Tag: Play God

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Facing the End of the World in New Visual for Sam Fender’s Rousingly Anthemic “Hypersonic Missiles”

Over the past couple of years, the Newcastle, UK-based singer/songwriter and guitarist and JOVM mainstay Sam Fender has received attention both nationally and internationally over the past couple of years for crafting rousingly anthemic, arena rock-like material that broadly focuses on hard-hitting social issues and draws from his own experiences growing up in Northeastern England.

Last year was a big year for the Newcastle-based Fender, as she was featured on BBC Sound of 2018‘s shortlist, which he promptly followed up with a sold-out headlining UK tour. Building upon a rapidly growing profile, Fender ended 2018 with the release of the Dead Boys EP, an effort that featured the attention-grabbing “That Sound,” a power chord-based arena rock friendly track that featured enormous raise-your-beer-in-the-air-and-shout-along worth hooks, soulful vocals and a bluesy vibe that brought  The Black Keys, Slaves, Royal Blood and others to mind — and “Play God,” a politically-charged song that openly talked about how special interests and the 1% really control the world as we know it, paired with an self-assured, ambitious bit of songwriting.

Interestingly, the rousing, Springsteen meets Modern English‘s “Melt With You“-like “Hypersonic Missiles” is the JOVM mainstay’s first bit of original music this year, and while centered around arena rock and classic rock-inspired hooks, reverb-drenched power chords, thunderous drumming and Fender’s urgent and impassioned vocals, the song is an unconventional love song about two star-crossed lovers making the best of whatever time they have left while the world burns down — and an incisive commentary on our apathy and confusion in the face of our self-destruction that cries to the listener “hey man, wake the fuck up and do something!”

2019 looks to be a breakthrough year for the Newcastle-based singer/songwriter and guitarist — he made his US network TV debut, performing “Hypersonic Missiles” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier this month, which he followed up by playing some of his first North American headline shows, which included stops at SXSW, Toronto, and a show at Rough Trade last month.  Fender will continue with a UK and European Union tour throughout April and May. (Check out the tour dates below.) Also be on the lookout for his full-length debut, which I believe is slated for release later this year. 

The recently released video for “Hypersonic Missiles” continues Fender’s ongoing collaboration with acclaimed, Los Angeles-based director Vince Haycock features a series of teenagers, who are forced to deal with the impending end of the world in the best way they could — preternaturally calm acceptance, indifference, bonding with loved ones and friends, attempting to leave some mark of their existence, having as much sex as humanly possible, smoking weed and daydreaming and so on. As a song once wisely said “Might as well have fun/Cause your happiness is done/And your goose is cooked . . .”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Newcastle’s Sam Fender Releases Surreal Yet Politically Charged Visuals for Anthemic EP Single “Play God”

Over the past couple of years,  Newcastle, UK-based singer/songwriter Sam Fender has received attention both nationally and internationally for crafting rousingly anthemic material that broadly focuses on hard-hitting social issues, broadly drawing from his own experiences growing up in Northeastern England. Last year, Fender was featured on BBC Sound of 2018‘s shortlist, which he promptly followed up with a sold-out headlining UK tour. 

Building upon a rapidly growing profile, Fender released the highly-anticipated Dead Boys EP last November, and as you may recall, the EP featured the attention-grabbing “That Sound,” a power chord-based arena rock friendly track that featured enormous raise-your-beer-in-the-air-and-shout-along worth hooks, soulful vocals and a bluesy vibe that brought  The Black Keys, Slaves, Royal Blood and others to mind. “Simply put ‘That Sound’ is a celebration of music, but it’s also a not-so-subtle middle finger to the naysayers that tend to rear their heads as soon things start to work out for you, especially back at home. It’s about finding strength to ignore it all, and keep doing your thing,” Fender said in press notes at the time.  

“Play God,” the latest single off the Dead Boys EP is arguably the most politically-charged and conscious song I’ve written about so far this year, as it talks about how the interests of the powerful and extraordinarily rich few are what really controls the world as we know it; those people play God with everyone and everything. Sonically, the track continues in a similar vein as its predecessor — rousingly anthemic hooks, enormous blues power chords and his incredibly soulful powerhouse vocals.  With this latest single,   the up-and-coming British singer/songwriter and guitarist has crafted a song that belies his relative youth, while revealing an ambitious artist and songwriter, who seems ready to take over the world. 

Directed by Vincent Haycock, the recently released black and white video for “Play God” is largely centered around depictions of violence, whether watched on a television, real or imagined. At points, it’s beautiful, startling and downright disturbing — as it should be.