Circa Waves are back, and back in a big way. With a new album, a largely sold out tour and major festival appearances surely on the horizon, the Liverpool band seem to not only have grown in terms of stature and popularity, but also in terms of themselves. Frontman Kieran Shudall in particular commanded the stage, had his army of adoring fans in a packed out Rock City responding to his every command, despite very little vocal interaction with his audience.
With the opening heavy riff of the first single from new album ‘Different Creatures’, “Wake Up“, the excitable crowd surged into life, shouting not just every lyric back at the band – but every riff! The atmosphere hit fever pitch as the show began to take shape, as three tracks from critically acclaimed debut album ‘Young Chasers’ (“Get Away“, “So Long” and “Lost It” sent the masses into a frenzy – the crowd jumping, swaying and generally going crazy!
The response to songs off the new record was mixed – it would be completely unfair to expect an identical reception to that of tracks from their first record, which of course was released more than two years ago now – however the standouts from the new LP appeared to be “Stuck” and “Different Creatures” (my personal favourite) – and I’m sure the new tracks will in time grow to the same stature as those from Young Chasers. That said, emulating the response to “Stuck in my Teeth” and “My Love” will be difficult to achieve, with an array of fans sending security crazy with a mix of clambering onto shoulders and crowd surfing.
The lads returned for a three song encore, the first of which, “Love’s Run Out”, saw lighters and mobile phone lights illuminate the room for an emotive acoustic solo rendition from Shudall, before all hell broke loose for a frenetic two-song finale of “Fire That Burns“, the second single from ‘Different Creatures’, and finally Young Chasers highlight “T-Shirt Weather“, with pandemonium in the standing area of Rock City as the crowd took it’s last chance to dance emphatically.
They’re not only back, but Circa Waves are improving and evolving where many thought they would not. Should this continue, the future is certainly bright for this group of scousers who definitely know how to throw a party.
Photo credit: Ben Bentley
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