Satin Circus - Crossroads

Stream Crossroads here (Spotify)

The background...

Satin Circus are by far my favourite new boy band of recent years. They gave me my favourite single of 2013 (If You Love Me - see here), one of my top 3 favourite songs of 2014 (Expectations - still amazing, see here) and my very favourite album of last year (also entitled Expectations, see here). I think it's pretty obvious I could not be more smitten with the instrument playing, song writing, effusive singing four piece if I tried. So colour me all sorts of happy today to learn that they have a brand new song out for my (and yours, I'm not selfish) listening pleasure. Entitled Crossroads, google translate informs me that it is something to do with the Finnish entry for Eurovision (it does clock in at exactly three minutes) - and presumably the first inkling of what their second album will sound like. It is - as you will see in a minute - entirely magnificent. First lets look at the equally splendid cover art.

The cover art...

Well well, don't our lads scrub up well. It's always important for a band to portray a slightly different image with each album while not being too unrecognisable. They've done a brilliant transition here. I love the new logo with the S and C interlinked with the bold black and red font catching your eye instantly. Hopefully this will continue through any releases associated with album two because it's simple yet effective. Krippe takes the right flank and is the only one not to be looking at the camera. Very Paul McCartney! There's almost a sweet uncertainty to his pose, the type of pondering that must come to anyone who puts their creative energy out into the world. Next to him Olli gives us geek chic Clark Kent realness thanks to those amazing round glasses that you just know he'll whip off at any second to reveal himself as the superhero of pop :) Love the braces - very mod/brit pop (whose guitar melodies have always seemed to be an influence on the band). Paul, always the one in the band I followed most closely in terms of his fashion choices, is rocking that avant garde leather jacket and I'm loving the fact that he has kept his facial hair. Finally on the left flank (as you look at them) is Axel. Sigh. Looking like a ridiculously hot Steptoe and Son (see here) his pushed up sleeves and cravat are just the sort of look I adore. Bravo that man. Bravo all them men :)

The music...

Crossroads is certainly an evolution of the Satin Circus sound you all know and love from the Expectations album. They've certainly retained the knack for a compelling melody and relatable lyrics whilst infusing the music with a more effusive dance element that is positively euphoric in it's execution. Lyrically, despite the vibrant nature of the tune, it's actually a somewhat melancholy song dressed as an upbeat number (something eurovision champs Abba always excelled at) that sees the guys reflecting on the good times of a relationship that seems to have taken a wrong turn somewhere. It's something we've all no doubt experienced whether it be with romantic liaisons, friends or family - everything is going brilliant and then suddenly things don't seem quite as marvelous as they did. At least they seize the moment while they still and embrace the marvelous before the relationship topples off a precipice. It all starts with a gentle guitar riff that's accompanied by wistful, yearning vocals (aces to have Paul singing) that give those lyrics real pathos. Before the enormous chorus kicks in there's this clever trick of stripping away the music and really focusing on the vocals - this serves both to accentuate the emotions at play in the song and to make the impact of the chorus that much more enormous and memorable. You're hit with a wall of sound that demands you wave your arms in the air like a ninny; complementing refrains play perfectly alongside each other (the whoa whoa of the backing chants is going to sound brilliant sung back by thousands of fans) and it's like little drops of pop manna falling from the heavens above. The dance elements fit into the song with ease and don't feel a jarring step forward for the band - they still retain that magical essence of Satin Circus that has garnered them their dedicated fanbase in the first place. I approve. And absolutely want more please. Until then, this is the just the song to get yourself out of the post Christmas funk and start 2015 with a bang.

The video...

Well this is all very exciting really isn't it? Like a boy band Beyonce, Satin Circus have gifted the world with the full product all at once - single for sale and streaming, complete with art work and accompanying video. None of this "video coming soon" malarky (did Lady Gaga ever even bother releasing a video for Do What U Want, a visual NO-ONE wanted to see anyway?) or "taster single only" nonsense. Just a surprise package for the fans that keeps on giving. Let's have a quick look through what went on in the clip (that you can view here)...

• Paul is walking up some stairs. See everyone?! Popstars and popsters are just like you and me :)
• He passes a young lad hovering in the stair well. That is, the young lad is malingering not that he is on a hover board like Back To The Future promised us would be available in 2015. Anyway, it is quite bad luck apparently to pass someone on the stairs. God knows why...
• In for a penny... Paul continues to flaunt fates bad luck rules by passing two ladies drinking from red cups. And not those nice festive Starbucks red cups either. No sirreebob. These girls are getting all boozy. The blonde girl gives him a smile (WHO WOULDN'T?!) that says "I'm SO gonna make you work for me". We've all had those types of smiles, eh lads?!
• There is a party going on and people seem to having a jolly good time. Paul effortlessly shrugs off his jacket and joins Krippe for a good ol' singalong to the chorus. And this is worth repeating - what a blinder of a chorus. Top notch stuff :)
• Axel is busy playing piano. As a pianist myself I can confirm there is nothing hotter than a boy who knows his way around a keyboard ;) It is what, my fine friends, got me my first boy on boy smooch many years ago. Axel of course needs no such luck to score with the laydeez...
• Neither does Olli who is working up quite the energetic sweat in the kitchen providing the rhythmic groove of the song by beating those drums senseless. I love that he seems to be absolutely loving his work, makes everything more joyful somehow...
• The camera follows Paul round the maze of an apartment staying quite close. He is clearly very skilled at walking backwards as he doesn't trip once. Unless there is a hilarious outtakes video yet to be released...
• He finally picks up his instrument and joins the rest of the band for a run through of that euphoric chorus one last time. The revellers love it. We love it. Satin Circus to Vienna then please Finland. Don't mess it up... :D