"In the Crossfire" is a rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 song written by britpop

Britpop

Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...

 band Starsailor

Starsailor (band)

Starsailor is an English post-britpop band, formed in Leigh, Warrington and Greater Manchester. By 2009, they had four charting albums and ten Top 40 singles in the UK since 2001.-Early history:...

, which talks about the suffering of people who have lived the Iraq war. The song says "I hear them screaming on the radio, it's getting louder in the crossfire, trying to find some hope from the ashes of their broken homes".

This is the first political song of the band which denounced the alliance of Prime Minister Tony Blair

Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

 with president George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 (I don't see myself when I look at the flag) during the war on Iraq. It peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.

"In the Crossfire" shows a more mature and heavier-sounding Starsailor, unique from what they have done before. Noticeably, it shows a marked distance between the sound of other britpop groups like Coldplay

Coldplay

Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...

.

Video

"In the Crossfire" was directed by Paul Gore

Paul Gore

Paul Gore is a British ice hockey player from Luton, England. He is a defenceman and head coach for ENL Southern A League team, Milton Keynes Thunder. Gore took over the role as player–head coach after several seasons as assistant to previous head coach Michael Knights...

 and shows the band playing in a disused railway station in London creating a serious atmosphere with it.

They're locked in a greenhouse

Greenhouse

A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...

 for almost all the video after they finally break it with the sound of the guitars. This is the darkest video of their career and it accentuates the heavier sound that they would present to the world with the release of their third album On the Outside.

DVD

1. "In the Crossfire" (video)
2. "Four to the Floor" (live at Somerset House - video)
3. "In the Crossfire" (audio)
4. "Empty Streets" (audio)

Charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	22