One of Delhi’s most popular alternative rock bands, The Circus returns with their new album — With Love. The album is the four-member band’s third album, and will be released on March 2.
Known for making music that is experimental and frenetic, the album marks a distinct change in the musical output of the band. The guitar still finds its place of pride in scheme of things. The influences of the band member’s journey as solo artists and across different genres, has a telling effect on the music in the seven-track album.
The Circus is made up of Arsh Sharma on guitars and vocals, Abhinav Chaudhary on bass, Abhishek Bhatia on vocals and Anshul Lall on drums. They purposely set about trying to create an album that didn’t bear any resemblance to any of their previous albums, and ended up making an album that’s quite difficult to classify in a single genre. The album has a diverse sonic palate with varied styles, textured vocals and soundscapes.
“The biggest influence was a conscious decision to not repeat ourselves and make something that sounded drastically different from our previous albums,” says Sharma, the guitarist. The intent to make something different also came from the feelings of uncertainty that saw the band evolve and mature as musicians. “It has taken us over three years to finish the album. When you have three years of uncertainty and you end up making something which is unlike anything that you had imagined, is a great feeling,” says Bhatia.
There is no ambiguity on the lyrical theme of the band though. The confusion and despair that is a part of interpersonal relations is central to all tracks. “Lyrically and thematically, the sense of miscommunication between characters and despair is shared by every song in the album,” adds Arsh. The track ‘Lions & Wolves’ is inspired by Ned Stark’s beheading in the Game of Thrones. “In fact, we were really close to naming it Ned’s Head,” reveals Bhatia.