Famous announce new EP The Valley with the celestial existentialism of “Stars”

Propelled forward by a Cold Cave-like sparse synth and the pounding toms of drummer Danny Sanders, Famous' “Stars” is an unflinching account of the tantalising prospect of a second-chance in life.

Vocalist Jack Merrett’s sharp lyrics are cutting from the offset, admitting that he has “fell apart sometimes / kind of kept it together”. The remainder of the track is a therapeutic process that sees Merrett picking apart the pieces. He tries to make sense of the collapse, resolving to “go try and live a life that’s / not hollow, don't let anyone down”.

The fragility of the song incrementally solidifies, with the thin synths growing from a flatlined siren to a jubilant and raucous climax that's filled with brass, piercing guitar, and a smattering of cymbals.

The song’s frantic finale bridges the personal with the cosmic, unveiling a stark catharsis that the stars hanging above us are their own fractured pieces of an implosion, trying to reassemble themselves back together again. In Merrett’s mid-song mumbled monologue, he proclaims “stars / they make me feel quiet”. Presumably, in resonance.

“Stars”, alongside last year's “Nice While it Lasted”, is a pronounced departure from the sound of previous EP England. As Merrett explained to Best Fit, “The contrast with England is definitely quite pronounced. I think, back then, we were trying to make songs that could catalyse these big, almost ecstatic, communal experiences... The Valley is definitely a more introspective set of songs. I guess you could think about it as a response to some of the idealism of England being frustrated. I don’t think this has been replaced with cynicism though. It just seems a bit more complicated now. We’re finding our way though.”

Speaking further on what to expect from the new six-track EP (to be released this May), Merrett outlines, “The EP is in many ways a story about growing up and the loss of certainty that that entails.”

“It’s a sort of redemption narrative - almost, at least. Loss, recovery, regression, progress, self-forgiveness all sitting together in this kind of complicated mess. I think they are optimistic songs. There’s a lot in there about the power of friendship and family, the joy of working at what you love, and a lot of hope for the future.”

“Stars”, as the opening track of the EP, sets the tone. A shining, pulsing, and introspective dive into the personal machinations that fuel us day-to-day to potentially unending darkness, but that, crucially, can be changed. Merrett asserts that, through it all, the track “is a song about hope. It was written for my family and my friends.”