PALE WAVES - 'Smitten' Album Review

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

Pale Waves have been building a following for themselves having released three albums now and toured extensively.

Their new album, 'Smitten', releasing on the 27th of September, feels like it could be the one to finally break them out to a wider audience.

They have been playing festivals (I was lucky enough to see them playing Kendal this year, they were excellent) are about to tour in support of the new album and have generally been raising their profile.

So, is the album good enough to break them out to a wider audience? Absolutely!

This album deviates away from the last albums punk pop rebellion. It’s, whisper it, an album with love songs, with alt pop hooks and with the kind of songs that should find themselves getting airplay on a number of radio stations.

There are hints of the Sundays, of Till Tuesday, of the Cure, a bit of Pink, a smattering of the Cranberries and more than the slightest hint of Taylor Swift while still sounding uniquely like Pale Waves.

The lyrics are more personal, more relatable and more sing along friendly than anything they’ve done before, which given how good their music has been to date is high praise indeed. The arrangements are prefect, the singing as good as Hesther has been, and the overall feel is of a contender for album of the year.

Opening track, 'Glasgow', is a fantastic introduction to the album, drawing you in with the thought of Heather being in tears on her way away from someone who clearly meant something to her but good as it is it’s instantly topped by 'This Is Not A Love Song', a statement of intent of how good this album is.

The quality keeps flowing through the next couple of songs but then goes up a notch again (how is that possible?) with previous single, 'Perfume', which sounds like it could have been written during one of the Cure’s most creative periods, but which also sounds like it’s very distinctly Pale Waves own song. When did they get this good? The truth is they have been for a while, this album should just cement that for the undecided.

I loved all of songs on this album but highlights, aside from 'Perfume'? Well for me 'Kiss Me Again', 'This Is Not A Love Song', 'Hate To Hurt You', 'Slow' and 'Miss America' are up there for me (I’m aware that’s half the album, it is that good and it is hard to pick the best songs, I also suspect my view will change with repeated listens of which there will be many!) but there isn’t a weak link, you will delve into this and find your own personal favourite while probably wondering why I didn’t realise that your favourite song was the best one on the album.

It’s a tour de force, the album that should elevate them to a higher level, festival headlining slots could follow if this takes off the way it should. Why do I think it’s a contender for album of the year? It’s fresh, its full of hooks, sing along choruses, some incredibly emotional lyrics and, generally, it’s just a joy, it’s the kind of album that you need to buy on vinyl and play until you wear it out then buy it again.

So what are you waiting for, get out there, buy or download this album and get a ticket for the tour, the venues seem surprisingly small to me, this may be the last chance you get to see Pale Waves in small intimate venues, they are destined to play much larger venues to much larger crowds, don’t regret that you didn’t go, because when you finally do see them live you’ll kick yourself! Did I mention you should buy this album? Go on, you know it makes sense.