Circa Waves

You certainly can't knock Circa Waves frontman Kieran Shudall for having ballsy intentions: asked about his vision for the Liverpool outfit prior to the release of Different Creatures he bullishly replied "In five years I see us being close to headlining Reading and Leeds. Why the f**k not?"

The follow up to their 2015 debut Young Chasers, the quartet's horizon seems to certainly have expanded, the jabbing title track dealing plaintively with the feelings of local Syrian refugees living within the borders of a country which stood by whilst their kin were destroyed. It's a deeper sense of  perspective that applies to both the music and the words - whilst Young Chasers was mostly rooted in a noughties indie-schmindie ethos which borrowed from the likes of The Vaccines and Vampire Weekend, the Waves have amped themselves up here considerably.

This take no prisoners/leave no one behind strategy needs a jump off - and before anyone has the time to express any concerns, the splay footed power chords of opener Wake Up are in their face, an obvious marker laid down, urgent and taking risks. It's a tempo prolonged on Fire That Burns, a pop-in-rock's clothing, big tent friendly anthem which makes plain Shudall's ambitions; despite the greater emotional complexity this time round, this quest for a deeper connection with their audience isn't meant to come at a price of their disillusionment.   

Continue reading: Circa Waves - Different Creatures Album Review