The Fire (Matt Cardle album)

Background

On 20 May 2012, Cardle announced on Twitter that he had "parted ways" with Columbia Records and Syco Music, stating musical differences as the reason for the departure. On 9 September 2012, Cardle announced that he had signed with So What Recordings, part of the Silva Screen Music Group. The same day, he announced that his second album, The Fire, would be released on 29 October 2012. The lead single from the album, "It's Only Love," was also confirmed for release on 29 October 2012. He has stated that he had offers from various record labels but decided to go with the independent over a major one to have more control: "The other major labels that were interested, they were offering a similar thing to Sony, and I really wanted to have as much control as I could. So (So What Recordings) offered just as much support in every other way that a major label would, but I get to have control, which I plan to keep."

Cardle is credited with producing the album, and co-writing nine of the record's ten tracks, alongside Starsailor frontman James Walsh, Eg White, whose previous credits include Adele and Will Young, and Paul Statham, who has written for Dido and Kylie Minogue. Cardle also played the majority of the instruments on the album. He has stated that having complete freedom on the album was important to him, and so he had to be a bit of a "control freak". As well as the standard 10 track edition, a deluxe edition was made available, with three extra original tracks and an acoustic version of "It's Only Love".

Lyrically, the album is predominantly about the break up of Cardle's relationship with dancer Sarah Robinson, who he met during his time on The X Factor. Despite being about heartbreak, the album has an upbeat sound and message: "When I made the last (album), I was in a relationship, I was falling in love, I was happy, but the album (content) was the complete opposite. With this one, through heartbreak and absolute devastation, I’ve come out with something that is way more positive." According to Cardle, the only track on the album (apart from the one he did not write, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face") that is not about his relationship breakup is "Water," which is about the death of his uncle Richard.

Reception

"The Fire" has received mostly positive feedback. The Mirror described it as "a more heartfelt and mature sound". Entertainment Focus gave it four out of five stars, stating that "Cardle has come back fighting and we think he's definitely won." LSMedia also gave the album four out of five stars, describing it as "energetic yet emotional" and "full of growth". Unreality Shout declared the album "Highly Recommended". Music News gave it four out of five stars, calling it "a triumphant, yet emotional album". What Culture gave the album five out of five, calling it "a fantastic demonstration of how good Matt can sing" and "a wonderful album from beginning to end".

"The Fire" debuted at number eight on both the British and Scottish album charts, making it Cardle's second top ten release on both charts. It also debuted at number 1 on the OCC Independent Chart. The album was similarly successful in Ireland, where it debuted at number fourteen on the chart, and number one on the indie chart. Four editions of the album were made available, each with an alternate code number. SW001 is the standard physical or digital version of the album, with ten tracks. SW002 is the digital, and Tesco physical exclusive, deluxe edition, with fourteen tracks. SW003 are signed copies of the standard ten-track album, which were made available via HMV. The HMV edition also includes extended liner notes from Cardle. Finally, SW004 is an exclusive version of the album available at Sainsburys, which contains an outer slipcase, and a poster booklet with an image of Matt on one side, and the entire lyrics to the album on the other.

Singles