Circa Waves’ Debut 'Young Chasers' is Youthful, Clean, and Fresh

Circa Wave's debut album Young Chasers has already been out in UK for a few months now, but has ridden a high wave (yes, wave) to American shores this weekend. Two years after DJ and producer Zane Lowe declared their single "Stuck in my Teeth" his "Hottest Record in the World," Circa Waves have finally released an LP featuring it and the band's preceding EP's  title-track "T-Shirt Weather." In addition to the old favorites of dedicated fans, this official debut is made up of solid light rock tracks that shine with a simplistic tribute to clean indie pop. No electronic noise or artificial synthesizers, just clear guitar riffs and beautiful melodies.

With so many far down the rabbit hole of over-mixed and over-produced sounds, a pop act without all the tricks and magic is youthful, clean, and fresh. Channeling the spirit of Two Door Cinema Club and The Kooks with some Favourite Worst Nightmare-era Arctic Monkeys underlying their feel of an eternal beach day, Young Chasers is a perfect pavement of the band’s presence on the indie pop scene.

The album opens with the three previously released singles, a risky choice if not for the catchiness of the tunes. Starting with "Get Away," a clear, vibrant, and colorful vibe blooms with the beginning track. A fan favorite since it’s original release, track number two, "T-Shirt Weather" carries on that energy and pokes at the foggy memory of that summer party in a low lit room with your closest friends and some accidental strangers. Mimicking the polished rebirths of bands like Walk The Moon, Circa Waves re-recorded "Stuck in My Teeth" and "Good For Me" for the album, both which were released almost two years ago, and the updated versions strongly highlight the group’s maturity in sound and confidence. 

As for the new songs, frontman Kieran Shudall laces each with a perfectly partnered melody and riff that hit every nostalgic nerve of the indie lover’s soul. Standout "Best Years" cries for a fleeting youth and a time that passes too quickly, a feeling familiar to every person (if you don’t agree, you’re lying to yourself). Sun-kissed melodies and boyish charm build each track to perfection, with many a song teeming with chart potential. 

Circa Waves’ talent in building very consistent songs off the very well recognized “indie guitar band” sound has been the center of concern for critics of the band, but truthfully speaking, it has been too long since we’ve had an album with substance that was just pure fun. As a debut, Young Chasers is an impressive record and pays homage to that perfect adolescent summer we all deserve.

Young Chasers is out now via Transgressive/Virgin EMI

After Three Year Silence, Last Dinosaurs Finally Speak on 'Wellness'

Three years ago Brisbane quartet Last Dinosaurs released their debut album In A Million Years, setting their sound as light, guitar-based indie pop. In the time since, this hidden Australian jewel has gone through band reorganizations with a bass player replacement and intense musical rediscovery before finally releasing their sophomore album, Wellness. 

Opening with “Take Your Time," which starts with a forest of sounds that mimicking tongue clicks and raindrops, Wellness then glides into the lead single reminiscent of their debut sound, “Evie." Wellness continues to track a sporadic lineup throughout, yet the album stands as a cohesive collection due to the ethereal dance-floor rhythms present within each track, similar to the sounds of early-80’s pop projects. With silky electric guitars and a vocals that are over-mixed in both volume and pitch to stand out, this album lifts with its riffs without losing the Last Dinosaurs sound that fans grew to love three years ago. 

Throughout the writing process, Last Dinosaurs built unique, in-house pedals from scratch, naming them, and eventually the songs made with them, "Evie" and the title-track "Wellness." Each song has a specific backing sound created with a specific pedal, unique to the band and the story, a tedious process that paid off. It’s this attention to detail that builds Wellness into the great piece of music it really is.

For example, “Wellness” itself is one of the slower beat tunes on the record, holding an ever-present, wavering silver string that quivers with the sadness of the afterlife of a lost lover. Followed with the second single, “Apollo”, a quickstep guitar song, the softness of “Wellness” is even more impressive while the upbeat nature of “Apollo” is even harder to miss up against it. Without disrupting the singularity of each track, Last Dinosaurs pulls together the full story of loving, losing, and moving on.