Circa Waves, Omeara, London

“I’ve been waiting so fucking long to play that,” Circa Waves frontman Kieran Shudall says breathlessly, after the live debut of ‘Wake Up’, at London’s newly-opened Omeara. The band’s new material notches up a few more points on the heaviness scale, slowly shifting away from their signature pedigree of light-hearted indie-rock and delving into a world that is coarser, darker.

Tonight, Circa Waves debut three brand new songs at the tiny South London venue in anticipation of second record, ‘Different Creatures’, due next year. ‘Wake Up’, the first of the bunch, is gritty and angsty, a shift from their previous, summery tunes. If debut ‘Young Chasers’ was full of upbeat feel-good guitar rock that exudes sunshine, ‘Wake Up’ is an intense, pulp fiction thrill of a song. The bass is heavier, the guitars are bolder, but Kieran’s vocals during the chorus are, quite unsurprisingly, still catchier than ever.

“So wake up, it’s just a little too late,” he sings amid rip-roaring guitars that thunder and pour.

The Omeara crowd are also treated to two more new tracks played for the first time, ‘Stuck’ and ‘Goodbye’. The new tracks are in keeping with the angsty vein of ‘Wake Up’. The quartet playfully tease the London audience with a darker Circa Waves than ever before, the quartet even ramping the intensity of their trademark garage-rock into something that bubbles wildly with an unprecedented amount of disquiet and restlessness.

In addition to the smattering of new material and what’s to come, Circa Waves also make sure to treat the tiny venue to crowd favourites and debut record highlights.

“DECENT!!!!!” one fan in the crowd yells after an electrifying rendition of ‘Young Chasers’.

“You’re better than DECENT!!!!!!” another yells immediately after.

The rest of the setlist spans the majority of their debut, ‘My Love’, ‘Get Away’, and ‘Good For Me’ each enthusiastically received. By the time set-closer ‘T-Shirt Weather’ arrives, it’s nothing but one, giant, riotous party.

The set ends with Kieran crowdsurfing, guitar still strapped to his chest.

“If you could just bring Kieran back eventually, that would be great,” guitarist Joe Falconer jokes as flailing hands attempt to send the frontman back in the direction of the stage. “He’s very valuable, you know.”