Pale Waves - Who am I?

 

"Who am I?" is the second album by Manchester indie rock outfit Pale Waves.  The band formed in 2014 and released their debut album "My mind makes noises in" in 2018. That album did well, peaking at 8 in the UK charts.  The band comprise of Heather Baron-Gracie on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Ciara Doran on drums, Hugo Silvani on lead guitar and keyboard and Charlie Wood on bass guitar and keyboard.

I got into Pale Waves last year as they started to drip feed singles from "Who am I?" which was released in February 2021.  The likes of "Changes" and "She's my Religion" are extremely catchy pop rock tunes which will get stuck in your head for days. There is no doubt Heather has an incredible voice and these songs really do show the best of it.  From listening to the album "Tomorrow" is probably my favourite track as it rocks slightly harder than the others.

The songs on the album kind of sway about between keyboards and guitars.  At the same time, they keep things simple with song structures and go about their business in a way which will appeal to many people, keeping things short, snappy and to the point.  When I listen to the kind of vibe, they give off I do think of The 1975.  Well, The 1975's more accessible pop songs. And I wasn't surprised to learn they have already toured together.

Overall, this is a nice indie rock, synth pop release by Pale Waves and will do them no harm at all in bringing in new fans to their already decent sized fanbase.  I will be interested to see where they go from here.  Whether they stick to this tried and tested, formulaic pop rock songs or do what The 1975 did and really experiment and push the boundaries a little.  It does seem they have the talent to at least try. I look forward to the next chapter, nevertheless.