FEATURE TRNSMT
light entertainment
Pale Waves tell Henry Northmore to ignore the Goth look and focus on their shimmering synth pop sound with its 80s twist ‘A lot of people think I should be in a heavy metal band, but I write happy pop music,’ laughs Pale Waves’ vocalist, lead songwriter and guitarist, Heather Baron-Gracie. With her shock of raven black hair, striking gothic make-up, and thick dark eyeliner, she’s become the distinctive face of Pale Waves. ‘I understand why people make that assumption because there are stereotypes out there but, whatever genre of music, you should just wear what you want and write whatever you want.’ Perhaps people forget that some of the greatest and most inl uential Goth acts, like the Cure or Siouxsie and the Banshees, wrote astonishingly beautiful pop music (think ‘Love Cats’ or ‘Happy House’). And Pale Waves swim in similar waters, specialising in dark tales of romance heavily inl uenced by the 80s and modern pop. Baron-Gracie and drummer Ciara Doran instantly clicked when they met at university in Manchester with a mutual love of music and respect for each other’s talent forming the heart of the band. ‘She’s my rock,’ insists Baron-Gracie. ‘We hold it all together; she’s my best friend and someone I can’t see going out of my life.’ After expanding to a four piece with the addition of guitarist Hugo Silvani and bassist Charlie Wood, Pale Waves signed to Dirty Hit Records in 2017 (home to Wolf Alice, Benjamin Francis Leftwich and Marika Hackman). Fellow label mates The 1975 were instant fans with Matt Healy eventually producing two tracks, directing the video for ‘Television Romance’ and inviting them to tour the US. ‘Working with the ‘75 enabled us to reach to a much wider audience,’ says Baron-Gracie. ‘They are great people; when they love something they want as many to hear it as possible. It was great exposure for us, as we went from playing to 15 people to playing arenas. It was a big jump.’ As people eagerly await the arrival of their debut album, the buzz surrounding Pale Waves continues to build. According to Baron-Gracie they’re currently working on 12 tracks but they might not all make the i nal cut. ‘Obviously I explore a lot more of my songwriting abilities not just romantic interests. I talk about my issues as a person and how I’m feeling, mental health issues; I just explore myself a lot more. When anyone listens to the album they are basically stepping into a world of Heather.’ ■ Pale Waves, Glasgow Green, Fri 29 Jun.
48 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2018 THE LIST 48 1 Jun–31 Aug 2018
5 REASONS TO SEE QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT AT TRNSMT
Most of the headline acts at TRNSMT have played its T in the Park predecessor in some form or another. But there’s one outi t that stands out in all its pomp rock majesty: Queen + Adam Lambert are playing their i rst ever Scottish festival date. Here are a handful of reasons to see if they will rock you . .
1. THE HITS It’s no wonder Queen’s i rst greatest hits collection is the highest selling album in the UK. Among their solid- gold rock classics are ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, ‘We Are the Champions’, ‘Another One Bites the Dust’, ‘Killer Queen’, ‘Somebody to Love’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, the list goes on and on, and we haven’t even mentioned . . . 2 . . . ‘BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY’ Six minutes of extravagant operetta meets prog rock perfection. It topped the charts for nine weeks when it was i rst released in 1976 before returning to number one for another i ve weeks in 1991 after the death of Freddie Mercury.
3. BRIAN MAY As a founding member of Queen, May has written some of the world’s most memorable solos. It’s a proper hairs on the back of your neck moment when he strides out on stage, guitar in hand. 4. ADAM LAMBERT While we’d never ever suggest that Lambert is a better frontman than Mercury (one of the all-time greats) he’s an exciting, l amboyant performer with an astonishing vocal range.
5. SCOTS ROCK Queen’s supporting lineup features a strong showing of homegrown talent, namely Texas, the Temperance Movement, Gun, The Xcerts, Hunter & The Bear, Mason Hill and the Amorettes. And we can also make a quarter claim for the Darkness, given that bass player Frankie Poullain is an Edinburgher. ■ Queen + Adam Lambert, Glasgow Green, Fri 6 Jul.