Released at the start of the year, Circa Waves’ ‘Death & Love Pt. 1’ found Kieran Shudall mulling over starting from scratch after his lowest point and a brush with mortality. Its follow up, though, marks a new wave of expression for the Liverpool band — it’s a bubbling, Strokes-inspired payoff to a period of hard graft.
Much of its appeal is captured by the stand out track Ten Outta Ten, which has undeniable funk and groove to it. Despite the band's many years in the game, it feels like they’re offering something new here, finding the middle ground between Blossoms and Tame Impala.
In its second verse, Shudall sings, “I guess I wish / That I was poised and self-assured / A Trojan horse / just so rotten”, alongside rich bass. Delectable.
From the sweet Stick Around to the kaleidoscopic pop of Love Me For The Weekend and the dreamy subtleties of Sunbeams, ‘Death & Love Pt.2’ traces an arc of dancing away from the bad times and into the good.
The opener, Lost In The Fire, is packed with tension, its fast pace accompanied by a gruelling undertone to Shudall’s voice, but the record ends with the Beatles-meets-Empire Of The Sun psych waltz of Wave Goodbye. Life, it seems to say, is for living, and living well. Circa Waves are here to soundtrack that.
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