People of Santiago - Circles

Contrary to their name, People of Santiago are actually from Newcastle and have gotten themselves a rather strong reputation in that said city for their killer tunes and blinding live shows. Their music is serious-as-cancer guitar led indie, sounding as it does like a cross between Britpop luminaries Marion (cast your minds back…bit further...bit further…there you are) and more epic-minded folk like Muse. New single ‘Circles’ manages to show off the impressive range of their sound whilst not quite realising the full extent of their unquestionable talent. It’s beautifully recorded and arranged, and the performance is spot on – Andrew Young’s vocals especially hit all the right spots – it’s just ever-so-slightly anti-climatic. It’s a great shame that the song is less than the sum of its parts, but there’s an underlying sense whilst listening that maybe if they took themselves slightly less seriously they could do so much more. Like on B-side ‘Dinosaurs’, which achieves said so much more with just an acoustic strum and a haunting Suede-y vocal from Young. Stripped of the pretensions which their press release suggests they’ve thrust onto themselves they seem freer and more at ease with themselves. ‘Circles’ is worth investigating, that is beyond doubt. And I’m sure it’ll warrant re-investigation further down the line. But for now, what should have been an exciting statement of intent serves more as a warning not to take yourself too seriously. People of Santiago could have a bright future if they could stop trying so hard to be ‘important’. Buy this for ‘Dinosaurs’ and cross your fingers that their album lives up to the promise.