Flynndie Reviews #55: Circa Waves - Young Chasers

Written 28th March 2015

Circa Waves – Young Chasers

The Band: Kieran Shudall (lead vocals/guitar), Joe Falconer (lead guitar), Sam Rouke (bass), Sian Plummer (drums)

This week sees the release of the keenly anticipated debut album from Liverpool 4-piece Circa Waves with ‘Young Chasers’.  Becoming an increasingly popular up-and-coming young band, Circa Waves have previously been tipped for big things with some high-profile support slots including supporting Interpol on last year’s NME Tour (alongside Royal Blood and Temples no less) and supporting The Libertines at their series of gigs at Alexandra Palace.  With a number of singles garnering some much deserved air-play under their belts, the band are about to embark on their very own headline UK tour and with the album’s release this week, let’s find out what these young Scouse upstarts are all about with their debut record.
 

Young Chasers

1. Get Away

2. T-shirt Weather

3. Fossils

4. Lost It

5. My Love

6. Deserve This

7. Young Chasers

8. Good For Me

9. Stuck In My Teeth

10. Best Years

11. The Luck Has Gone

12. So Long

13. Talking Out Loud

Launching with energetic guitars and percussion the album opens with ‘Get Away’, previously launched as a debut single from the band, and sets the early tone and vibe of the frantic 3-minute Indie-pop these young lads are all about featuring a big sing-a-long chorus “And I can’t get away if I wanted to/My hands are tied/Tied to you/And I don’t mind, nooooo”.  Recent single ‘T-shirt Weather’ follows which opens with a bit more chilled out rhythm to it while still carrying a confident swagger; it’s light-hearted and easy-listening “And I remember T-shirt weather/I remember some days/We were singing our lungs out/In the backseat together”.  And while we’ve had two solid openers from the band it’s third track ‘Fossils’ which really starts to show the full potential of this band, with some incredibly tight, free-flowing guitar-pop akin to early sounding Strokes with an infectious melody and another big chorus “The one day I want/Something I just can’t get/I’m a long way from home/I’m a long way from home”.  If you’ve never previously heard much material from Circa Waves before then this previous single is a recommended starting point.

Circa Waves played the opening slot on last year's NME Tour

‘Lost It’ features the first track on the album that has previously been unheard before its release and opens with a more chilled guitar-riff and mellow tempo throughout it that gentle coasts along nicely, again in the vein of style of The Strokes from their second album ‘Room on Fire’.  ‘My Love’ sees the band pick up the tempo again with an urgent riff gently hammering away through it alongside backing bass and soft tender vocals here from Kieran “I know it’s not enough to be with you/I’m clinging to the walls that you can see through…And I’m giving up/My love/My love seems somewhere else”.  ‘Deserve This’ is the most stripped down track on the album so far with gentle teasing guitars and more tender vocals here from Kieran questioning “Oh and why do I deserve this?/I was never good on purpose/Oh why?/Oh whyyyyy?”  It finds the band here creating a sound similar to that of Arctic Monkeys midway through their fourth album ‘Suck It and See’. 

Meanwhile midway through the record we have title-track ‘Young Chasers’ featuring an instant and urgent guitar-riff at its heart and clocking in just over 2-minutes long “Make your mind up/And I’ll chase you through the seats/The chase will wind up/I got blood on the soles of my feet” while the frantic pace of the record continues with another excellent single ‘Good For Me’ again built on effortlessly coasting Indie-pop, the track is a fun romp with real charm about it “You’ll see/Yeah you’ll see/You’re just no good for me/Good for me/Good for me”.  The big singles keep coming here with another sweet, charmer of a track ‘Stuck In My Teeth’ again featuring a cool, flowing rhythm with racing vocals and building guitars and the urgently repeated line “I’m a little too young without enough time/I’m a little too young without enough time”.  It’s again Indie-pop at its finest.
 

Previous singles 'Stuck In My Teeth' and 'Young Chasers'

‘Best Years’ opens initially with a bit more of a dirty rock sound to it before gathering full momentum and coasting along with guitars from Kieran and Joe duelling it out with some nice riffs while Sam’s bass and Sian’s drums providing a fitting setting.  ‘The Luck Has Gone’ is arguably the most poignant track on the album featuring tender lines “Did I leave this too long now?/Did I tie my tie too late?/I’m a million miles away/From the things I’d like to say” with an intricate guitar riff through it and backing percussion and this is a really nice track on the record.  ‘So Long’ opens more up-tempo before featuring gentle guitar strums from Joe to accompany Kieran on vocals here before diving into a 100mph chorus “The night’s still young/But the day is so long/And you wish you stayed at home/And you wished you never come” before closing track ‘Talking Out Loud’ slows the pace down with a chilled out number rounding off the album nicely.
   

Overall this is a cracking debut record from Circa Waves full with bursts of lively, pure 3-minute Indie-pop tracks that The Strokes themselves would be proud off.  This is free-flowing, easy-listening yet essentially, incredibly catchy guitar-pop much in the mould of early sounding The Maccabees and to a lesser extent Arctic Monkeys but crucially these four-youngster from Liverpool have honed their sound to near-perfection and I can see this catchy record remaining on repeat for a while yet and should still be a lot of good fun to listen to a few months down the line.  Tracks like ‘T-shirt Weather’, ‘Fossils’ and ‘Stuck In My Teeth’ are text-book mainstream Indie-pop and will see the band quickly develop a big following while tracks like ‘Deserve This’ and ‘The Luck Has Gone’ shows there is a mature charm about this 4-piece that could see them still go on to bigger things.  Without question this is a solid debut album from Circa Waves full of some great enjoyable numbers and I’m going to give this one a highly recommended 9 ‘Fossils’ out of 10 as this is a welcome record from these four Young Chasers.

 

So Long

Flynny

 

Track 2 – ‘T-shirt Weather’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9z_cyIgE9s

 

Track 3 – ‘Fossils’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBp8QwT4_R0

 

Track 8 – ‘Good For Me’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI9ZEa1U16g

 

Band website:

http://www.circawaves.com

Flynndie Reviews #51: The Twilight Sad - Nobody Wants To Be Here and Nobody Wants To Leave

Written 28th October 2014:

The Twilight Sad – Nobody Wants to be here and Nobody Wants to Leave

The Band: James Graham (vocals), Andy MacFarlane (guitars) Mark Devine (Drums), Johnny Doherty (bass)

This week sees the return of Scottish alternative-rockers The Twilight Sad with this their fourth album ‘Nobody Wants to be here and Nobody Wants to Leave’.  Originally hailing from Kilsyth, Scotland the band have built a loyal and dedicated following with three well-received albums under their belts from their full-debut record ‘Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters’ receiving critical-acclaim back in 2007, followed by 2009’s excellent, brooding and guitar-distortion heavy second-album ‘Forget the Night Ahead’.  2012 saw the band’s third album ‘No One Can Ever Know’ still capturing the band’s intense and cavernous live sound while the record was more laced with synths and electronics throughout, now leading us up to this week’s latest album release.

Nobody Wants to be here and Nobody Wants to Leave

1.     There’s A Girl In The Corner

2.     Last January

3.     I Could Give You All That You Don’t Want

4.     It Never Was The Same

5.     Drown So I Can Watch

6.     In Nowheres

7.     Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave

8.     Pills I Swallow

9.     Leave The House

10.  Sometime I Wish I Could Fall Asleep

With a nicely picked electric-guitar riff and an arena-filling drum-rhythm ‘There’s a Girl in the Corner’ opens the record with distinct backing-synths helping to set the dark, haunting tone for this album alongside James’ distinctly Scottish vocals “You’re not coming back/She’s not coming back for more…There’s a girl in the corner/and she’s crying for you”.  It’s a slow-burner and deliberately crafted track that sets the early dark tone for ‘Nobody Wants to be Here’.  Second-track ‘Last January’, previously previewed by the band online and in recent live performances, has a more up-tempo rhythm and percussion to it with spooky synths and a nice bridge “And they say you can’t be won/And it’s your eyes…touching my eyes”.  ‘I Could Give You All That You Don’t Want’ continues with another upbeat tempo and particularly a driving bass-line at its heart from Johnny intertwined with electric-guitar strums from Andy before we have a stand-out track on the record ‘It Never Was The Same’.  Initially another slowed-down, synth-driven song it has real endearing and touching vocals midway through the track from James “So we danced to save them all/We asked to save them all/We tried to save them all/You didn’t have to kill them all”.  This track is a strong highlight early on in the record.

• The Twilight Sad previously stormed through a headline set at The Boston Rooms, Camden

‘Drown So I Can Watch’ despite being a brutally bleak track-title sees guitars and bass pulse this track along, while James’ vocals portray a rocky relationship between a couple “I put you through hell/But you carried it all so well/You carried it all so well”.  This is a heartfelt, honest track yet with a captivating, alluring charm about it.  Midway through the record ‘In Nowheres’ is the loudest track on the album so far, featuring heavy guitar-riffs from Andy and James’ vocals coming across with a distant effect here creating a broad and large sounding rock-track, before title-track ‘Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave’ sees guitars, bass, synths and percussion all chug-away together in union as one with the real-focus on James’ cryptic story-telling here “Can you stay tomorrow?/You won’t leave tomorrow/I don’t know where we went wrong?”  This an atmospheric, brooding track, a featured trademark sound of The Twilight Sad.

‘Pills I Swallow’ is another bleak track-title but also another charmer of a track, again with a haunting sound about it featuring a sweet, twinkling gentle synth-melody hand-holding the track along nicely “It’s you/It’s always you/Telling me what to do”.  It’s like the soundtrack to an eerie, unrequited fairy-tale.  Lovely stuff.  Penultimate track ‘Leave the House’ is another, stripped-down, slower affair with organ-like synths and gentle percussion featuring alongside James’ dulcet tones gently repeating lines “And I see you/I see you/It’s lonely in the dark/Lonely in the dark” and more intensely further into the song “I’ve been put to bed/I’ve been put bed/I’ve been put to bed/I don’t know what you know” with a more rocky guitar-riff midway through the track, before we have album closer ‘Sometimes I Wish I Could Fall Asleep’.  Again another stripped-down haunting track with gentle piano notes being featured here it’s very much a closing ballad for the record with soft percussion coursing throughout it and crisp, tender vocals here again from James “You don’t love me anymore/You don’t need me anymore/And we’ve been left behind” and is possibly the most moving track on the album.

‘Nobody Wants to be here and Nobody Wants to Leave’ doesn’t pull any punches with its content; it’s a dark, bleak and brutally honest record yet at the same time an amazingly haunting and beautiful piece of work all the same which flourishes with repeated listens.  If you’re familiar with the band’s previous albums you will have expected nothing less here but let’s be clear here that The Twilight Sad are a band that masterfully hone and carefully craft the songs that they write and this album arguably sees the band at the height of their song-writing.  As I say I found this to be a tender and sublime record, that has a tendency to reveal further charms with repeated listens and I’m going to give this one 9/10 as it’s refreshing to see a band, pushing and challenging themselves to create a sound that’s really true to them.  I highly recommend to watch the acoustic session below to see the amazingly beautiful sound the band create on this latest record.    

It Never Was the Same

‘Flynny’

Track 1 ‘There’s a Girl in the Corner’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8H38U4nZag

Track 2 ‘Last January’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4YrixHiLpw

The Twilight Sad - Acoustic Session for Tenement TV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enl6TJiTeLY   

Band Website:
www.thetwilightsad.com

Flynndie Reviews #50: Catfish and the Bottlemen - The Balcony

Written 14th September 2014

  

Catfish and the Bottlemen – The Balcony

The Band: Van McCann (vocals/guitar), Billy Blakeway (guitar/vocals), Benji Bibby (bass/vocals) Rob Hall aka Dr. Bob (Drums)

This week see the release of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s much anticipated debut album ‘The Balcony’.  Originally hailing from Llandudno, Wales these four young upstarts are hell-bent on making a big impact on the Indie-Rock scene and have been garnering some serious attention and airplay from the likes of X-FM, Zane Lowe and Steve Lamacq, thus gaining the band a lively and intense fan-base.  I’ve been closely keep an eye on these lads for about three-years now upon hearing early single ‘Broken Army’ (previously reviewed in Flynndie Reviews #25) and listening to their debut EP ‘The Beautiful Decay EP’ a ridiculously obscene amount of times upon its release.  Having been lucky enough to catch the band live on a number of occasions I can confirm that Catfish and the Bottlemen seriously deliver a full-on rock ‘n’ roll assault live and on a number of times I have walked out of their gigs overhearing people saying “Wow that band were just fucking amazing!”  So with a lot of anticipation and building hype how does ‘The Balcony’ shape up then?

The Balcony:

1. Homesick
2. Kathleen
3. Cocoon
4. Fallout
5. Pacifier
6. Hourglass
7. Business
8. 26
9. Rango
10. Sidewider
11. Tyrants

Opening track and previous single ‘Homesick’ starts with a stripped-down guitar riff from front-man Van and lines “I got mislead, mistook, discard/Anything that I said/See I’m not the type to call you up drunk/But I got some lies to tell” and an almost calypso drum-rhythm from Dr. Bob before it gets into full-swing after with a great chorus “I said “I’m only looking out for you”/She said “it’s obvious that’s a lie”/I only ever put out for you/You know it’s obvious you don’t try” which gets the record off to a great start.  However, if ‘Homesick’ is a great opener then it’s second track and previous single ‘Kathleen’ that starts showing the full potential of Catfish and the Bottlemen “You’re Simpatico/And of all the lifts home/And all the mixed feelings/You’re cuts above/And you don’t own worries/Or a chest full of heartache” as the band continue their tight sound with some nice guitar licks from Billy and perfectly timed bass from Benji giving this track a delightful rhythm and groove to it while featuring an infectious chorus as Van belts out “I gotta give it to you/You give me problems!/When you’re not in the mood”.  As Indie-Rock tracks go this is nigh-on fucking perfection.  ‘Cocoon’ continues the smooth groove on the album so far building with rocky drumming and bass, before effortlessly coasting along with crisp, clear vocals again from Van “I remember when we swapped names/And I thought maybe/You’d stay and try and outdrink me/Your friends all hated it” followed by “Fuck it if they talk/Fuck it if they try and get to us”.  This is a smooth track, with particularly great guitars, drums and bass over the bridge before the chorus.

Fourth track ‘Fallout’ features sharp guitar strums and accompanying bass notes and percussion, the band still continue a nice smooth sound here with an edgy chorus “And we just always seem to just fallout/When I’m most in need of it/You just seem to call out/When I’m up for leaving it” you can tell the band really believe what they’re into here and enjoying themselves on this track.  Much like second track ‘Kathleen’, ‘Pacifier’ captures the core-sound of Catfish and the Bottlemen here with another excellent Indie-Pop Rock track “Oh but babe/You know I tried and failed/But you just don’t know how it feels/To lose something/You never have and never will” before the track rocks out in its final third with Van repeating the track-title “I’m her pacifier/I’m her pacifier”.  It’s another very instant and incredibly catchy tune yet sounds pulled off with effortless ease here by the band.  ‘Hourglass’ showcases a lesser seen side of the band as Van picks up acoustic guitar here, with a driving, backing bass rhythm here from Benji, it’s a sweet and tender track midway through the record and builds up steady layers with gentle backing vocals, light-drums and even charming piano notes, a surprising ballad to be found here on the album.

• Catfish and the Bottlemen previously stormed through a set at London's the 100 Club back in 2013 

Getting back much more up-tempo, ‘Business’ goes back to Catfish’s full-on, ballsy rock.  Another strong track pulsing along with driving bass and percussion “I wanna make you my business/I wanna tolerate drunk you honey/I wanna make you my problem” another very instant track featuring some nice guitar work here and a nice guitar solo midway through, meanwhile ‘26’ was previously an opening live favourite and one which I always thought was a great track that the band opened with and the final recording here further confirms that with a fast accelerating guitar rhythm driving away at it “I’ll come/Based on/Facts like/She’ll be there/Making self-control”.  This is a fast-paced and no-nonsense track.  Previously another early single ‘Rango’ remains upbeat and tight guitar-rock with smooth vocals here from Van a particular highlight “You see Abby she’s got to wait/Until she gets you on your own/She’ll make you make mistakes/And you can offer to take her home” and this track features a really nice guitar solo from Billy in its latter stages and is generally another very likeable track. 

So far ‘The Balcony’ has been some ride and then track 10 ‘Sidewinder’ hits you!  This is full-on, ballsy rock with an amazing opening guitar-riff.  This track previously featured on the band’s ‘Beautiful Decay EP’ but is such a strong track in its own right that it just had to feature on this debut record with some of my favourite lines on the album “Give me some/Assumptions I/Can make of you/Cause you’re getting lazy/You used to frustrate me” and “Whoever/You’re mixing/Your drinks with/Is dying to/Go to town on you”.  This is another seriously solid track before the album closes with another live favourite and another track from their previous debut EP which has been re-recorded here, ‘Tyrants’, which has a raw industrialist hard-rocking vibe about it and a particularly nice closing guitar and rhythm featuring some great closing lines “Tyrants helped build us/Then they won’t/Mind throwing it away”.  It’s another great track to close this debut album with the fiercely rocky instrumental ‘Trippin’’ tagged on to the end of the album nicely much like the band’s live shows.

• The Bottlemen tear through another dynamic and energetic set at The Borderline

As I said at the start of this review I’ve been closely keeping an eye out for Catfish and the Bottlemen as one to watch and have always been patiently looking forward to this debut album ‘The Balcony’ over the past three years.  As time went on I was a little apprehensive as to the final sound of this album what with high hopes for this band but I have to say these four young lads have delivered a debut album they should be very proud of.  There are many strong tracks on this record with for me personally ‘Cocoon’, ‘Pacifier’ and particularly ‘Sidewinder’ and ‘Kathleen’ being amazing highlights from this bright, young band and I’m going to give ‘The Balcony’ an unprecedented 10 Pacifiers out of 10 as this is a quality debut record.  Every 5 years or so a band comes along which just changes the game and for me Catfish and the Bottlemen are the real fucking deal.  Their music is no-nonsense ballsy rock about being young and in complicated relationships something everyone can relate to but they back them with amazing guitar riffs and rhythms and ‘The Balcony’ doesn’t disappoint.  The band look and sound great and are amazing live probably due to their sheer dedicated commitment to live touring over the past 7 years, so try and catch them in small venues while you can as I can only see this band going all the way on to much bigger things.

 

Simpatico

‘Flynny’

Track 1 ‘Homesick’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhfXl1OefI8

Track 2 ‘Kathleen’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgW67efQduY 

Track 5 ‘Pacifier’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX1sJClsQxE

Track 10 ‘Sidewinder’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWvN42M8JWQ  

Band website:
www.catfishandthebottlemen.com