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Review: Pale Waves, O2 Academy – ‘A celebration of their evolution of style, sound and confidence’
“Was anyone at that show on the boat?” asks Heather Baron-Gracie, frontwoman of alt-pop outfit Pale Waves. There’s scattered cheers in the O2 Academy, before the band burst into Drive, a debut album track making a reappearance tonight.
It’s a reflection of how far the band have come since the release of their debut My Mind Makes Noises, back in 2018.
Returning to the city, this time in support of their fourth studio album Smitten having upgraded the venues over the years, it’s a celebration of the evolution of the band’s style, sound and confidence.
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Opening the night is Edinburgh three-piece Swim School, a powerful, female-fronted indie-rock band. With guitars switching from punchy to atmospheric fast enough to leave you with whip-lash, it’s the perfect warm-up for what’s to come later in the evening.
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Frontwoman, Alice Johnson, absolutely rocks it; her platinum blonde hair flailing as she head bangs and struts about the stage in her knee-high boots as though the headliner.
Swim School is reminiscent of early Pale Waves, back when it was all soft colour palettes with a side of grunge; rocking out in the back rooms and basements of pubs with only a couple of songs released, but boasting a lot more confidence and ownership of the stage and crowd alike.
It feels as though they’re at the beginning of the journey Pale Waves are embarking on, and for sure, ones to keep a close eye on.
By the time the main act descends on the Academy stage embellished with extravagant hanging chandeliers and grand statues, there’s a real buzz in the room.
“I saw her standing there, and I was smitten” Baron-Gracie’s voice plays over the PA, an element adding to the production, narrative and theatrics which Pale Waves really appear to be exploring with this tour.
Smitten lead single Perfume follows in all its shimmering pop glory, the crowd switching from screaming as the opening chords play to singing along to every word, a feat which only continues throughout the hour and a quarter set time.
There’s A Honey, the dreamy synth-laden number which started all of this, comes much earlier in the set compared to previous tours, perhaps through the gradual development of both the quartet’s musical and personal identity.
Whilst the band have reinvented themselves with every ‘era’, dabbling in thrash pop-punk soundscapes on 2022’s Unwanted, and flirting with vivid, glistening alt-pop tracks on Smitten, it’s the new-found confidence that seamlessly binds the two within the live set.
If anything, it feels as though Pale Waves have revisited the magic of My Mind Makes Noises, but added in a more mature, self-accepting angle.
Strutting around the stage in lace-up knee high boots and a long leather jacket, Baron-Gracie owns the stage and has the crowd in her palm, an undeniable progression from the more reserved frontwoman playing Thekla almost seven years ago.
But she momentarily hands the power over to the crowd, asking them to choose between eponymous track Unwanted and a more niche offering from their debut, Red. The latter is favoured, as measured by the volume of screaming, but with its delicate sonics later erupting into a shimmering sing-along moment, it seems as though it’s the only correct option.
It’s a perpetual set which shows no signs of halting; the band plough through their discography which, whilst a mix of songs new and old, has a nostalgic tinge to it.
Baron-Gracie’s vocal delivery is much more emotive, embracing its hints of fragility and yearning, adding to the rich 80s-esque soundscape almost straight out of a John Hughes coming-of-age movie. Only it’s received by a crowd who hadn’t been born then.
It’s overall a relatively uplifting setlist with some of the band’s more angsty and self-deprecating tracks cut, the more hopeful and romantic numbers making it into the 17 song tour-de-force.
Baron-Gracie has a chat with the crowd to find a couple to dedicate Easy to, before transitioning into The Cranberries induced Thinking About You.
Current single Kiss Me Again, exploring reckless queer love, and the anthemic She’s My Religion lead us into the encore, Baron-Gracie draped in the Pride flag and encouraging the crowd to take over vocal duties. It’s a moment of complete catharsis.
‘Should I have left her in Glasgow?’ ponders the frontwoman’s pre-recorded voice as the band reenter the stage for a desireful and glistening rendition of the track of the same name, before ripping it all to shreds and closing on the unapologetic punk sonics of Jealousy, a track reminiscent of early Paramore and The Pretty Reckless.
Pale Waves have come a long way from the boat, and they’re only continuing to sail further towards pop glory.
Images: Katie Hillier
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