I recently caught Circa Waves at the O2 Academy Brixton in London on February 26th. It was a night full of energy, infectious melodies, driving guitar riffs, and good music. The Liverpool band is currently touring their recently released sixth album “Death & Love, Pt. 1.” However, the setlist was a well-balanced mix of new songs, old songs, and fan favorites, as frontman Kieran Shudall declared; “tonight is about taking it back” before playing a song from an earlier album during the set.

Circa Waves were supported by two incredible bands, Corella and Peace, both winning over the crowd with ease and creating an electric atmosphere leading up to the main act. Corella, especially, received a lot of love from the audience, which is rare as an opener but it was amazing to witness. Frontman Joel Smith even jumped into the crowd during their last song “Barcelona Girl.” The indie band from Manchester will be touring Europe later this year for their own headline tour. During their 7-song set, they had the audience singing along, jumping and there had even been a few mosh pits already. Smith expressed how grateful they are during the set and how they had dreamed of playing at this venue. “One day we will headline Brixton Academy,” he said. Following Corella’s set was the indie-rock band Peace from Worcester consisting of the brothers Harrison and Samuel Koisser. The band released their first single “BBlood” in 2012 which led to The Guardian calling them “the future of indie”. They ended their set with the 10-minute-long song “1998 (Delicious),” which had been released as part of their 2012 EP “EP Delicious.” The song ended with some of the band members dismantling the drums on stage while the bassist and guitarist were still playing, which made for an unexpected and memorable moment in the evening.

Shortly after, Circa Waves kicked off their set with their 2023 released song “Do You Wanna Talk,” immediately capturing the attention of the crowd. The song’s driving beat and catchy melody had everyone energized from the start, setting the tone for the rest of the night. It was clear that the audience was in for a great show and the band from Liverpool had the crowd jumping and moshing throughout the night, especially during their biggest hit “T-Shirt Weather” played during the encore, when multiple mosh pits opened up in the crowd. The band, consisting of Kieran Shudall (lead vocals and guitar), Joe Falconer (guitar), Sam Rourke (bass), and Colin Jones (drums) had the O2 Academy in the palms of their hands the whole night with fans singing along to all of their favorite songs. The new songs from their latest album “Death & Love, Pt. 1” on the setlist such as “Let’s Leave Together,” “La Bateau” and “We Made It” blended seamlessly with the old fan favorites, and had the crowd dancing and singing along just as good as older hits like “Sad Happy” or “Movies” from their 2019 and 2020 released albums.

During the set Shudall thanked the audience, exclaiming how they never take any of this for granted. He went on to say that “this moment feels like the end of something big for us” before they finished their set with “T-Shirt Weather.” The night clearly showed why Circa Waves remain a staple of the indie-rock scene and made it clear that this is definitely a tour and band that shouldn’t be missed live.