Circa Waves Death & Love, Pt. 1
Released Jan 31, 2025 Lower Third
Consensus forming 4 professional reviews Updated Oct 15, 2026
Mostly positive consensus
Consensus is still forming across 4 professional reviews. Circa Waves' Death & Love, Pt.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
Like You Did Before
2 critic mentions
“Panoramic pop with a 1980s techno vibe, "Like You Did Before", also feels a bit like Harry Styles” — PopMatters
American Dream
2 critic mentions
“Opening with a brief and insistent rocker, "American Dream", the record hits its stride” — PopMatters
Bad Guys Always Win
2 critic mentions
“The peppy music of the closing track, "Bad Guys Always Win", seems at odds with the sour lyrics” — PopMatters
Full critic consensus
Circa Waves' Death & Love, Pt. 1 pairs bright, panoramic pop with lyrics that look toward melancholy, mortality, and the life still ahead. Its 72.5/100 consensus score across four professional reviews suggests a solid, if not unqualified, success: critics praise the energy and strongest songs, while the record’s appeal rests more on its vivid highlights than on a single prevailing mood.
The best songs on Death & Love, Pt. 1 show the band moving easily between urgency and reflection. Critics singled out “Like You Did Before” for its dance-punk drive and 1980s-tinged fun, while “American Dream” makes an infectious, insistent opening statement. “Hold It Steady” offers a more reflective counterpoint, turning toward resilience and the sense that life remains open; “Bad Guys Always Win” gives the album a forceful closing highlight. Together, these tracks capture the record’s balance of upbeat music and sourer, more contemplative lyrics, with anthemic rock instincts and a Britpop lineage in the mix.
Reviewers also note the collection’s range, from high-energy pop to ballads and songs that revisit youth. That variety keeps its reflections from becoming uniformly maudlin, even as the themes lend the bright arrangements emotional weight. The critical consensus points to a confident, engaging record whose standout tracks make the clearest case for listening. The reviews below explore where Death & Love, Pt. 1 hits hardest and how its contrasts shape the whole.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
American Dream
Like You Did Before
We Made It
Le Bateau
Hold It Steady
Let's Leave Together
Blue Damselfly
Everything Changed
Bad Guys Always Win
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Circa Waves on Death & Love, Pt. 1 serve up crisp, panoramic pop where the best tracks - “Like You Did Before” and “American Dream” - stake the album’s claim. Rich Wilhelm praises “Like You Did Before” as a fun, 1980s-tinged standout and frames “American Dream” as an insistent opener that sets the tone. He also highlights the band’s range, noting ballads like “Hold It Steady” and “Blue Damselfly” that diversify the LP. The review reads as measured admiration: a band that knows its strengths and keeps tinkering, giving listeners clear reasons to queue the best songs on Death & Love, Pt. 1.
Key Points
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The best song, “Like You Did Before”, is a fun, 1980s-tinged panoramic pop standout that feels both nostalgic and fresh.
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The album’s core strengths are catchy, anthemic songwriting and a balance between breezy pop and gorgeous ballads.
Themes
Critic's Take
Circa Waves are clearly on a prolific streak, and the best tracks on Death & Love, Pt. 1 make clear that this record is not going to be crammed with maudlin introspection. The explosive “American Dream” is a solid indication, its infectious energy carried through on the dance-punk vibe of “Like You Did Before.” Songs like “Le Bateau” find Shudall looking back fondly on his youth, while “Hold It Steady” sees him reaffirming that there is still a lot of life left to live. And the incredible album closer, “Bad Guys Always Win,” is one of the best songs on the record.
Key Points
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“Bad Guys Always Win” stands out as the incredible album closer.
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The album balances infectious energy and dance-punk with reflections on youth and the will to keep living.
Themes
