Ultimately, I do feel as though we've been conned a little with this album. As nearly half of the album had already been released as singles or on his previous EP, meaning that ultimately what you're paying for if you have bought the album is 6 new songs. That's it. And this is where my pet peeve comes into it, some of the songs already appear on the Dead Boys EP, and as I've purchased both the LP and the EP I've been guided into buying some of the songs twice, most notably the TITLE TRACK of the EP!
Now, the recycled songs are quite obviously great. If you're reading this then you're probably as in love with Dead Boys or Leave Fast as I am, Sam Fender's concoction of deep lyrics, Springsteen-esque voice and upbeat anthems has caught the ear of so many people that he's just sold out an arena tour. The album opener and the album's namesake is one of the biggest tunes of the year, an ode to those with tin-hats firmly stuck on their hands but also a look at the worrying state of political affairs. It's a song that you can take on face value as something to mosh to and sing your lungs out, or you can let it resonate and truly feel the song. Couple that with the video and you have a great piece of art, a real testament to Sam Fender's talent and his image.
However, the brand new songs are not of the same calibre. The first one I'm going to talk about you can just tell what it's going to be like from the name, which is of course "White Privilege". A song that explores the themes of being offended, modern day issues and even Brexit. But not only does it completely obliterate the pace of the album, it's easily one of the most cringey songs I've ever heard in my life. Sam Fender maintains a pace that you would expect from someone who's never made a song before, but also it's written as though he had to make one more song for the album and had 5 minutes in which to do it - a must skip. Then there's Call Me Lover, which is the definition of album filler, especially as it's towards the end of the album. A song that wouldn't go amiss on maybe a Tom Odell album, or maybe a Lewis Capaldi album. It's unbelievable that the new album tracks are of such a lower quality than the tracks we already knew.
Hypersonic Missiles is formulaic, and devoid of risks. Whilst there are songs on here that could have been part of an album that is sat here with a 10/10 rating, but unfortunately the album is laid out very poorly, switching gears like it's never driven a car before. But also, the disparity in quality of songs means that this has the feeling of a playlist as opposed to an album. And it's so disappointing to know how this has turned out, epecially considering how much I enjoy Sam Fender's music and how excited I was for this album.
5/10