Pale Waves are a band from Manchester, United Kingdom, comprised of Heather Baron-Gracie (vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Ciara Doran (drums, keyboards, synthesisers), Hugo Silvani (lead guitar, keyboards) and Charlie Wood (bass, backing vocals). The band formed in 2014 when Baron-Gracie met Doran while attending university in Manchester, naming the band after a painting by Baron-Gracie’s grandmother. They originally gained attention in the late 2010s in part through their associations with The 1975, with whom they share a label and went on tour, with George Daniel producing their breakthrough singles “There’s A Honey” and “Television Romance”, with the latter’s music video being directed by Matty Healy.
An eclectic band whose influences include The Cure, Prince, The Cranberries, Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne and The Chicks, they initially shared a similar 80s Indie Synth-Pop sound to The 1975, but their subsequent albums shifted sharply into different directions, and their later work is more in the vein of Pop Punk and Alternative Rock. They are also known for their visually striking music videos and strong sense of visual aesthetics, in part held together by Baron-Gracie and Doran being Perky Goths.
They also have a strong LGBT fanbase – Baron-Gracie is a lesbian, and much of Who Am I? is about her relationship with her fiancée Kelsi Luck; and Doran is non-binary and currently transitioning.
Discography
- All The Things I Never Said (EP, 2018)Singles: "New Year's Eve" (2017), "My Obsession" (2017), "The Tide" (2018), "Heavenly" (2018)
- My Mind Makes Noises (2018)Singles: "There's A Honey" (2017), "Television Romance" (2017), "Kiss" (2018), "Noises" (2018), "Eighteen" (2018), "Black" (2018), "One More Time" (2018)
- Who Am I? (2021)Singles: "Change" (2020), "She's My Religion" (2020), "Easy" (2021), "You Don't Own Me" (2021), "Fall To Pieces" (2021)
- Unwanted (2022)Singles: "Lies" (2022), "Reasons to Live" (2022), "Jealousy" (2022), "The Hard Way" (2022), "Clean" (2022)
Tropes related to the band:
- Album Title Drop: "Noises" for My Mind Makes Noises.
- Anti-Love Song: "Change", "Unwanted", "Lies".
- Autotune: Used for stylistic effect in the bridge of “One More Time”.
- Break-Up Song: "When Did I Lose It All?"
- Cover Version: “22”, “Last Christmas” and “Faith”.
- Downer Ending: My Mind Makes Noises ends with "Karl (I Wonder What It's Like To Die)", which is about the death of Heather's grandfather.
- Fan Music: "So Sick (Of Missing You)" is, according to Heather, about the relationship between Maeve and Otis in Sex Education.
- Looped Lyrics: A lot of the songs on My Mind Makes Noises had choruses that consisted of one or two lines repeated, which drew a bit of criticism. This hasn't occurred much on the later albums, though.
- Lyrical Dissonance: "Change" is a peppy pop-rock song wherein the narrator's stuck in a sexual relationship with someone who doesn't care about her as a person and just wants to use her for sex.
- New Sound Album: All of them. My Mind Makes Noises had an 80's feel, which progressed to late 90's/early 2000's with Who Am I?, and then onto the 2010's with Unwanted.
- Obsession Song: "Jealousy", which falls under the aggressive sub-type.
- The Oner: The music video for "Reasons to Live", featuring the band lip-syncing the song in the back of a car.
- Performance Video: Most of their music videos feature them performing without an audience in different locations, with "Heavenly", "Noises", "She's My Religion" and "Reasons to Live" notable exceptions.
- Perky Goth: Both Heather and Ciara.
- Product Placement: Heather prominently wears a Helmut Lang t-shirt in the music video for “One More Time”.
- Protest Song: "You Don't Own Me" is a rant against sexism, misogyny, and people trying to dictate how women live their lives.
- Sanity Slippage Song: "Noises", wherein the narrator knows she's not well and needs help.
- Shout-Out: The video for “Noises” features Heather wearing a blue-and-red eye makeup look with pigtails, calling to mind a certain DC Comics villain.
- Those Two Guys: Charlie and Hugo.
- Warts and All: "She's My Religion" invokes this trope: the narrator loves a woman, and wants to make it clear that the woman in question is not perfect and has flaws and a dark side, but the narrator loves everything about her.
