Circa Waves - Death and Love Pt. 1

by Zena Grieg

published: 8 / 6 / 2025

Label: Emily Burns
Format: CD

Deeply personal and resonating sixth album from Liverpool indie quartet Circa Waves

Review

Coming to prominence in 2015 with their debut album ‘Young Chasers’, which reached number 10 in the UK album charts, Liverpool quartet Circa Waves became festival favourites with their upbeat melodic Indie vibe. Their last album release ‘Never Going Under’ explored uncharted territory with a new experimental sound. In contrast, their latest album is a return to the familiar, a slickly produced mix of catchy, feel-good songs. ' D'eath & Love Pt. 1’, their sixth album, coming out after their lead singer Kieren Shudall faced life-threatening surgery, revolves around themes of mortality, facing uncertainty, the transience of time, the leitmotif a celebration of life - in the words of Shudall the album was a “letter to tell myself I would stick around”. Songs to listen out for in this nine-track collection include: the opener, ‘American Dream’ with its pulsating rhythm and infectious chorus; high energy ‘Like You Did Before’ with its soaring vocals; spirited ode to survival ‘We Made It’ with its optimistic lines: “Every silver line was a gold mine as the sun was fading/Yeah we made it, yeah we made it”; mellow, synth-infused ‘Le Bateau’; restrained, reflective ‘Hold It Steady’; carefree ‘Let’s Leave Together’; the emotive, acoustic-led ‘Blue Damselfly’, referencing Shudall’s near death experience; the powerful, cinematic, cathartic ‘Everything Changed’, its lyrics expressing vulnerability and resilience; and the bittersweet closer ‘Bad Guys Always Win’, slowing it down to its conclusion. Introspective, personal, ‘Death & Love Pt.1’ is a deeply resonating album.

Track Listing:-

1 American Dream
2 Like You Did Before
3 We Made It
4 Le Bateau
5 Hold It Steady
6 Let's Leave Together
7 Blue Damselfly
8 Everything Changed
9 Bad Guys Always Win