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Mar 02, 2021 Web Exclusive By Andy Von Pip

Since signing a record deal with Dirty Hit in 2017 there was always something of a dichotomy between Manchester’s Pale Waves visually arresting Nu Goth image and their actual sound. Their debut album, 2018’s My Mind Makes Noises, perhaps lacked a little in terms of variety but was a solid debut and had more in common with shimmering ‘80s synth-pop than it did dark gothic subculture.

On album two, Who Am I, the quartet—which comprises of frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie (she/her), drummer Ciara Doran (they/them), guitarist Huge Silvani (he/him), and bassist Charlie Wood (he/him)—sound like a band who have found out who they are. And in terms of sound it’s a collection of songs that owe more to peak Avril Lavigne, and even Michelle Branch’s The Spirit Room, than it does to Bela Lugosi being (un)dead or otherwise indisposed.

For such a young band, they’ve already experienced some major highs and lows, playing huge shows with the likes of The 1975, Muse, and The Cure. There was also the not insignificant matter of band members surviving a near-fatal bus accident in Berlin when they were touring Europe with Halsey. After a few false starts, Who Am I was written by Baron-Gracie in LA and addresses issues such as struggling with her own mental health, burn out from the incessant touring, and embracing her own sexuality. It’s beautifully produced by Rich Costey (Sigur Rós, Interpol, Doves, Charlie XCX, Muse), who gives it just the right amount of pop sheen whilst capturing the band’s live energy in a way their debut never did.

It would be churlish to focus on the odd clunky lyric because it’s an album that comes from the heart and is full of positive messages. There are poignant love songs such as “I Just Needed You” and the anthemic “She’s My Religion”—in which Baron-Gracie finds empowerment by allowing herself to be vulnerable and open about her sexuality. There’s the soaring euphoric power pop of “Tomorrow,” which has Baron-Gracie proclaiming “Sexuality isn’t a choice” and there’s defiance in the face the patriarchal weaponization of sexual freedom on “You Don’t Own Me”: “A pretty face like yours/Should really learn to smile more/And no one night stands for you/Or they’ll think that you’re a whore.”

Pale Waves could have simply replicated the tried and tested sound of album one, but Who Am I feels like a much more honest representation of who they are. As such there’s a tangible sense of liberation and optimism, almost as if a weight has been lifted. And when Pale Waves hit the sweet spot, which they do more often than not throughout the album, Baron-Gracie shows she knows a thing or two about writing shimmering festival-ready empowering guitar-driven pop anthems. (www.palewaves.co.uk)

Author rating: 7/10