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Circa Waves | Friday Pilots Club
Circa Waves was formed in Liverpool in May 2013 by guitarist and singer Kieran Shudall, who had decided to “knuckle down” and commit fully to music after spending years in a succession of no-hope garage bands. After writing a batch of songs and putting some demos online, he recruited second guitarist Joe Falconer, bassist Sam Rourke, and drummer Sian Plummer (replaced by Colin Jones in 2015), and the band undertook a few short tours of the U.K. and Europe. Their melodic, propulsive rock sound, heavily inspired by the Strokes and often compared to the Vaccines, was well-received by audiences, and such a buzz built around them that they were soon offered a deal with Transgressive Records, erstwhile home of Foals, the Subways, and Mystery Jets.
Formed in 2017, Friday Pilots Club centers on singer/guitarist Caleb Hiltunen and features bassist Drew Polovick, guitarists Sean Burke and James Kourafas, and drummer Eric Doar. All five members studied at Chicago's Columbia College, where they met and individually played in various projects before forming the band. An Indiana native, Hiltunen had previously performed alongside a different lineup, touring and recording a handful of songs. However, it was after that version of the group folded and he joined forces with Polovick around 2016 that they picked up creative steam. With the lineup solidified, singles followed, including "Hot Mess" and "Better With," both of which ended up on the group's 2022 EP, I Love You, Robot Superstar! Several standalone singles followed a year later, including "Pushing Daisies (Oh My My)," "Life Support/Ms. Supernova," and "Sleeping on the Ceiling." In 2024, they released the single "Vampire Disco" preceding their full-length debut, Nowhere.