Review Summary: A great commentary on Britain's mental health crisis
Sam fender is amazing. I don’t think he could write a bad song if he tried. This EP is no exception. Every song is amazing, from the depression driven “dead boys” to the energetic “that sound” and ending with the electric guitar ballad “leave fast”, this EP hits all the right notes.
Softly opening with a nice, chill prelude, the EP jumps into its title track “dead boys”. This song is up there for best of the decade for me. I love the contrast in its softer intro, to the ferocious second half where sam and his band embrace the pure frustration of mental health. It’s an aggressive start but jumps into what I think is the only Ok moment on the EP, “spice”. As can be guessed, this song is about drugs, specifically, spice. It’s a nice two and a half minute guitar driven rock track but the lyrical content isn’t as enticing as it was before. Still good, just not as good.
Track three, “Poundshop Kardashians” is a great commentary on our society's obsession with celebrities. I like the instrumentation on this track, it’s almost like a classic punk tune, blasting us for our social wrongs. Sams delivery sounds almost scared, as he clearly believes societies obsession with icons will ruin us.
That moves into the incredible “that sound”. I just love the production of this song, the drums are punchy as hell and make the track feel explosive and powerful. There’s not much else to say about it, just a powerful track in the same vein of a great oasis song. The EP ends on a sweet note of “leave fast”, a track about growing up and moving on(I think). It’s a nice note to end the EP on, just Sam and his guitar. It’s sweet, it’s nice, it ends the EP well.
Overall, the EP is great. It’s not particularly groundbreaking but is an amazing example of great modern rock music. I recommend anyone who loves early brit-pop or just rock music in general listen to this and to keep an eye out for his album in September
