November 2019 • Volume 45, Number 12 • www.illinoisentertainer.com
COVER STORY: SAM FENDER
British rock newcomer Sam Fender and his bril-
liant, one-in-a-million debut disc, “Hypersonic
Missiles,” easily the best album of the year.
Nothing can touch it, it’s so far ahead of the pack.
But it’s also a moment where we can’t help but
break with a few staid journalistic traditions and
tell this story the way it has to be told, first person
singular and through the often-gauzy filaments of
time.
I’m not sure if this Fender even understands the
magnitude of his Hypersonic achievement. Like
most of us rock critics, he just does what he does
and hopes it communicates some spark to others.
A little flame that can reignite even the most rusty
pilot light. Hypersonic Missles is The Killer Album
of the Year, 2019 edition. Its out there now, just
waiting to change your life. Tom Lanham is a
believer.
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Page 22 - Sam Fender
HELLO MY NAME IS TIM
Thought you heard stirrings of small-town warmth, familial devo-
tion, and three-musketeers bandmate allegiance in Keane’s last reflective
magnum opus, Strangeland? Better think again, chuckles group song-
writer and keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley a master of misdirection.
“Because I think behind all that was this sense of wanderlust, and what
I was really feeling was restlessness. It was about wanting to go on a
journey — I think a lot of the songs I was writing at that point were
about that. I was reading a lot of Jack Kerouac and books about people
walking a long way. But that craving to travel, to move from where you
are and go somewhere new, is just all part of the human condition.” But
be careful what you wish for. That was seven long years ago, and the
composer has only recently returned from the metaphorical wilderness,
minus his no-longer-understanding wife but armed with a new album,
Cause and Effect, detailing the experience that basically shut down Keane
from 2014 to 2018. And again, more sleight of hand — tracks like “The
Way I Feel and “Love Too Much” may chime with trademark Keane
sunniness. But this is some of the darkest material Rice-Oxley has ever
written, Tom Lanham reports.
File
T1 Fest invades the Forge.
Cinemascopes
Oscar tourney time.
Sweet Home
Toronzo Cannon bringing you better blues.
Media
Jenniffer Weigel braks the mold.
Calendar
Over 1500 shows to see, the best bands, at the best venues.
Spins
The Safes, The Kinks and more.
Caught In A Mosh
Waste on the way back.
Classifieds
You dumped your ex- wife's drummer, now you're looking for another.
Studiophile
Jennifer Hall at Rax Trax.
Gear
Heritage Relics.
Publisher Advertising Sales Contributors:
John Vernon Scott Assmann
Mike Engel Andy Argyrakis, Guy Arnston,
Penelope Biver, Patrick Conlan, Deena Dasein,
Jaime de'Medici, Jeff Elbel
Terrence Flamm, Steve Forstneger
Michael Gallucci, Michael C. Harris,
Max Herman, Tom Lanham,
Carter Moss, Michael Obrecki, Greg Olma
Arsenio Orteza, Rodney Pawlak,
Bruce Pilato, Matthew Pollock, Jason Scales,
Kelley Simms, Ed Spinelli,
Tim Shockley, James Turano
Contributing Editors
Lori Vernon
Tom Lanham
Curt Baran Advertising Director
Design Team Website Direction
Notion Pool
Dragon Design
Vision Design
Teknigram Graphics Notion Pool
Classified Advertising Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
- Sweet Home
Rick Kaempfer - Media
David Gedge
Founder
John Vernon
Senior Columnists
Kenneth L. Voss Kelley Simms - Caught In A Mosh
Publisher Emeritis David C. Eldredge
- East Coast
David Roberts
4 illinoisentertainer.com november 2019
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