Circa Waves

Emerging from Britain's indie scene with nervy, melodic rock, Circa Waves first drew notice in the 2010s via catchy singles such as "Get Away" and "Stuck in My Teeth." Fronted by singer and songwriter Kieran Shudall, the group drew early praise alongside the Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, and the Vaccines, then secured a Top Ten debut in 2015 with Young Chasers. Remaining open about those touchstones, the quartet refined its approach across later releases, including Different Creatures in 2017 and What's It Like Over There? in 2019, both marked by growing assurance and sharply etched post-punk anthems. Sad Happy followed in 2020, reaching number four on the U.K. albums chart, before the band returned in 2023 with Never Going Under.

Shudall assembled the Liverpool outfit in May 2013 after resolving to focus squarely on music following a string of unpromising garage projects. He posted early demos online, then added guitarist Joe Falconer, bassist Sam Rourke, and drummer Sian Plummer—who was succeeded by Colin Jones in 2015—before the band embarked on brief U.K. and European tours. Their driving, melody-rich sound, rooted in the Strokes and frequently likened to the Vaccines, quickly won listeners and led to a contract with Transgressive Records, the label previously home to Foals, the Subways, and Mystery Jets.

The double-A-side debut single "Get Away"/"Good for Me" appeared in December 2013 and was promptly named the "Hottest Record in the World" by BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe. Riding that momentum, Circa Waves issued Young Chasers on Virgin/EMI in 2015. Tracks including "T-Shirt Weather" and "Stuck in My Teeth" helped the album enter the U.K. Top Ten and supported extensive live dates, among them a sold-out show at London's O2 Academy Brixton.

Encouraged by the response to their first record, the band headed back into the studio soon after touring and emerged with a denser, more forceful follow-up, Different Creatures, in 2017. Produced by Alan Moulder, the set climbed to number 11 on the U.K. chart and yielded the singles "Wake Up" and "Fire That Burns."

The third album, What's It Like Over There?, arrived in 2019 and featured the single "Movies." Again working with Moulder, the band explored a subtler pop sensibility, and the release once more placed inside the U.K. Top Ten. Early the next year they unveiled Sad Happy, which Shudall produced with mixing by Matt Wiggins and Dan Grech-Marguerat; before the complete album appeared, the material was divided into the separate EPs Happy and Sad. The project became their highest-charting effort, peaking at number four in the U.K. In January 2023 the group delivered its fifth full-length, Never Going Under, shaped by Shudall's reflections on fatherhood alongside concerns about climate change and global conditions, and led by the singles "Hell on Earth" and "Carry You Home."