Manchester goth-pop quartet Pale Waves are one of the most talked about bands of the year and in July they will be coming to Australia for the first time ever.
Fronted by the enigmatic vocalist and songwriter Heather Baron-Gracie, Pale Waves have been winning hearts the world over with their Cure-inspired brand of dark synth-pop.
After a series of singles, Pale Waves released their long-awaited debut EP ‘All The Things I Never Said’ in February and Heather says she and the band could not be happier with their first record. “The EP turned out really great,” she says.
“We hadn't had that much experience with recording in a studio up until then, so I’m really proud of what the EP became and how it sounded overall.
“It's interesting because ‘The Tide’ and ‘Heavenly’ are our older songs that we had as a band, so to have them out on an EP is nostalgic every time I listen to them and play it live. I’m really proud of the EP.”
In their short time together Pale Waves have attracted a lot of attention, being named as a ‘band to watch’ out of SXSW and have attained a loyal following of fans who Heather says possess a real, emotional attachment to the band.
“Our fan base and the people that come to our shows are really energetic and they love to engage with us and I love that,” she says.
“I love when they scream the lyrics back to me and they dig every, single song on the EP, especially 'My Obsession'; ‘My Obsession’ always goes down so well. I think that's a great thing.
“I love people that are really enthusiastic and committed. I love our fan base and we don’t even have that many songs out at this stage so far and they’re so emotionally invested.”
With their incredible popularity, Pale Waves will embark on their maiden voyage to Australia in July to play just two shows in Sydney and Melbourne. “I’m really excited,” Heather says about the tour.
“None of us have ever been to Australia, so to be able to come over there because of our band and play a show to people who are so far away from our home is a pretty surreal moment. We get to travel the world because of these songs that we write.”
Before they get here though, Heather will get to play alongside her hero and key songwriting influence Robert Smith of The Cure at British Summer Time; needless to say, she’s pretty chuffed about it. “Oh god, it's just mind-blowing really,” she says.
“It becomes a reality when you're playing with your hero; Robert Smith influenced Pale Waves so much and I respect him so much as a songwriter and I think he's amazing.
“So to be playing on the same stage as him, at the same festival and on the same line-up is just mind-blowing.”
As for the Australian shows, Heather says she’s looking forward to giving audiences the full Pale Waves live experience. “We just like to give a lot into our live performance,” she says.
“We all love music and we just want to give off a really energetic, honest performance. We want the audience to have a fantastic time and feel like they can be themselves, that's what we want a Pale Waves show to be like – to make people feel comfortable and have a great time.”
Pale Wave Tour Dates
Wed 11 Jul - The Lair (Sydney)Thu 12 Jul - The Evelyn (Melbourne)
