This time last year, Pale Waves released their fourth album Smitten, an album which swapped out the pop-punk influences of Who Am I? and Unwanted for something closer to their indie-pop roots.
However, when the band set out for the album’s tour, many hometown fans were shocked that it lacked a proper Manchester date — the band opted to headline the multi-venue Neighbourhood Festival, instead. It’s a good thing, then, that Pale Waves are back on the road again, stopping at a venue now bordering on intimate for them, to perform an array of their previous material, including a few welcome surprises.
Upon entering Manchester’s O2 Ritz, the venue appeared to have been transformed for the night: candelabras stood onstage in front of a red velvet curtain, making the room look unusually glamorous. Shimmering guitars took centre stage during ‘Perfume’, before Ciara Doran’s powerful drumming was showcased when ‘Not a Love Song’ came to a close. After the first two songs, frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie paused to introduce her band, exclaiming “We are Pale Waves. We’re happy to be home”.
This statement was ironically followed by ‘Eighteen’, a highlight from debut album My Mind Makes Noises, which begins with the lyric “This city depresses me”. There’s nothing quite like the euphoria of ‘Eighteen’ live: the song effortlessly captures the experience of young love, with every instrument and note being imbued with nostalgia, innocence, and intensity. For long-term fans, its glittering sound and alliterative declaration that “I finally felt like I could feel for the first time, when I met you”, will have certainly provided an early highlight in the set.
Baron-Gracie recognised the absence of Pale Waves from their hometown, remarking that “It’s been too fucking long”, before leaning into the pop-punk of their third album, Unwanted, for a performance of ‘Lies’. Extending the song with a thrashing outro leading into ‘You’re So Vain’ proved effective, yet Baron-Gracie had to battle microphone malfunctions mid-song which hindered the sardonic power the track displays on record. Demonstrating the love and devotion Pale Waves consistently receive from their fanbase, a tiara was thrown on stage which Baron-Gracie wore for the duration of the song before throwing it back to the crowd.
A cover of The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ did the song justice, and didn’t feel out of place: it’s difficult to take on a work of genius such as The Cranberries’, but Pale Waves pulled it off. Following with a classic of their own, the band’s first single, ‘There’s a Honey’, was preceded by Baron-Gracie stating that “This song is for Manchester, as always”. Despite being released over eight years ago, ‘There’s a Honey’ still sounds fresh, grappling with themes of bittersweet love, romantic uncertainty, and vulnerability with the mix of yearning melancholia and unmistakable euphoria that Pale Waves are masters of.
‘Change’ also provided a highlight within the set, seeing Baron-Gracie switch her electric guitar for an acoustic. The song marked a switch for Pale Waves in both image and sound upon its release at the back end of 2020, being reminiscent of noughties pop-rock and drawing comparisons to Avril Lavigne’s ‘Complicated’. Lyrically and thematically, however, it remains close to the band’s previous material. While ‘Eighteen’ ruminated on memories of young love and ‘There’s a Honey’ discussed an experience of a fraught relationship, ‘Change’ combines the two by wrestling with the contrasting emotions involved in “trying my best to get over you”.
Suffering from a potentially compromising wardrobe malfunction, Baron-Gracie apologised, saying “You’ll need to give me five minutes, I need an outfit change” and joking “I’m not doing that on stage, you didn’t pay enough for that”.
In the interim, bassist Charlie Wood took the microphone for some crowd interaction, leading Baron-Gracie to contemplate “I think he’s after my job” upon returning two minutes later. The question “Whose favourite colour is red?” was greeted with an eruption of cheering, before Baron-Gracie nodded to its absence on the setlist of previous tours by adding “I can’t play that one”: at previous shows, she has been known to tell a variety of stories that have led her to become convinced that every time Pale Waves play ‘Red’, something bad happens.
“Alright Manchester, we wanted to do something special for you, be prepared to cry”, Baron-Gracie warned before launching into melancholic My Mind Makes Noises deep cut ‘She’, for the first time since 2019. Once this had brought a sufficient amount of tears to the eyes of audience members, Baron-Gracie stated “We’re going to depress you even more now, apparently we just love to make people miserable”. ‘My Obsession’ featured an instrumental segment in which Wood and guitarist Hugo Silvani faced the drums and shared a smile, while Baron-Gracie displayed impressive vocal skills at the end of the song in spite of her usual raspy style.
Introducing ‘Kiss Me Again’, a song which is undeniably one of the best on Smitten, Baron-Gracie asked “Are you guys ready to dance?”, claiming “The misery’s over”. ‘Television Romance’, another early single, was preceded by Baron-Gracie offering the information that “this next song we filmed in some nan’s flat about twenty minutes from here. She was so cute actually, she got a spa day out of it and we treated her well”. “This is for everyone who’s been there since day one”, she continued, before the song’s exploration of emotional distance and superficial connection.
Before the band closed the main portion of their performance with Smitten single ‘Glasgow’, Wood pointed to a Scottish flag draped over the balcony by an audience member. Baron-Gracie’s second outfit change of the night occurred during the encore, in which she held up a lesbian pride flag thrown on stage during ‘She’s My Religion’ before the band closed the night with ‘Jealousy’, one of their heaviest and most invigorating tracks which marked the show’s final return to pop-punk influences.
Despite their set lasting just over an hour, Pale Waves raced through a selection of their biggest and best songs, taking their crowd on a journey from My Mind Makes Noises through to Smitten. The band are an undeniable live force and possess an unparalleled connection to their audience which is nothing short of a joy to witness. Four albums in, Pale Waves show no sign of slowing down: Judging by their hometown’s reaction, their fans are very much still smitten, and for good reason too.
