Circa Waves announce new chapter with ‘Death & Love Pt.2’ and life-affirming rock ‘n’ roll single ‘Cherry Bomb’

Circa Waves have announced their seventh studio album, ‘Death & Love Pt.2’. Listen to new single ‘Cherry Bomb’ below.

• READ MORE: Circa Waves on ‘Death & Love Pt.1’: “I thought I might die before I made this record”

The Liverpool indie band will release the nine-track record on October 24 via Lower Third/[PIAS] – pre-order/pre-save here. It’ll serve as the follow-up to ‘Death & Love Pt.1’, which arrived in January.

Frontman Kieran Shudall had been inspired to make a party album with ‘…Pt.1’ after undergoing life-saving emergency heart surgery, as he told NME in 2024. However, one album wasn’t enough to house all the material that would emerge from his profound experience and brush with mortality.

“I’d written so much stuff after all the heart incident stuff – there was a release of creativity,” Shudall explained of the forthcoming ‘…Pt.2’. “There were more songs than I’d ever written before, in one furious writing period.”

Both ‘Death & Love’ LPs were produced by Shudall and recorded between a friend’s studio in Finsbury Park and the legendary RAK Studios in London, where Green Day and Muse also happened to be working at the time.

“I saw Billie Joe Armstrong in the toilet!” Shudall recalled.

These sister records “come together to boast the sound of bouncing back from potential tragedy”, per a press release. While the first instalment tried to make sense of what the singer had been through, Shudall said that ‘…Pt.2’ “feels like the more optimistic part of the two records”.

He continued: “It almost feels like if the first record was before the operation and death and fear of dying, then one is coming through the other side. It’s about love, life, survival and euphoria.”

Kicking off with some blissful ’80s synth, lead single ‘Cherry Bomb’ is a life-affirming slice of Strokes-esque indie-pop. “Don’t cry,” Shudall tells the listener, before expressing his appreciation for his partner in the romantic chorus.

“It’s all about that person who would do anything for you,” the frontman said. “Jump into a fight for you, take you for a beer when you’re down, the person who keeps you level and someone who is generally a bit of a badass. We all need a cherry bomb in our life.”

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Elsewhere in the song, he describes himself as “another show-off indie rock ‘n’ roll singer” wearing a “leather jacket falling apart at the seams“. Check out the seaside-set official music video, directed by guitarist Joe Falconer, above.

Both parts of ‘Death & Love’ are set for a combined release as an 18-song album on CD and double gatefold vinyl.

The full tracklist for Circa Waves’ ‘Death & Love Pt.2’ is: 

1. ‘Lost In The Fire’
2. ‘Stick Around’
3. ‘Cherry Bomb’
4. ‘Ten Outta Ten’
5. ‘Love Me For The Weekend’
6. ‘Sunbeams’
7. ‘Old Balloons’
8. ‘Sweet Simple Thing’
9. ‘Wave Goodbye’

Next Wednesday (July 16), Circa Waves will throw an album launch party for fans in London at Signature Brew, Haggerston, dubbed ‘It’s A Matter Of Death & Love’. Attendees can expect the group’s very own signature ‘Cherry Bomb’ cocktail, as well as a ‘Death vs Love’ DJ set by the band.

Circa Waves are due to perform at Mad Cool Festival in Madrid tomorrow (Thursday July 10), before returning to the UK for next month’s Victorious Festival in Portsmouth. They’ll also support Queens Of The Stone Age at Sheffield’s Rock N Roll Circus.

Kieran Shudall looked back on his “genuinely terrifying” heart issues when talking to NME about ‘Death & Love Pt.1’ in 2024. “The material of the record came out quite quickly because the emotions were so high, I guess,” he explained.

“Now that’s happened, I look forward to everything a lot more. The idea of going to play another tour or release another record, it’s given me that excitement back.”

He continued: “I was just so buzzing to go in the studio again and make music with my friends, because you can become a little bit complacent through the years. Everything feels fresh again, which is quite cool. It’s a weird byproduct of thinking you might die.”

The singer told NME that there was “going to be a part two” at some point, adding: “We didn’t know if we’d exist anymore, so the fact that we get a second chance at this is amazing.

“I’m just very grateful for us being able to make music again and tour again, really.”

The post Circa Waves announce new chapter with ‘Death & Love Pt.2’ and life-affirming rock ‘n’ roll single ‘Cherry Bomb’ appeared first on NME.