Circa Waves at Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Circa Waves have a vigorous indie feel, but seem to have slightly missed the boat. Although their songs are melodically catchy and perfect for mainstream radio play, there’s also a sense that if they had been around during the heyday of The Kooks, The Pigeon Detectives, The Wombats and the billion other indie bands that conquered the scene a few years ago, they would be much bigger.

A sold-out tour for a band with just one official album is nothing to be sniffed at. Circa Waves have not only achieved this feat with Young Chasers, but have also gained a hardcore fan base of 16-20-somethings who have shown their love by camping outside the London venue all day.

Support act Genghar kickstart the evening with a whimsical rock set that sounds good in the room, but fails to reflect the aggressive energy of the Circa fans. By the time Circa Waves step out, the room is dripping with adolescent adrenaline pushed over the edge by opening tracks Young Chasers and Good for Me. The live sound is extremely well balanced:  although the music is blasted with a loud, frenetic energy, the vocals are still clear enough to fill the room with a thumping, complete sound. Frontman Shudall has a Julian Casablancas quality, which makes him exciting to watch. His grungy vocals are clearly influenced by The Strokes and get under the skin, making the music enthralling to listen to.

Tracks like Fossils, So Long and concluding song T-Shirt Weather go down a storm and sound just as stellar in the live arena as they do on the album. As Shudall shouts that he’s had the time of his life, it’s clear that many of the young fans in the room have too. Circa Waves show tonight that they have enough in the arsenal to resurrect English rock.

Keir Smith
Photos: Laura Ruiz

For further information about Circa Waves and future events visit here.

Watch the video for T-Shirt Weather here: