Circa Waves – Sad Happy (2LP) – 45RPM Gold Vinyl

Album Info Hide Show Artist: Circa Waves Album: Sad Happy Released: UK, 2020 Tracklist: Happy A1 Jacqueline A2 Be Your Drug A3 Move To San Francisco B1 Wasted On You B2 The Things We Knew Last Night B3 Call Your Name B4 Love You More Sad A1 Sad Happy A2 Wake Up Call A3 Sympathy B1 Battered & Bruised B2 Hope There’s A Heaven B3 Train To Lime Street B4 Birthday Cake Info About Buying Vinyl From Our Record Store We are a small independent record store located at 211 High St, Preston in Melbourne, Australia (North of Northcote, between Thornbury & Reservoir) We buy and sell new and used vinyl records – if you have a collection you’d like to sell please click here . We ship Australia wide for a flat rate of $10 for standard shipping or $15 for express post. Free Shipping for orders $150 and over. You can also pick up your order in store, just select Local Pickup at the checkout. We also ship internationally – prices vary depending on weight and location. We ship vinyls in thick, rigid carboard mailers with a crushable zone on either side, and for extra safety we bubble wrap the records. In stock vinyl is usally shipped next business day, please check the availability field at the top of the product page to see whether the record is currently in stock or if it is available from the supplier as well as estimated shipping times. If you order an in stock item together with a pre order or back order (listed as available from supplier rather than in stock) then the order will be shipped together when all items arrive. If you would like the in stock items shipped first please place two separate orders or contact us to arrange shipping items separately. We are strongly committed to customer satisfaction. If you experience any problems with your order contact us so we can rectify the situation. If the record arrives damaged or doesn’t arrive we will cover the cost of replacing or returning the record. If you change your mind you have 30 days to return your record but you must cover the cost of returning it to the store. You can contact our Melbourne record shop at (03) 9939 3807 or at [email protected] Happy Listening! Description Hide Show Circa Waves fourth LP, Sad Happy, arrived in 2020 with a neat trick up its sleeve. Rather than dropping the whole thing at once, the Liverpool quartet split it into two parts, Sad in January and Happy in March, then bundled the full album for release on 13 March 2020. It felt like a tidy little mirror held up to everyday whiplash, where you can go from sunlit optimism to restless 3am thoughts in the space of a bus ride. The concept is simple, but it lands because the band keep the songs sharp and human. By this point Circa Waves were a tight unit, with Kieran Shudalls bright tenor and hook-first instincts glued to Joe Falconers chiming leads, Sam Rourkes nimble bass and Colin Jones punchy drums. They came up in that mid2010s indie wave but never lost the knack for a chorus you can belt. Sad Happy leans into that strength while opening the door to more keys and gloss. Its a step on from the scrappier early singles, and a cleaner, poppier twist after 2019s Whats It Like Over There? Jacqueline is the earworm that will sell the record to your mate who insists they only listen to guitar bands. It has a big, buoyant refrain that goes down easy but theres a pinch of salt in the lyrics. That push and pull runs through the album. Move to San Francisco plays like a postcard you write but never send, breezy on the surface, anxious underneath. Be Your Drug is the proper sugar hit, all propulsive drums and handsaloft release. Circa Waves have always been good for radioready singles, yet here the shiny moments are threaded to a theme, so the sugar doesnt rot your teeth. The sequencing is canny. You get lift, then you get shade, and the contrast keeps the runtime lively. Theres a crispness to the production that favours Shudalls vocals and the rhythmic snap, so even when the lyrics sidestep into doubt, the songs feel like theyre moving somewhere. The band sit comfortably in that British tradition where melancholy lives inside bright melodies, something fans of early Two Door Cinema Club or The Vaccines will recognise. Still, there are detours that hint at broader listening. Hints of synth beds, percussive loops tucked under the guitars, harmonies that peek in and out. Nothing fussy, just enough colour to justify the twosided idea. One of the pleasures of Sad Happy is how it stands up to repeat plays. The hooks are immediate, sure, but little details start to stick. A guitar line that curls back on itself. A bass run that lifts the last chorus a notch. Its the sound of a band who tour hard and know how to make four minutes count. UK outlets like NME and DIY paid close attention to the twopart rollout at the time, and you can hear why. The split isnt a gimmick. It shapes how you listen, whether you stream it in halves or sit with the full album and ride the mood swings. On vinyl the concept really clicks. Flip the record and you feel that pivot from one headspace to another, like stepping out of a crowded pub into cool night air. If youre crate digging and see Sad Happy vinyl next to Young Chasers, youll notice how much sleeker the newer record is without losing the bands scruffy charm. Circa Waves vinyl tends to vanish fast in local shops, so if youre trying to buy Circa Waves records online, dont sleep on it. Fans who prefer the tactile route, the sleeve art gives the theme away at a glance, with its split-face grin and frown. It makes a tidy companion to other Circa Waves albums on vinyl, especially if youre building a little UK indie corner at home. I spun this again recently after a lazy browse at a Melbourne record store and it hit me how well it captures that awkward optimism of early 2020. Bright mornings, weird afternoons. Songs you can shout along to, then lines that sit in the back of your mind for hours. If youre in Australia and hunting for vinyl records Australia wide, this is one to keep on your watchlist, because the replay value is high and the package works as a full piece. Sad Happy doesnt try to reinvent the wheel. It just gives you twelve tight turns of it, with enough heart and smarts to make the ride feel fresh. Product Reviews Hide Show Write a Review