Over 26 years since their last top 10 album, Cast returned to the upper bracket of the UK Album Charts last week, landing 8th place.

The Liverpool band’s new album “Yeah Yeah Yeah’ has gripped the attention of guitar music fans, young and old, for its rejuvenated sound.

John Power, Liam “Skin” Tyson and Keith O’Neill have been riding a wave of success recently, galvanised by supporting Oasis on their reunion tour, alongside fellow Britpop star Richard Ashcroft. This album follows the release of ‘Love is the Call’ in 2024, which reached 22 in the UK charts.

For a band like Cast, and a Songwriter like John Power, this feels like a natural progression as opposed to a nostalgic throwback. Fans are choosing to part with their hard-earned money for the new music, rather than just revisiting albums from their 90s heyday.

A top 10 album this late into their career doesn’t feel like it’s been engineered, it feels earned. Particularly as the trio weren’t backed by a huge radio push or viral moments. They’ve achieved this on their own terms through old-school support.

Albeit for a brief split in the 00’s, Cast have never really disappeared. They’ve continued to tour, continued to release new music and they’ve continued to maintain a core fanbase.

John Power‘s songwriting resonates with their audience. The tunes feel comfortable but familiar, without stagnating. In ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’, the songs feel arena ready with a gospel-infused rock sound to them. The sound and direction of the album was also bolstered with the work of legendary producer Youth, who is known for working with fellow Britpop giants The Verve.

I’ve been fortunate enough to catch Cast on Liam Gallagher’s Definitely Maybe 30th Anniversary tour, Oasis Live 25 and recently on their Record Store Tour celebrating the release of ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’.

Seeing them play a smaller stage like The Brook, Southampton (In association with Vinilo Record Store) felt special. They rocked through new songs like the swaggering ‘Poison Vine’ and the emotional ‘Weight of the World’, but also conducted through a couple of classics such as the timeless ‘Walkaway‘.

It’s not often you see bands in venues like Manchester’s Coop Live, Dublin’s Croke Park and then The Brook in Southampton. It’s the sort of room where band and audience alike can see into the white’s of each other’s eyes, and John Power still possess the frontman swagger of the 90s.

The current music industry is obsessed with viral moments and geared towards short attention spans and first-week numbers. Therefore, it’s reassuring that a band like Cast can still achieve these dizzying heights, and serves as a reminder that longevity still has its place on the current UK music scene.

Bands can still go on to achieve without the need to reinvent themselves, and this feels a small victory for the slow-burner career.

Words by Brad Halcrow for The Songbird HQ