Nothing like a major health scare to usher one’s coming-of-age. A musician as passionate as Circa Waves’ Kieran Shudall was always likely to use a heart blockage – and that isn’t some kind of metaphor for lovesickness – to his creative betterment. His band’s sixth album, entitled Death & Love Pt. 1, is not a chronology of suffering or anxiety, but a vessel for optimism. Shudall’s clean bill of health has unleashed a mature cause to motivate; a gifting of anthems for those otherwise living a chronology of suffering or anxiety.
Maturation in rock music may often lead to grogginess – those mid-career reductions of energy in which craftsmen simply become men. But Death & Love Pt. 1 is far more open than much of Circa Waves’ recent work. With clearer lungs, the Liverpool band’s sixth is their most freeing since their 2015 debut, Young Chasers.
We’re still living in an indie pop world in which real feelings regularly stop to check their reflections in their phones, but shamefully gussied-up production aside, the songs of Death & Love are heart-pounding. The lads liberate themselves with new, rags-to-riches touchstones; American Dream doesn’t wait long to yowl its wordless chorus, noting vocabulary’s inability to explain raw emotion whilst an Arcade Fire-esque, stomping chug thrusts into its rhythm section like a heavy seal. American Dream opens, Bad Guys Always Win closes by upping the BPM amid a Strokes Last Nite-esque premise, whilst anthemically grinning at its own title, jubilantly finding a spot in the middle of an indie rock dancefloor to profess “Sure, the bad guys always win, but we’re going to celebrate as if they don’t”.
These touchstones are palpable, but none more so than Everything Changed. Ignore Shudall addressing his love interest as “honey-boo” and you’re in for another mountaintop. The repetition of its chorus produces several cathartic climaxes. Simplicity and happy screams work together to form a universal connection of love, in which human beings worship one another.
While a dainty, singalong slice of pop rock fuels Le Bateau’s freedom, the album’s goal to jet ski toward a better future is achieved by a shuffled playlist of influences and soundalikes. Some are expected; We Made It figures out what Cage the Elephant would sound like if they borrowed The Killers’ roaring guitar textures, whilst Blue Damselfly is nothing but Cage. But Like You Did Before and Let’s Leave Together field the ‘80s icicle whistles The Weeknd fished from A-ha to present Death & Love with an extra good vibe to throw into the pile with the rest of ‘em.
Most importantly, following Kieran Shudall’s improvement, Circa Waves appear rejuvenated, having the time of their lives, which is certain to positively affect those caught up in the powerful blast radius of Death & Love Pt. 1.