Buzzy, critically acclaimed UK darlings Pale Waves have released their new single and video “Gravity” from their upcoming fourth studio album Smitten out September 27 via Dirty Hit. The bright, guitar-laden single pulls from lead singer Heather Baron-Gracie’s own experiences of dating a woman who was struggling with her sexuality and couldn’t choose between their relationship or her religion. PRESS HERE to listen to “Gravity” and HERE to watch the music video which stars Heather’s girlfriend.
“‘Gravity’ is about a woman who chose Jesus over me,” shares Heather. “It took the longest of all of the songs on the album to finish, I think we must have rewritten it millions of times to get it to where it is now.”
“Gravity” follows the release of lead single “Perfume,” which premiered as BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record. PRESS HERE to watch the dreamy, official video for the sapphic single which finds the band in a hazy, lovestruck fairytale and is reminiscent of bands like The Cure and The Cranberries. Pale Waves also released their breakup anthem “Glasgow” which finds Heather lamenting about fleeing Glasgow after being jilted at the altar.
Produced by Iain Berryman (Wolf Alice, Florence and the Machine, beabadoobee) and written between the US and UK over a two-year period, Smitten blends the band’s timeless indie rock with a new wave of romantic nostalgia to celebrate Pale Waves’ newfound level of confidence, freedom, and self-acceptance while they reflect on their roots and explore themes of vulnerability, love, sexuality, queerness, finding yourself, moving on, and growing up. PRESS HERE to pre-order Smitten.
Borrowing from all of Pale Waves’ previous albums – and deviating from the rebellious pop punk sound of 2022 album Unwanted – to create something entirely new, Smitten is their realest and most grounded record to date and captures the excitement and euphoria as well as the confusion and pain of early queer relationships. Smitten is lyrically preoccupied with past lives and sees Heather Baron-Gracie reflecting upon her roots and finding herself in a headspace where she could finally breathe and reflect.
“I found myself writing about not just a certain time period, but my whole life, from years ago,” Heather shares. “When I fall in love, I fall deep, and it’s interesting to me that you can feel so fascinated and smitten with someone and then they can become a total stranger. So I feel like Smitten really summarized perfectly what I felt for others at a certain point.”
Recently wrapping a North American tour with PVRIS, Pale Waves will be hitting the road in October for their UK headline tour which will make stops in major cities across the country and includes a hometown performance at Neighbourhood Festival as well as a stop at London’s Outernet. PRESS HERE for tickets.
Smitten Tracklist:
Glasgow
Not a Love Song
Gravity
Thinking About You
Perfume
Last Train Home
Kiss Me Again
Miss America
Hate to Hurt You
Seeing Stars
Imagination
Slow
2024 TOUR DATES
October 3 – The Waterfront – Norwich, UK
October 4 – O2 Academy – Liverpool, UK
October 5 – Neighbourhood Festival – Manchester, UK
October 6 – Rock City – Nottingham, UK
October 8 – Chalk – Brighton, UK
October 9 – O2 Academy – Bristol, UK
October 10 – Foundry – Sheffield, UK
October 11 – Fat Sam’s – Dundee, UK
October 13 – SWG3 – Glasgow, UK
October 14 – Boiler Shop – Newcastle, UK
October 15 – O2 Institute – Birmingham, UK
October 17 – Outernet – London, UK
December 9 – Bigcat – Osaka, Japan
December 10 – Toyosu PIT – Tokyo, Japan
About Pale Waves
Drawing strength from not fitting into a mold while encouraging inclusivity and self-acceptance across their discography, the band has received international acclaim from Pitchfork, Vanity Fair, Billboard, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Buzzfeed, The FADER, AV Club, Vulture, Consequence, Stereogum, Alternative Press, NYLON, and more, for their 2022 album Unwanted which was recorded with producer Zakk Cervini (Blink-182, Halsey, Machine Gun Kelly). Unwanted marked new territory for the band as they flipped the script on their sound to tap into darker emotions with the rage of a 90s rock band and 13 fresh, defiant pop-punk tracks including singles “Clean,” “Jealousy,” and “Lies.”
Pale Waves – comprised of front woman Heather Baron-Gracie (she/her); drummer Ciara Doran (they/them); guitarist Huge Silvani (he/him) and bassist Charlie Wood (he/him) – have toured the globe with The 1975, 5 Seconds of Summer, Muse, The Cure, and more, and made an immediate splash when they debuted on the music scene with their debut album My Mind Makes Noises before following it up with their hit sophomore album Who Am I? in 2021 which hit #3 on the UK album charts and welcomed standout tracks “Change,” “Easy,” and “She’s My Religion.”
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