Cast
As Cast release a new single ahead of their Christmas homecoming, Getintothis’ Adam Lowerson sees the band stick to the winning formula.
It’s becoming a bit of a Christmas tradition that Cast return to the homeland for an end of year show at the Liverpool O2 Academy. They’ll be performing this year’s homecoming on December 20, but this time however, there’s new music on the horizon with their first album since 2012, 20 years since the release of their debut LP All Change, due sometime in 2015. Ahead of the December tour, the original line up of the Britpop legends have revealed the first single from the as yet untitled new record, Baby Blue Eyes, which is available as a free download.
Reunited with former producer John Leckie, the track will have a familiar feel to it for fans of the band’s previous work, John Power’s unmistakably scouse vocals sound as good as they have done in years and the band around him stick to the jangly acoustic rock formula that has done so well for them in the past. It’s fair to say that Baby Blue Eyes doesn’t break any new ground for the band, but sees them doing what they do best. It’s a slow burner, building from an acoustic intro to a full folk-rock ballad, with a warm, distinct Merseybeat flavoured sound. It is what it is, and what it is is great pop.
At this stage in a band’s career, a complete reinvention could be the end for them, and is a risk that Cast have never seemed to see as worth taking. If this new single is anything to go by, we can expect the forthcoming album to be a continuation of what has served them well throughout their whole career.
