Having spent last week celebrating new track ‘Passport’ by hosting a lock-in with fans and friends at their very own pub, and with latest single ‘Times Won’t Change Me’ sitting pretty in the Radio 1 C List. Circa Waves are now primed for the release of their hotly anticipated third album What’s It Like Over There?, out 5th April via Prolifica Inc. / PIAS.
Saturday will see the indie four-piece support Two Door Cinema Club at Oval Space to close Annie Mac’s inaugural AMP London series, before they take to the road for in-store performances and signings throughout the nation, then embark on a 9 date sold-out UK tour in support of the album, which will see them play gigs in Oxford, Nottingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol and Newcastle, with a landmark show at London’s Roundhouse on April 26th.
Frontman Kieran Shudall was struggling for inspiration when he stumbled upon a notebook filled with scribblings in the band’s lock-up, discovering page after page of lyrical ideas and short story sketches that he’d written in a half-drunk, half-sleep deprived state whilst the band were supporting Two Door Cinema Club across America. The fuse was lit, and the disconnect of time and distance that Shudall felt as he scanned through the notebook, reading his own work whilst feeling like it was written by another person, would become the idea out of which What’s It Like Over There? would grow.
Written in just one month, and renewing their blossoming co-producing relationship with Alan Moulder (Foals, The Killers, The Smashing Pumpkins), What’s It Like Over There? is an album that’s creatively unshackled and refuses to stay still. It fuses the visceral thrill of rock music with a slick pop sound, its themes of modern ennui, emotional fragility and all the inside-outs and upside-downs of relationships making it a record that could only have been made now.
Whilst the anthemic ‘Movies’, which premiered as Annie Mac’s ‘Hottest Record In The World’ on BBC Radio 1, will appeal to the band’s long-standing fan base, the likes of ‘Sorry I’m Yours’ and ‘Be Somebody Good’ see Circa Waves step into new territories with a soundscape that’s content heavy, without relying on loud and distorted guitars. ‘Me Myself & Hollywood’ touches on the band’s love of R&B, whilst Radio 1 C Listed single ‘Times Won’t Change Me’ is a piano-led, Beatles-inspired future hit. What’s It Like Over There? always manages to sidestep genres and easy pigeonholing, but what remains constant is Circa Waves’ ability to create the kind of infectious music that is propelling them towards the top tier of British music.
Speaking of the new album, Shudall and guitarist Joe Falconer comment; “We wanted to start seeing ourselves less in those defined roles – the drummer, the bass player – and blurring the lines a bit more,” says Falconer. Instruments were swapped, pianos were played, the song was king. “I’m really getting into the world of ‘let the song be the greatest song it could be’, and not let the restrictions of ‘we’re a rock band’ rule,” adds Shudall. “We wanted to make it as big and powerful and as cinematic as it could be. Being completely open to using everything at your whim is really exciting.”
Circa Waves’ third album may be the album that nearly never was, but it will become the album their fans can’t live without. It’s another leap forward, another magical reconfiguration of their DNA, a union of emotional depth and intricate songcraft. Circa Waves have taken the theory that they’re allowed to do whatever they want and ran with it. The results are stunning.
WHAT’S IT LIKE OVER THERE? – Track Listing
- What’s It Like Over There?
- Sorry I’m Yours
- Times Won’t Change Me
- Movies
- Me, Myself & Hollywood
- The Way We Say Goodbye
- Be Somebody Good
- Passport
- Motorcade
- Saviour
IN-STORE DATES – APRIL 2019
Thursday 4th – New Slang Kingston, Pryzm – Banquet Records – 9.00pm
Saturday 6th – Liverpool, Jacaranda Phase One 7:30pm
Sunday 7th – Nottingham, Rough Trade 12pm
Sunday 7th – Preston, Action 5:30pm
Monday 8th – Sheffield, Bear Tree 1:00pm
Monday 8th – Leeds, Jumbo 5:30pm
Tuesday 9th – Southsea, Pie and Vinyl 12:30pm
Tuesday 9th – Brighton, resident 6:30pm
Wednesday 10th – Wokingham, Beyond the Download 1:00pm
Wednesday 10th – St Albans, Empire 6:00pm
Thursday 11th – Newcastle, Beyond Vinyl 12:30pm
Thursday 11th – Edinburgh, Assai Records 7:00pm
UK HEADLINE TOUR DATES – SOLD OUT
April 15th – Oxford, O2 Academy
April 16th – Nottingham, Rock City
April 18th – Glasgow, Barrowland
April 19th – Manchester, Victoria Warehouse
April 20th – Sheffield University, Foundry
April 23rd – Birmingham, O2 Academy
April 25th – Bristol, O2 Academy
April 26th – London, Roundhouse
April 27th – Newcastle, University