![]() Tinged with themes of romantic anxiety and growing pains, My Mind Makes Noises is an album for the modern twenty-something, awkwardly situated between dreams of adulthood’s promise and the eventual uncovering of its not-so-shiny reality. ![]() Fans were quick to latch onto the band’s entire package – the shimmering guitar pop sound, the mod-goth aesthetic, the pure, unadulterated emotion packed tightly into each and every verse. Without the energizing power of fans online, Pale Waves’ career could look very different from their current reality. ![]() The growth of this band is a testament to the impact of social media in the modern music industry. With the release of their debut record, My Mind Makes Noises (September 14, 2018), Pale Waves succeed by defiantly remaining true to the very sound that thrust them into the spotlight. Could such an unconventional group continue making that iridescent, indulgent indie pop sound? After such an expedient rise to the top, could Pale Waves keep the momentum going? My Mind Makes Noises – Pale Waves The raw, honest energy of this band was unlike anything on today’s airwaves, but critics were skeptical of their ability to achieve musical longevity, even making accusations of lazy songwriting and stylistic similarities to their mentors and labelmates in The 1975. Pale Waves continued to captivate listeners as a sensational singles band – after “There’s a Honey” came “Television Romance,” “New Year’s Eve,” and “My Obsession,” each one dripping in ’80s dream pop nostalgia. Thanks to one of the best choruses of the year, and the gathering power of The 1975’s massive audience, “There’s a Honey” placed Pale Waves on the fast-track to success. It was Healy who pulled Pale Waves out of Manchester and into the Dirty Hit family, opening them up to the label’s most vital resource: its devoted fanbase. goth pop group exploded onto the scene with “There’s a Honey,” an impressively self-assured single produced by none other than Matty Healy of The 1975. Beautiful.With one of the most highly anticipated albums of the year, Pale Waves are changing the face of pop music.īefore they had even released an EP, Pale Waves found themselves warming up a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden last summer. If we’re going to hell after this, let’s enjoy this atmospheric goddess while we can. She is unrivalled in navigating them with her disarming and melodic harmonies. The introspective narrative may not be uncharted territory, but Dido chose these waters. This will tug on your heartstrings long after it ends quite directly. Dido’s honest and haunting vocal is then complemented wonderfully with sublime strings, as the song about her son builds into one of the album’s purest and most beautiful songs. The album closes in dramatic effect with a drone laying bare a vast and affecting soundscape. There is some delicate and nostalgic folktronica in Some Kind Of Love, Still On My Mind is a powerful and sweeping slice of synth and the stirring Walking By has a little nod to Orinoco Flow in the middle-eight. ![]() This is Dido’s Drowned World (Substitute For Love). Similarly, You Don’t Need A God begins scantily with an almost tribal beat, but is then driven by beautiful strings and a haunting vocal. Hell After This starts off skeletal, as a dark and scratchy ode to enjoying the moment and weaves into a piano and string-laden ambient break with some gorgeous vocal harmonies in a lower register. There are some imposing experimental moments. Then the celestial strings and atmospheric beats in Chances deliberate through bad days and embracing a new day and a new optimism. If Hurricanes examines the trials of unconditional love, then the dark and gospel-like hum of Give You Up deals with walking away before having to succumb in a toxic dogfight and turning the tables. Nowels also features on the divine electronica of Take You Home, which finds Dido showcasing her blueprint melancholy and ethereal vocal to stunning effect. She sings softly as she comes out of the other side, peaceful and knowing, against a beautiful guitar riff that has Rick Nowels all over it. There is a sensational break in the middle eight where we get the sense that Dido is in the eye of the storm, she cries “Hurricanes!” and the music stops abruptly. The album opens with Hurricanes, a sparse intro weaving into a trip-hop maelstrom of beats and pulses, which explores the whirlwind of emotions in unconditional love. Very much the accidental artist with an unintentional approach, her fifth album Still On My Mind is a laid-back family affair featuring brother and ambient dance wunderkind Rollo heavily. It’s been 20 years since Dido released her debut album No Angel to much acclaim and fervent unit-shifting.
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