Glasgow five-piece Speak Easy Circus will have you going bananas with their latest single ‘Gros Michel’
A bunch of different labels have been attached to Speak Easy Circus to pinpoint their genre. ‘Indie’, ‘funk’, ‘jazz’, ‘soul’ and ‘experimental’ are some of the more frequent terms but this band have their own unique sound that refuses to be limited by genre categories. I haven’t seen Speak Easy Circus perform live but I’m reliably informed that their live shows are quite the experience. Plenty of improvisation and humour are involved. Last year the band toured across the Highlands to raise funds for Barnardo’s Children’s Charity. During this time the band also ran a workshop in Inverness for children in foster care. Not just a great band but great people too.
Now, don’t let this put you off but their latest single ‘Gros Michel’ is about bananas. At least that’s what it may seem like at first. Peel back the layers and you’ll find a deeper meaning as songwriter Jack Avison aims to raise awareness for social and environmental justice in the banana trade. The lyrics begin in a positive fashion, there’s references to Mario Kart, Bananas in Pyjamas and of course nutritious breakfasts. But the further we get into the track Avison begins to expose the darkness. You can take a deeper dive into these issues and I’m sure the band would encourage you to do so but for now the lyrics, “Enough sick kids in that class to fill a poisoned school, special needs anomalies that don’t need looked into, I’m sure it’s unrelated to the fruit we consume, we consume” give you a taste of just how bad things are.
In terms of the music, ‘Gros Michel’ is a track that is irresistibly funky. Along with his vocals, Avison also provides the guitar. Listen out for his short but slick guitar solo towards the end of the track. Chatonda Ridley brings the soul bass as Frazer Laurie keeps the steady flow on the drums. Fenwick Lawson and Jon Wallace perform the trombone and saxophone parts respectively. This is a song that is just a whole lot of fun despite its serious message.
It could be a very busy second half of 2023 for Speak Easy Circus. The band celebrated the release of this track and a preview of their special documentary about their Highland tour from last year with a show at the Old Hairdresser’s last Friday. Hopefully we’ll have news on the release of this documentary soon, then there’s debut album and a UK tour to look forward to. Follow the band on their social media channels via the links below to stay right up to date with all things Speak Easy Circus.