues his lyrical growth on familiar conventions of bright rock anthems while incorporating new and unique piano ballads and acoustic songs. Adding eight tracks to the 11 originally on the record, “People Watching (Deluxe Edition)” breaks even more new musical and emotional ground for the artist, separating himself from the previous iteration of the album and his previous work in general.
“I’m Always On Stage” rings out as the first track of the deluxe, placed directly after “Remember My Name.” Immediately, its acoustic finger-picking pricks the listener’s ear as Fender begins with the lyrics “Some time ago, I wandered down a path / That beckoned with a whisper … It crept up and latched upon my back / Now it’s with me on the road.” The vulnerability on the track is evident in these opening lines, as the song goes on to explain how Fender feels trapped within his celebrity. Fender also recognizes his lack of connection to the actual title of “celebrity,” rhetorically asking, “Do you think that you’re some kind of rockstar?” These sharp tunes and inner feelings towards fame make “I’m Always On Stage” a standout song in Fender’s catalogue, and a powerful start to the deluxe.
Then comes “Fortuna’s Wheel,” a gripping second acoustic track. The song’s delicate melody details a former relationship of his, capturing the bittersweet moment when the singer accepts that this partner is no longer in his life. Fender also notes that his fame online impacted the fallout of the relationship, with lyrics like, “Oh, I hope my face isn’t plastered on your feed,” discussing its aftermath.
This song is remarkably short, clocking in at less than two minutes. However, the exposed emotion and bare instrumentals in that runtime confirm that “Fortuna’s Wheel” was not an aberration — it was an indication that this deluxe indeed departs from the version of Fender audiences have come to expect.
Fender does dip back into his signature rock style, as “Talk to You (ft. Elton John)” and “Rein Me In (ft. Olivia Dean)” sound more similar to the main body of “People Watching.” However, the performances from John and Dean are the first features in Fender’s career, adding a new color to his familiar sound.
The next two songs, “Me and the Dog” and “Tyrants” turn back to Fender’s previous sound on “Seventeen Going Under,” using wailing vocals and gritty guitar riffs to reexamine the topic of mental health he explored on that record. But while “Me and the Dog” is a dark, nihilistic anthem to independence, “Tyrants” encourages community and healing, showing the emotional turn towards forward progress that the deluxe is about to take.
Though the first five tracks center around Fender’s internal struggles, “Tyrants” and “The Treadmill” are direct statements against the kind of “self-flaggelation” emphasized in the beginning of the deluxe. In “The Treadmill,” for example, Fender recognizes “All these little feelings / Feelings are keeping me from going on,” indicating that he is looking to change his self-deprecating mindset and instill a hopeful one instead.
The deluxe closes with “Empty Spaces,” a melancholic piano ballad where Fender wrestles with the emotional causes of some of his largest missteps at difficult points in his life. “It’s gonna take a really long time / To forgive all my failures / And fill up all these empty spaces,” Fender says, showing how he hopes to move in a direction of growth, and move past the stable negativity his songs have so often featured. “Empty Spaces” is one of the few piano ballads in Fender’s catalogue that features no additional rhythm instruments, and ends the deluxe on an intimate, powerful note.
“People Watching (Deluxe Edition)” brings Sam Fender beyond his musical roots in Northern England and into a larger exploration of his life experience, blending deeply honest acoustic tracks with the gritty rock songs Fender is known for. This dynamic composition has appeared throughout his catalogue, but his artistry throughout the deluxe surpasses typical artistic range as Fender establishes a style that is wholly unique to himself.
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