It’s not often you hear a voice and feel the tectonic plates shift beneath your feet. But from the first fractured syllables of Embers, it’s obvious that Finn Forster isn’t just releasing an EP – he’s announcing his arrival. The Middlesbrough lad with the voice of weathered gold delivers four tracks that burn with the urgency of a soul that’s lived ten lives, carving his name into 2025 with the kind of conviction we’ve been crying out for since Paolo Nutini first roared onto the scene.
Finn Forster is the answer to the question the indie-folk-blues crowd didn’t even know they were asking.
After an electric run of singles, playlist love from Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, and Deezer, and radio backing from BBC Introducing, Radio X, and even BBC Radio 2’s ‘New to 2’, Embers lands like a statement of intent. With over 300,000 streams clocked up in just three months, support slots with the likes of Stereophonics, and a festival run most artists would kill for, Finn isn’t creeping into the conversation – he’s kicking the bloody door down.
Let’s break this EP down track by track, because every single one earns its place on the mantlepiece.
1. Broken Game
The one with the fire in its lungs.
Kicking things off is the lead single Broken Game – and it’s easy to see why this was chosen to fly the flag. This is stadium-sized soul with a working-class heart, a weather-beaten indie anthem laced with folk melancholy and blues swagger.
There’s grit in the groove and vulnerability in the vocals, but it’s Finn’s delivery that steals the show. He sings like he means every word – like the mic is the last confessional before the lights go out. The production is polished but human, rising and falling with the kind of drama that’d make Ben Howard take notice.
You can hear why Apple Music, Amazon and Deezer jumped on this early – it’s built for playlists, yes, but it doesn’t feel like a product. There’s no algorithm-chasing here, just raw, honest songwriting with a thunderclap chorus that burrows in and doesn’t let go.
The broken game might be love, or it might be the industry. Either way, Finn sounds like he’s not just playing it – he’s rewriting the rules.
2. Feels Like
The one that aches in all the right places.
Where Broken Game snarled with defiance, Feels Like simmers in the aftermath. It’s the sound of someone pacing the floor at 2AM, chasing ghosts, retracing steps, and trying to make sense of what it all meant.
This is Finn at his most introspective. The arrangement is sparse, letting his voice breathe – and breathe it does. There’s a raspy tenderness here, like Sam Fender on a comedown or Dermot Kennedy minus the overproduction.
Finn’s lyrics in Feels Like cut straight to the heart of what it means to grind and survive in a town where “they said you can’t get far.” It’s the sound of a man juggling love and life, always coming home late, trying not to wake his partner, while working every weekend just to keep the lights on.
Lines like “I told you it’s fine / That life turns on a dime” and “I keep picking myself up ’til we’re just fine” aren’t just words — they’re an anthem for anyone who’s ever battled invisible weight and found strength in the small victories.
The sparse instrumentation puts Finn’s voice front and centre, carrying a rawness that makes you feel like you’re standing in a smoky bar, watching him pour everything into this song. The melody swells with the bittersweet tension of holding on despite it all, and the repeated refrain, “It’s a long road on my way home,” hits like a slow-burning heartbeat.
Feels Like confirms what we already suspected – Finn Forster isn’t just a great singer. He’s a proper songwriter.
3. Long Nights
The one we’re already calling our Track of the Year.
Let’s not beat around the bush – this is it. The song that turns heads. The song you hear once and can’t shake for days. The song you put on repeat and shout to your mates about until they cave and listen. Long Nights is more than just the highlight of the EP. It’s one of the best songs released in 2025 so far – full stop.
Long Nights feels like a quiet victory after the struggle — those precious moments “with you in my arms,” free from worries, even if there’s no money or home to call their own. It’s a love song for the restless, for anyone who’s ever held onto hope through long, uncertain days.
The imagery of “holding you in my arms” despite “no money or a place to call our own” taps into that classic country theme of finding richness in love, not possessions. It’s a slow burn, a soulful tribute to endurance and hope, with melodies that linger long after the last note fades.
Long Nights leans fully into Americana and country, with lyrics painting scenes of love and resilience against the odds. It’s the kind of song that feels timeless — simple, honest, and deeply heartfelt. Finn’s voice here carries the warm, comforting tone of a seasoned country storyteller, drawing you into late-night conversations where worries fade and only the moment matters.
Forster’s voice soars here. It sounds like it’s been soaked in whisky and rung out on the Cleveland hills. It tells stories before he even finishes the first line.
If you only listen to one song from this EP (don’t), make it this one. This is the sound of an artist stepping into his prime.
4. Fading
The one that leaves you wanting more.
Closing out Embers is Fading, a reflective, bittersweet closer that feels like smoke curling in the cold morning air after the fire’s gone out. It’s the perfect full stop – not a bang, but a breath.
There’s a softness to this one that shows a whole new side to Finn. The instrumentation is delicate, letting the weight of the lyrics do the heavy lifting. He sings of impermanence and holding on too tight, and it’s the kind of track that’ll land differently depending on where your head’s at.
And that’s the real magic of Embers. It meets you where you are. It doesn’t shout at you. It sits beside you, lights a cigarette, and asks how you’re doing.
A Spark Becoming a Wildfire
With Embers, Finn Forster isn’t just another singer-songwriter trying his luck. He’s the breakout act of 2025 – a voice that bridges the aching honesty of country and folk with the swagger of indie and the depth of blues.
There’s something old-soul about him. Something that feels lived-in and real. He’s not here to play trends or feed TikTok clips – he’s here to write songs that matter. Songs that stick.
The fact he’s already earned NME coverage, been invited to Tim Burgess’ Merch Market, and booked a mammoth tour and festival run – including The Great Escape, Latitude, Truck, Kendal Calling, and Belladrum – says it all. People are listening.
Finn’s vinyl’s going to fly. His tour’s going to sell out. And if there’s any justice, his name will be up in lights before the year’s out.
THE FRONT ROW 
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