Single Review: Carry You Home - Circa Waves

Coming off of their recent single, ‘Do You Wanna Talk’, indie rock band Circa Waves are back with another melodic tune in ‘Carry You Home’. Less in your face than ‘Do You Wanna Talk’, ‘Carry You Home’ is a fun single from the British four-piece. With its interesting lyrical ideas and suitably indie vocals provided by Kieran Shudall, Circa Wave’s latest is a comfortable indie rock track that, whilst not doing anything particularly new, is bound to get you up and on your feet, nonetheless.

Circa Wave’s latest is a comfortable indie rock track that, whilst not doing anything particularly new, is bound to get you up and on your feet, nonetheless

As the track opens with its dreamy guitars, ‘Carry You Home’ makes itself known to be a track that seeks to place more emphasis on indie rather than rock. When the vocals kick in, with Shudall providing a slower and more laidback performance, the song quickly finds its groove. Deftly riding the smooth melody, the first verse establishes ‘Carry You Home’ as an indie dance track with charm.

When the single kicks into its pre-chorus, Circa Waves begin to play with the lyrics in creative and effective ways. Lines like ‘And I’m supposed to be Superman, But I just cried in my hands’ conjure up interesting images of masculinity and our ideas of self-identity. Circa Waves manage to take these lofty ideas and package them into a digestible song that does not minimise the weight its lyrics carry.

‘Carry You Home’ continues these playful and sombre lyrics in its second verse. Its images of fatherhood and the state of the world in ‘And I watch the world fall, As my son begins to crawl’ is another example of Circa Waves infusing their lyrics with both light and dark tones. The indie sound again complements these words, and the vocals’ fun and offbeat emphasis on certain words supports the ideas being offered.

‘Carry You Home’ is another strong single from Circa Waves, that acts as a good partner to their previous single’s rockier sensibilities

These strengths are not found particularly in the track’s chorus. Whilst not doing anything wrong, the song could have benefited from expanding on the ideas presented in the verses, to really wrap up ‘Carry You Home’ in more of a neat lyrical bow. The choruses do not take away from the track, but they do beg for something with more bite.

‘Carry You Home’ is another strong single from Circa Waves, that acts as a good partner to their previous single’s rockier sensibilities. A comparatively dialled-back effort, ‘Carry You Home’ uses this toned-down sound to deliver intriguing ideas in its verses, and catchy if not ground-breaking choruses. ‘Carry You Home’ feels personal despite arguably adhering to a conventional indie rock formula.