Smitten with Pale Waves' Release Show

Pale Waves, Live in Coventry

During release week, Pale Waves are performing a number of acoustic shows across the UK, a beautiful homage to both past music as well as future endeavours. Specifically, this article will review the show at HMV Empire, Coventry (25th September).

With the release of their fourth album, Smitten, on the 27th of September, pre-released songs show a return to their indie synth-pop roots, diverging from the alt-rock, pop punk sounds of the last two albums, Who am I? and Unwanted. It has led to the creation of alluring, unique melodies alongside meaningful lyrics, exploring the ardent and wistful connections of the lesbian experience in the relatable words of lead singer Heather Baron-Gracie.

Two songs played from the newest album were Perfume and Thinking About You. The acoustic version of these songs really allowed the lyrics to shine, amplified by a moving performance. Baron-Gracie truly has a talent for allowing the emotion written in the story-like songs to carry through her vocal performance and it was felt all across the room. Compared to songs played from their first album, My Mind Makes Noises, although both delve into experiences on love and relationships, both of these new songs are more open and explicitly about that felt in wlw relationships, creating an album which is a true celebration of queerness and freedom.

In a Q&A session, the band was asked which their favourite song from the new album was. Drummer Ciara Doran said they were looking forward to Last Train Home, whilst bassist, Charlie Wood, answered with Not A Love Song, both yet to be released, adding more excitement until we can hear the full album on Smitten's release day!

Pale Waves will always hold a special place in my heart. From listening to their first album with my sister to going to see them for my first live concert, they have truly been a constant throughout my high school and college years, and still remain one of my favourite bands to this day. They remain ever evolving and changing, growing in their performance, whilst still remaining true to themselves, creating a dream-like sound which is theirs to the core.