FEATURE: Spotlight: Pale Waves — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Pale Waves

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FOR the last couple of Spotlight features…

IN THIS PHOTO: Heather Baron-Gracie of Pale Waves

I have been focusing on acts who have quite a large fanbase but are, maybe, not as played as well-known as they deserve to be! This week, I wanted to throw some light on Pale Waves. They are an Indie-Pop band from Manchester who formed in 2014. Pale Waves were originally founded as ‘Creek’ when lead singer and guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie met drummer Ciara Doran while attending university in Manchester. The band’s line-up was completed by the addition of guitarist Hugo Silvani and bassist Charlie Wood. I first heard of Pale Waves when they released their debut single, There’s a Honey. The band have come on strides since their formation in 2017. The BBC included them in their Sound of 2018 poll; NME have thrown them a lot of love and, on 14th September, 2018, they released their debut album, My Mind Makes Noises. I am going to bring in a glowing review for that album in a second but, as we look to 2021, there is good news for Pale Waves fans as the band will release their second studio album, Who Am I? on 12th February through Dirty Hit. It is going to be a great album and I think the band have grown stronger since their debut – a new track like Change are really exciting! I am looking forward to the new album; the band will definitely acquire a lot of new fans. Although some critics were not too hot on their debut album, there were those who found a lot to love.

In their excellent review, this is what DORK wrote:

“For all the polished perfection, though, there are three tracks that underpin a debut with genuine emotion too. Sort-of-title-track ‘Noises’ appears early, its honesty bringing the barriers down in a disarming admission that connects all the dots. It plays spectacularly against the record’s true beating heart, ‘Drive’. Running on fight or flight adrenaline, it’s the counterpart which opens up new worlds - choosing to push onwards and upwards rather than look down at the fall below. As a shorthand for Pale Waves’ unstoppable rise, it’s note perfect.

It’s ‘Karl (I Wonder What It’s Like To Die)’ that will do the damage, though. Featuring frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie and a single acoustic guitar, it’s a track so raw that - against the sheen of the album around it - genuinely shocks. Lyrically both intimately heart-warming and utterly devastating, it’s never mawkish or trite. Less a closing track, it’s more a full-stop - the only way to slam the breaks on a record that otherwise might keep throwing out bangers until the end of time.

‘My Mind Makes Noises’ isn’t a grand concept album. It’s not challenging the bleeding edge, or attempting to make huge statements about the world around it. It’s a personal document on a grand scale - a collection of doubts and dreams exploding onto the biggest possible stage. Staggeringly effective at what it sets out to achieve, its greatest strength comes in never trying to be something it isn’t. In understanding exactly who they are, Pale Waves just broke orbit. Next stop – anywhere”.

I want to bring in a couple of interviews with the band that reflects where they are now and where they are headed. In an interview with DIY, Heather Baron-Gracie discussed the upcoming album and how relocating to L.A. has helped the music:

“Decamping to Los Angeles on her own, Heather says the decision changed the course of the album, and led the band to make what she describes as “the best thing we've ever created”. Indeed, the singer speaks of Pale Waves’ upcoming release with the same confidence and swagger that she’s developed on stage over the last year. “That first album has given us this foundation, and done so much for us,” she reflects. “It's got us to where we are now. But I'm just excited to release the second album, because this second album... it’s just something else.

“It's a beast of its own kind,” she beams. “It's a lot more open, and I’m less hidden. It's a lot more vulnerable; I actually sound like I have a voice in this. I've talked about real shit that's happening with the world, it's not just a few romantic songs with some fancy metaphors to hide behind. It's me talking about things that are going on in society, and things about me that people might find uncomfortable. The subject matter is a lot more intense, but really important.”

“This is my time to really speak up about my sexuality, and be open about it,” Heather says, referring to another new track ‘She’s My Religion’, which she teased on social media recently with the caption: ‘gay anthem’. “That's what's so different with this second album,” she continues. “I'm a lot more open about that, and I feel like it's going to really help the fans too. We have so many gay and queer fans and you need a place to go and to feel connected, and I can [provide] that. I might as well speak the truth with what's going on in my life.”

“I'm a very closed-off person, and I don't really like opening up,” she continues. “The only time I'll open up is in the music. [On album two] I knew I had to embrace myself and give myself to people more in the music. That's what I did on this album. There are so many gay anthems!”

If the Manchester quartet’s new effort does what Heather hopes - and believes - it should, then the as-yet-untitled release should turn Pale Waves into bona fide big time stars, ones who really mean something to an increasingly large amount of people. Yet, though the singer is still as likeable as those early days, timidly playing ‘There’s A Honey’ to crowds far larger than their minimal experience, there’s an undeniable confidence to her now, too”.

I think Who Am I? is going to be a real breakthrough and change for Pale Waves. I think every band changes between their debut and second album - but a lot of has happened in the camp that has affected their direction and mood. I want to bring in a feature from NME, where the band talked about a near-fatal bus crash that almost ended their careers:

“Ah, yes. The crash. It’s hard not to frame Pale Waves’ second album ‘Who Am I?’ around such a devastating moment. In February 2020, the band’s tour bus was involved in a near-fatal road accident, their double-decker skidding off an icy road and rolling into a ditch as they travelled between shows from Sweden to Germany. The band – Ciara Doran (drums), Hugo Silvani (guitar) and Charlie Woods (bass) – survived and escaped any life-altering physical injuries, as did their crew.

Heather wasn’t on the bus that night. She’d flown ahead with her girlfriend to the next show, who was wary about the drive; she had implored the rest to do the same.

While Pale Waves previously drew on synth-pop tricks cribbed from their heroes The Cure and The Cocteau Twins, ‘Who Am I?’ embraces the pop-rock sensibilities that have brewed since their teens. Imagine Taylor Swift and Courtney Love belting Avril Lavigne’s ‘Complicated’ at a karaoke dive bar, egged on by Alanis Morissette and ’90s indie icon Liz Phair, who are necking shots at the bar. It sounds an unlikely combination – but also fun, right?

In terms of direction, it does seem like Pale Waves are bringing in more attitude and edge. I was fascinated to read that Avril Lavigne, strangely, is a source of reference and inspiration for their upcoming album!

“I know there are a lot of my fans that love Avril so I know they’re gonna dissect my album and know what I’ve pulled from Avril,” Heather laughs. “But I went back to my roots with this album with someone like Alanis as well. She’s just unapologetic, and I wanted to be like that in this album.”

There was more drama to navigate, though, as the writing duo of Heather and Ciara was broken for ‘Who Am I?’ when Heather said that the songwriting needed a shake-up. Since meeting at the BIMM (British and Irish Music) Institute in Manchester as teens, the pair had penned almost every song together – Heather taking on a writing role, while Ciara focuses on production. This album, however, sees new songwriters and session musicians coming into the creative process.

What remains on ‘Who Am I?’ is something far gnarlier. ‘You Don’t Own Me’s gritty riffs sound like they’re peeled from the tables of trashy bar they were conceived in, while ‘I Just Needed You’’s dream-grunge picks up where Smashing Pumpkins left off. Their pop leanings are never abandoned though, with ‘Run To’s spritely chorus and ‘She’s My Religion’”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jenn Five for NME

I am glad that Pale Waves can repair after a horrific bus crash and I know that 2021 will be a productive one for them. They would have liked Who Am I? to have arrived this year and that to be followed by tour dates but, like all musicians, things have had to change. Let’s hope that they do get the chance to play some festivals in the summer, as it seems like the record has some big anthems and plenty of moments where fans can sing along and rally behind the band. I know the group have a lot of supporters behind them, but they also seem still to be a bit of a hidden treasure. I am looking forward to seeing where they go and what they can achieve. At the moment, they are awaiting the response of their second album but, soon enough, they will be touring internationally and commanding some big stages! I shall leave things there, and I would encourage people to check out Pale Waves and follow their music. They are an exciting act that have had a fairly tough last year or too but, with an album due in February, they have a lot to look forward to! I think Who Am I? will get a bigger response than My Mind Makes Noises. 2020 has been a bit of an odd and disruptive one but, like all musicians, 2021 looks set to be…