Sam Fender releases a new song - and it's yet another slam dunk
Who says you can’t make a political observation groovy?
Birthdays - no matter your age - are usually celebrated with some cake, candles, and if you’re lucky an excruciating verse or two of happy birthday sung at you out of key (and slightly slurred) whilst you cringe and waste your wish on wanting it to be over. Sam Fender however has pulled the ultimate Uno Reverse and given us all of us a gift on his birthday - a new single.
Any true fan will be familiar with his whole discography, and remember early singles like Millenial, Greasy Spoon, and Start Again which charted Fender’s rise as a unique, soulful and thoroughly original songwriter way back in early 2017.
If none of those rang a bell for you, firstly, go back and listen to them, but you’ll know that Sam Fender has produced some of the best songs of the last decade: from Hypersonic Missiles and Steventeen Going Under to teaming up with the likes of Noah Kahn and recently released yet another fantastic album with People Watching.
The album was released in February this year, and notched up over 100,000 first-week sales, becoming the fastest-selling UK album of 2025. Which was no surprise really, as the album delivered what is now considered (by us) as Fender’s trademark soulful blend of 90s rock inspired guitar with modern pop, all underpinned by thoughtful, often political lyrics commenting on the (dire) state of modern society. But, just when we thought we wouldn’t see any more new music from Sam for a while, he’s back with a new track, Tyrants.
If you’ve been lucky enough to catch Fender on tour, you may have heard this track before with Fender having played it in several of his gigs during the USA tour, and debuted it during the opening night of his European tour in Paris. He also teased it on his Instagram over the last couple of days, using it as an Original Audio accompanying a highlight reel of his gig, at a really small, unknown festival, Coachella. It was previously exclusive to Record Store Day which Fender is an ambassador for, as part of his Me and the Dog vinyl EP.
Tyrants is a classic Fender track, opening with what is potentially the best opening line in music history: "Jiminy Crickets whispered to me”. It’s a guitar-driven masterclass in Heartland rock personalised by Fender’s signature euphoric melancholy.
One of the things you’ll notice about this track is the beautiful harmonies and backing vocals from Brooke Bentham, something Fender has been increasing and playing with more throughout his most recent album. You can’t talk about this track without the epic guitar solo which punches you around to minutes and 25 seconds in. The whole track is reminiscent of 70s & 80s rock-pop with Cobain-esque and Tom Petty influences. Thanks to the political lyrics along with its roaring guitars, it’s just as much of a call to put your arms round your mates as it is a call to arms against people abusing positions of power.
The track was co-produced by The War on Drugs's Adam Granduciel. When annoucning the track’s release, Fender simply wrote: “Big love to everyone asking after this one.”
He also shared the official artwork for the track too, a photograph by Tish Murtha - another South Shields icon who was best known for her social documentary photography which largely documented marginalised communities, social realism, and working class life in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The track follows on from Fender’s release of the video for People Watching’s closing track, Remember My Name.
It’s up to you how directly you take Fender’s orders to “rail against the tyrants now” and “and wail like you’ve never been heard”, but it's a banging listen, however literally you interpret the lyrics.
Main image credit: Roberto Ricciuti/Getty
