There may come a time when Sam Fender leaves the comfortable niche of his hometown. Peddling it into a modern song has been a wonderful experience for the Newcastle United fan. Though Fender has latched onto the experience of living up north so purely and truthfully, he must now cast the net again. He does so with Iris, a neat number that debuted on BBC Radio and ripped from the film Jackdaw. It has a definitively different flavour to it – a similar intent to the Sheffield-clad beauties Richard Hawley produces. Fender has clicked onto what makes those homely appeals so wonderful and this new surge of quality from the local hero marries the autobiographical with the intense. Iris gives Fender a bold new push, and what a welcome one it is.
Still thoroughly in touch with his hometown and the familial dynamics which broadened his work through Seventeen Going Under, Fender changes up the instrumental charms of his music wildly. There is no roaring guitar piece here, no segment or space to roar through and instead, the charms of a sailor heading back to shore are utilised. Twinkling moments as the titular track is longed for, a wonderful selection of new pieces as Fender rises to the challenge set by himself. He hopes to carry out some new structure for his vocals and does so with great chances throughout – the stripped-back production paving the way to a new sound for Fender. It does not change up his lyrical aplomb but provides new challenges which he rises to with real class.
Musicians making their way into the field of soundtrack screams is inevitable and Fender rises to the occasion with a fine piece which, much like Wild Grey Ocean last year, does not feel ready for the main stage. Iris is a dependable song and will no doubt benefit Jackdaw as a project – but how it matches up with the rest of what Fender is working on is yet to be heard. Promising, of course, but where, if anywhere, it takes him, is completely unknown. Those harsh and methodical pieces of percussion and bass bring out the more reflective side of Fender – though this, in contrast to Spit of You, wears its heart very much on its sleeve. Fender strips back what made his more emotionally charged tunes so dependable, and finds the core still works without it.
Fender has risen to a new challenge for his music and one which tests his vocal capabilities. He sets out to ask a question of himself, to figure out whether his music works and depends on its lyrics. It does. Iris is further proof that Fender is one of the great voices of our time, though these flickers with soundtracks must fit the bill of a project elsewhere. Concessions likely made by the man in the recording studio, to fit this scene or that, are adapted to well. How much of it actually crops up on Jackdaw is yet to be seen, but some of the best working musicians hid away their rare gems for movie soundtracks. Just take a look at Hawley, whose work on Funny Cow yielded some fine works, as Jackdaw does for Fender.
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