Getting by is not getting over it

CRUZ inhabit that particular corner of British indie pop where chiming guitars, bouncing choruses and tales of romantic misfortune are the prevailing currency.

After a relatively quiet year in terms of new releases, they’ve spent the intervening months on what seems like a never-ending tour of the UK, carrying their infectious melodies to audiences far and wide.

And now they’re back.

I Get By appears to usher in a new era for the Sheffield four-piece. A brighter, more colourful and altogether more luxurious incarnation of a band whose previous releases often favoured something grittier and more raw.

Even the artwork has changed.

Take a look at their sleeves on streaming platforms. This is the first one that isn’t black and white.

That has to mean something.

Musically, the familiar ingredients remain. The irresistible pop hooks, Sam Thatcher’s deep, resonant vocals and a rhythm section determined to keep everybody moving. But everything now comes wrapped in a brighter sheen, courtesy of producer Alex Quinn, who gives the song room to breathe without sacrificing its urgency.

And naturally, there’s another broken heart to contend with.

Thatcher finds himself reflecting on a relationship that’s ended, even though the feelings stubbornly refuse to follow suit. The memories linger, the emotions haven’t quite caught up with reality, and getting over somebody turns out to be considerably more difficult than simply accepting that they’re gone.

Getting by, it seems, is not quite the same as getting over it.

But CRUZ have discovered a rather effective coping mechanism.

Turn up the guitars. Find a chorus. Get everybody singing.

And suddenly another romantic catastrophe becomes three minutes of fist-pumping, life-affirming indie pop.

It’s a song in search of a festival field.

I Get By also marks the band’s first release since signing with This Feeling and LAB Records, a partnership that should open some significant doors as they head towards 2027.

But those doors lead into an increasingly crowded room.

Lovesick vocals and anthemic guitars are hardly endangered species in the current indie landscape. There are plenty of bands chasing the same audiences, the same festival slots and the same moment when a few hundred people in a room suddenly become a few thousand in a field.

Some have already stolen a considerable head start.

But equally, not all of them deliver with this level of confidence, musical assurance or production polish.

CRUZ are approaching that intriguing point somewhere between the pub circuit and the big stage. Their songs have been thoroughly road-tested, their live following has grown and they’re beginning to sound like a band comfortable with the scale of their ambitions.

The next challenge is making sure they have something distinctive enough to carry them beyond the pack.

Because in the great festival wars to come, there’s always the danger of becoming the band listed just beneath the words and also appearing…

I Get By is a confident first step into this new chapter.

But the hard work might only just be beginning.

I Get By is out now on all streaming platforms that you care to mention. CRUZ are heading towards a big 2027 built around their largest show to date on Sheffield City Hall’s ballroom stage in the spring.