Pale Waves

Pale Waves formed in Manchester after Heather Baron-Gracie and Ciara Doran met at BIMM Manchester (the music college on Chatham Street). They added Hugo Sherwell and Charlie Wood, signed to Dirty Hit – the same label as The 1975 – and Matty Healy took them under his wing early. That connection opened doors, but the songs had to stand on their own.

Noises and Television Romance were early singles that showed what they were about: 80s-influenced synth-pop with goth aesthetics and hooks sharp enough to draw blood. My Mind Makes Noises, the debut album in 2018, leaned into that sound – polished, dark-eyed pop music with genuine emotional weight. Baron-Gracie’s songwriting dealt openly with anxiety, identity, and relationships in a way that connected hard with a younger audience.

Who Am I? in 2021 shifted toward pop-punk – louder, more direct, less synth. Unwanted in 2022 went further down that road. The sound evolved faster than some fans expected, but the live shows stayed packed. They’ve played the Ritz, Gorilla, the Academy, the Albert Hall – the standard Manchester graduation from small rooms to bigger ones.

What makes Pale Waves interesting in a Manchester context is the gap they fill. The city’s indie scene has traditionally been blokey – parkas and trainers and lad-rock. Baron-Gracie is openly queer, the aesthetic is deliberately femme-goth, and the audience reflects that. They brought a different crowd into Manchester’s live venues, which matters more than it gets credit for. They’re still on Dirty Hit, still based in Manchester, still building. The next record will tell us where they’re going, but the foundation is solid.