Debut singles weigh more heavily on their creators than any release that follows. They are, rightly or wrongly, seen as creative mission statements, musical calling cards, and sonic first impressions all wrapped into one. So, to find a single as great as “Circus Life” as the launch pad for Brisbane’s Wattmore tells me that they understand the gravitas of the situation all too well.
As first tastes go, it is a brilliant mix of sounds. They blend the folk-punk sound of the likes of The Levellers or Frank Turner’s less hardcore urges with 50’s country rock guitars and modern Americana grooves. There are even some lovely gypsy-waltz/carnival sounds to underline the circus metaphor that runs through the song.
And it is a metaphor, a fairly adaptable one, too – to Wattmore, it is an exploration of those feelings of isolation and the confusion of navigating the modern world carrying the added complexities that come with autism, but it is equally apposite an anthem for anyone who has problems swerving societies swings and arrows. After all, we have all met, dated and been heartbroken by the Circus Girl, that perfect yet impossible partner who can’t be tamed.
What a significant first step, a song that is accessible and infectious yet, to some degree, deliberately running against the flow of fad or fashion, as all the best music does.
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