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Nov 24, 2021Seventeen Going Under is powerful, essential stuff, a coming of age album that speaks to the human experience in the here and now. Its creator is absolutely the real deal.
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Oct 22, 2021His thoughtful truisms and sonorous songwriting arm them with the required soundtrack. To quote the man who started it all, “The great challenge of adulthood is holding onto your idealism after you lose your innocence.” No one has risen to this challenge with such success, humility, and brilliance as has Sam Fender.
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Oct 13, 2021While Seventeen Going Under excels when Fender looks inward, the intimacy is disrupted by scattered political musings.
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Oct 7, 2021Even in the albums more heightened and banging moments, there’s consideration and a message, lyrics worthy of a proper listen. By drawing on his own experience and stories, Sam brings politics to his music in a way that’s more impactful than anything Keir Starmer is doing at the minute.
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Oct 7, 2021Fender has refined both his songwriting and his sound.
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Oct 7, 2021The record is truly a fine piece of artistry that has the power to hypnotise the listener into questioning their inner demons.
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Oct 7, 2021Seventeen Going Under would benefit from more such restraint, to really bring out the vulnerability and sensitivity underpinning Fender’s oeuvre. It is not much of a criticism to note that he doesn’t have the dynamic range of his musical hero yet. Fender may not be ready to take on the mantle of the Boss, but he’s a worthy apprentice.
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Oct 7, 2021Seventeen Going Under is an album rooted in 2021 that, in spirit at least, seems to look back 40-something years, to the brief early 80s period when Top of the Pops played host to the Specials and the Jam. The result is really powerful.
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Oct 7, 2021While the subject matter here is more personal, it sticks to a palette of lush, guitar-based band arrangements and doesn't shed any sociopolitical awareness.
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Oct 7, 2021His debut album ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ scratched gently at the surface of a songwriter of real detail and skill, but second time around he digs real deep for a wiser, weightier record stuffed with sax-soaked rock epics that touch on life and death, love and heartbreak, rage and regret.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 47 out of 54
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Mixed: 4 out of 54
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Negative: 3 out of 54
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Oct 15, 2021
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Aug 20, 2022Love the composition of the instruments! I enjoyed the album just like his debut one!
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Jul 17, 2022This is an instant Classic by Sam Fender. He's one of the most talented artists in Britain right now.