Backstage with Circa Waves: The band on their upcoming album, chicken tendies and opening Italian restaurants

We caught up with Circa Waves ahead of their Mad Cool 2025 set. Here’s what they told us…

Frontman Kieran Shudall, bassist Sam Rourke and guitarist Joe Falconer are sitting in their dressing room ahead of their show on the opening day of Mad Cool. It’s a sweltering day in Madrid, and they’ve just been told the air conditioning in the tent they’re performing in is broken (spoiler alert: it gets fixed). “I don’t think you could do a show in there like that,” Shudall says in his strong Liverpudlian accent. “Put a thousand people in there and they’ll fucking collapse.” By now, though, the band behind ‘T-Shirt Weather’ must have acclimatised to the heat somewhat. They’ve already done festivals in Germany, Prague and Mexico this summer. But that isn’t the main headline for Circa Waves right now — they’ve just announced their seventh studio album, Death & Love, the first part of which (suitably named Death & Love Pt 1) was released this January.

So far, Circa Waves have only released one single from the upcoming album. ‘Cherry Bomb’ dropped last week, along with a music video featuring Australian skater Demi Jenkins that brought the retro universe the band have been cultivating on social media for the track full circle (think: cherry pie, soda and rollerskates).  Here, ‘cherry bomb’ is the band’s way of talking about a ride or die kind of partner. “The chorus is about that person who’d do anything for you,” Shudall tells me. “Who’d get in a fight for you, or take you out when you’re down or whatever.” The verses, the frontman admits, “don’t necessarily make any sense”. But either way, the track serves to prove that, ten years after releasing their most well-loved track, the band are still putting out indie bangers that make you feel like you’re falling in love for the first time. 

Scarlett Coughlan: So, you just announced the second part of Death & Love. Where did the idea for that title come from?

Kieran Shudall: Well, I nearly died. That was the death bit. And then through surviving death, I found love.

SC: Wow, strong answer. What can you tell us about the tracks on part two?

Joe Falconer: The second half brings the first part together to make a full collection of songs, and you’ll be able to buy it on a double vinyl. So, yeah, we’ve got a few more bangers to release. 

SC: You recently did an American tour. What was the best part of touring the US?

KS: Sam’s recent love for chicken tendies.

Sam Rourke: I was vegetarian for ten years and I just started eating meat again. It’s mainly the chicken tenders that get me excited, so we did the tendie tour, where we would go into different places, get gas stations tendies, and do a little review. That was probably my favourite bit. 

SC: What was the weirdest thing about touring the US?

JF: Everyone’s got a gun. 

SC: You guys are having a party to celebrate your upcoming album next week. What makes a good party for you guys?

JF: If everyone leaves my house early enough.

SR: Having the right group. It’s all about the chemistry in the room. Everything else can be perfect, but if you don’t have the right people there, it’s not going to pop off. 

KS: Or if someone tries too hard on the aux and is like, I’m going to play this really bespoke French disco. Just put on fucking Tina Turner.

JF: ABBA Gold or nothing.

SC: What do you think the best song you guys have ever written is?

JF: I actually think the best song we’ve ever written is ‘Cherry Bomb’. We’ve been sat on it for a few years, so I’m glad it’s out. 

SC: Do you find it harder to write love songs now that you’re married and your lives are a bit more settled?

KS: Good question. Yeah, I do think it gets harder. I think the reason people generally get worse at songwriting as they get older is because you’re not having firsts anymore — you’ve lived a lot. So it’s just trying to find things that are exciting or, if you’ve got a good imagination, trying to remember what that was like. I’m always trying to put myself into those sorts of memories of what it was like to be excited about childish shit. Or, now, it might be about my kids and things like that, because that’s a brand new thing for me. As long as you keep doing new stuff or trying to remember the fun stuff, you can still write.

SC: What motivates you guys to keep making music together?

KS: It’s just financial…

SC: If you weren’t musicians, what jobs would you have?

KS: I wanted to work at a record label. 

JF: I’ve been doing some directing, so I’d probably try and do film stuff. 

SR: I’d own an Italian restaurant.

SC: What’s your favourite Italian dish?

SR: Probably a cacio e pepe.

SC: You just did your biggest tour to date. How does it feel that you’re still on the rise after being in the industry for over a decade?

KS:  I think that’s one of the best feelings — that we can still do that. When we first started, we were always like, this is going to end soon. So it’s one of the best feelings that we can still play these big shows.

JF: And it shows you that you’re doing something right, both with the songwriting and making the records, and also that the live show is good. You look out into the crowd and it’s not just people who have grown up with us, it’s new people. So it’s rewarding to know that it’s not just like a nostalgia trip for a lot of people and that the new songs are going down well. So, yeah, we’re really grateful. 

  • WriterScarlett Coughlan