Sam Fender Aye

'Aye' is a thumping, angry and frustrated sigh at the state of the nation. It observes the battleground of left versus right but widens the lens to discover those partylines have become ever more blurred resulting in online aggravation that lacks nuance. The focus then settles on the disparity between the 1% and everybody else, and whilst 'everybody else' hurls insults at each other arguing semantics on social media, the 1% watchthe money rolling in. It's one of the only politically driven songs on Seventeen Going Under, and typically well observed. A purposeful rant about purposeless ranting.

Sam explains: "Aye is about the polarity between the left and the right wing, and how that leaves workingclass people displaced with a lack of political identity, playing into the hands of the 1%. It's also a rant aboutmy disdain for the greedy tax dodging billionairesof the world."

'Aye' follows Sam's recent returning single 'Seventeen Going Under' in introducing one of the year's most anticipated albums. It's a return that looks set to take Sam's music even further afield than his 2019 number 1 debut album, Hypersonic Missiles.

Whilst Seventeen Going Under is destined to be a more intense and personal record than Hypersonic Missiles, it's lost none of Sam's acute sense of observation. It's a brave record; a defiant record; a celebratoryrecord; and an inspiring one too. Like only truly great songwriters can, Sam turns his own experience intoart that speaks to and resonates with all of us. These are simple but stunning songs that fire like an arrow straight through, and straight from the heart.

Speaking about the album, Sam perfectly encapsulates the record as: "This album is a coming-of-age story.It's about growing up. It's a celebration of life after hardship, and it's a celebration of surviving."