Interview with Circus Wolves: ‘That brooding tone will be coming out in the new material – expect that brooding, high energy sound!’

Manchester-based alt rock band Circus Wolves brought out their EP, This Is Something You Can’t Replace, earlier this month, giving us five emotive and frenetic tracks with brooding bass lines, pushing their sound in new directions.

The band, who have been together for nearly three years, comprises Guy Aled Wynn Davies (vocals), Jack Taylor (guitar), Jim Ker (guitar), Ben Dodson (bass) and Cameron Tetlow (drums). They used to practice in a rehearsal room in Leeds called Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus, which inspired their name. ‘We had our first gig coming up and didn’t have a name, so it forced us to pick one!,’ Taylor said.

One of the standout tracks, ‘Hunt You Down’, on the new EP, was born out of a riff, according to Taylor: ‘I had the chorus part kicking around for ages. We wanted to do something good with it but every time we tried, we couldn’t do anything with it. Then we came up with a similar verse section and it took off from there and Guy put his voice over it.’

For Davies, who wrote the lyrics, it’s about doing ‘what comes naturally at the time’: ‘Hunt You Down’ was more of a collaboration, it’s quite frenetic, it’s at the pace where it’s fast but not at breakneck speed, if you know what I mean? I had two separate parts -the chorus about addiction, compulsion and obsession and the verse, which was written in tandem with the guitar part, about showing off, vanity, satisfaction and release. It’s about making sure you get your point across.’

As the song goes: ‘It’s an addictive compulsion, the fact I’m coming for you, you’re my dream and my nightmare that’s always over too soon, but please let me find you, let me make you believe, let me paint you a picture of what we can achieve.’

Another track of theirs, ‘The Taste’, which came out earlier this year started from a riff they came up with having a beer in Taylor’s kitchen, according to Ker: ‘Guy said “That’s pretty cool, can you do it again?” And I said nah! Sometimes, someone will come up with a bridge. If it’s got legs, we’ll go with it.’

For Davies, ‘The Taste’ is about ‘something addictive’: ‘Something you want and once you have it, you can’t let go, something being in control of you and you have to temper it. It could be about drugs but it’s not.’ The song also has biblical references: ‘Lo and behold, I am at the gates but I’m trying to attain.’ ‘It’s also got my favourite lyric,’ Davies said: ‘I can’t set myself on fire to keep you warm’ – when you give everything of yourself to someone to your detriment, it’s also about mental health.’

Other tracks on the EP, such as ‘Pulling Teeth’ started out as something completely different, according to Davies: ‘It was my vocals and Jim’s guitar for ages. It was sick but so different to us.’ Taylor interjects: ‘It started off Elbowesque!’ Ker starts laughing: ‘That track had seven sections,’ he said. ‘It was like a symphony, it was 20 minutes long!’ Davies jumps in and says it wasn’t 20 minutes. ‘It wasn’t a semblance of a song, it was like fucking clear the table!’

They’re not afraid of breaking with songwriting convention either – ‘Pulling Teeth’ doesn’t actually have a chorus. ‘The game changer with ‘Pulling Teeth’ was when we decided to get rid of the chorus and just build it,’ Dodson said. ‘It’s the most different thing we’ve done,’ Taylor added. Davies jumps in: ‘It’s not the only song we’ve done without a chorus. ‘Infamy’ (2018) doesn’t have one either, just an altro.’

Formed in 2013 at the University of Leeds as Plastic Rabbits, the band spent their formative years on the Leeds scene before relocating to Manchester, their hometown, where they resurfaced as Circus Wolves.

Lockdown has been particularly tough because they’re so used to writing songs together: ‘It’s been tricky for us because we write songs in the room, all our songs have gestated like that,’ Taylor said. ‘Instead, we’ve sent ideas back and forth.’

‘We have a strong idea in terms of the tone of the next offering’

Now, with Dodson in the mix – ‘Hunt You Down’ was one of the first songs he worked on – they are polishing their sound, according to Ker. ‘We know our sound now and like that sound. We have a strong idea in terms of the tone of the next offering. That brooding tone will be coming out in the new material – expect that brooding, high energy sound!’

Taylor has nothing but praise for their newest member: ‘Ben’s 10 out of 10,’ he said. ‘We can do things now that we couldn’t do before from a bass perspective.’ Ker agrees: ‘We felt we were circling the drain a bit before Ben joined. When it came to finding a new bassist, I said to Jack: “This is the time, we need to do something with this.” We put everything into this EP, our heart and soul.’

The band’s early demos enjoyed support on BBC Introducing and XS Manchester, and support slots with The Amazons, Red Rum Club and The Slow Readers Club earned them a sold out headline show at Manchester’s Night & Day Cafe.

Within the group, they’re searingly honest: ‘We are harsh with each other,’ Ker admits. ‘If something doesn’t meet the bar, it’s not worth putting the time in.’ Taylor interjects: ‘You eventually find that ‘purple patch’ when you know it’s right.’

If they could tour with anyone, Davies would like to tour with The Rolling Stones. ‘But we’re darker than them,’ he laughed. ‘We’ve played with The Slow Readers Club before, so they’d be a good fit,’ Taylor added. Ker picks Joy Division. There’s one band they all agree on: ‘We’d all love to tour with The Stone Roses,’ said Davies.

(Photo from left to right: Jack, Cameron, Jim, Guy and Ben)