Circa Waves – Death & Love Pt 1

Following on from 2023’s electronic-soaked Never Going Under, Liverpool’s Circa Waves are back with their sixth studio album Death & Love Pt 1, a bright, buzzy, and occasionally quite endearing, return to their indie-guitar roots.

The album opens with the surprisingly theatrical American Dream, an engaging opener that kicks off with the deep percussive strum of a muted electric guitar that’s swiftly propelled forward by the pull of Kieran Shudall’s almost spoken word verses, before it’s all neatly tied together by choral group harmonies that have undoubtedly been taken directly from the Arcade Fire playbook of alternative-rock. Like You Did Before picks up the pace with limber guitar lines, a thick bass groove from bass-guitarist Sam Rourke and Shudall’s bitter yet heartfelt vocals that drag the track forward by the lapels, as they lurch and erupt at a moment’s notice. Anchored with its accusatory lyrics, it’s a track that’s truly endearing and one that will win over audiences who are craving a hit of indie nostalgia.

We Made It is a clear standout that, particularly in its blistering lead guitar, evokes the sound of the Wall of Arms era Maccabees with the trill of its speed-picked prog-guitar threads and Sian Plummer’s dynamic percussion lines that perfectly complement Shudall’s raw, soaring vocals that further ground the track with a tangible sense of urgency and provide a much-needed immediacy to the album.

Things take a turn with Hold It Steady, a restrained and mellow entry that, with its shimmering lead guitar and glistening synths lead, drag us into an electronica-type ballad that doesn’t quite fit on a record as guitar-rock heavy as this. Proceedings begin to wind down with Everything Changed, a simplistic but quite cinematic track that again takes cues from Win Butler, with its plucked rhythm, slow, protracted build and gradual crescendo. Bad Guys Always Win is a chirpier, more Kooks-esque number that draws on bouncy hooks and thumping guitar runs that teeter on the edge of becoming overly earnest, before coming to a close with the gentle strum of a clean electric guitar.

Death & Love Pt 1 is a buoyant, pop-forward and heavily nostalgic collection of tracks that harken back to the 2000s hey-day of the UK’s indie music scene, and is a surprisingly stark departure from 2023’s electronica-fuelled Never Going Under that seemed to suggest the band were heading into new uncharted territory. It’s a shame that Circa Waves came late to the party, and never quite got to enjoy what was the indie boom of the noughties where the appetite for this brand of jubilant, optimistic and guitar-heavy indie-pop was at its short-lived peak (We Made it, the album’s catchiest track, would have fit right at home on the once yearly “NME Presents the Essential Bands” CD). Regardless, Death & Love Pt 1 is a solid, guitar-driven album that spells a “back to the drawing board” approach from Circa Waves that will leave you reminiscing over a bygone era, even if the formula is somewhat dated.

Ronan Fawsitt
Photo: Polocho

Death & Love Pt 1 is released on 31^st January 2025. For further information or to order the album visit Circa Waves’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Like You Did Before here: