Indie Blog Scotland - "We Made It" by Circa Waves

Do you remember T-Shirt Weather? Are we Never Going Under? Well, buckle up - the latest from Circa Waves is here.

The scouse indie rockers formed way back in 2013, formed of Kieran Shudall (Vocals), Joe Falconer (Guitar), Colin Jones (Drums) and Sam Rourke (Bass). They're well-known for their "nervy," melodic indie anthems, and saw themselves explode into popularity in the later 2010s.

Their sound largely comes from their aggressive, energetic drumming, in combination with their hooky chord progressions and memorable guitar riffs that will see Scottish crowds consistently chanting back to them. However, it has evolved over time, often between albums - with their debut album, Young Chasers, sounding entirely different from Never Going Under. With that being said, the changes are more than welcome - seeing the band evolve over time has been wonderful, and an absolute pleasure.

With all that being said, let's dive into We Made It.

The introduction brings a soft, wistful melody, before getting into that energy that the group has become synonymous with. The first verse carries the power into a gentle chorus: "It took a long, long time to get here, but yeah, we made it!" A lovely little tease from the band; a common feature in their music, but a very welcome one, especially live.

The second verse sees another lovely single-string guitar riff, setting the rhythm as the song strips back once again. The writing of Kieran then comes out in full - all of the various "oh-oh-wo-oahs" inviting the crowds to sing along, as the band introduces a full-force chorus. The bridge is short, but wonderful, launching into a very beautiful solo, featuring some lovely bends, before one more chorus to close the track off.

I absolutely adore the guitars on this track, in combination with the tone of the bass - carrying the song, alongside those energetic, groovy drums. The vocals are incredible, too - though we know to expect no less from the band by now, the talent can't go unappraised.

Overall, this is another wonderfully structured track from Circa Waves, leading in a great direction from the much heavier-sounding album that came before. The combination of the simplicity, with the magical presentation from every individual band member has become a trademark of theirs - and I'm so very glad it's remained as strongly.

Overview

Trademark sound remains strong

Guitar tone is perfect for the track

Ideal song length

Very powerful introduction to their upcoming album

Strengths

Weaknesses

None, really - I just can't quite see it surpassing the successes of some of their earlier work. Which is a shame; this is an outrageously strong track!