The hype is real

Indie-pop newcomers, Pale Waves, have risen to the top in the blink of an eye. The band has four songs on Spotify with over a million streams each and won the Under The Radar award at the NME Awards this year. Indie-rock king Matt Healy, the lead singer of The 1975, helped co-produce the first two singles on All The Things I Never Said. He also lent a helping hand to Pale Waves when they opened for The 1975 on their recent European tour. The four-piece teenage band from Manchester, U.K. have created their own twist on the classic happy-sad vibe most indie-pop bands have successfully aged over the years.

The four-track EP begins with an angsty love ballad titled “New Year’s Eve.” A song that would fit perfectly into a late ’80s to early ’90s movie, the song is full of drama and raw emotion that a young teenager is still figuring out. The synth-goth feel of the second track, “The Tide,” makes it almost impossible to not hear the influences of Healy in the somber, punk-rock lyrics.

“My Obsession” and “Heavenly,” the last two tracks that round out the EP, demonstrate just how honest and self-relevant the lead singer, Heather Baron-Gracie, can be. In “My Obsession,” the idea of everlasting love at a such a young age seems like a walk in the park from Baron-Gracie’s eyes. Lyrics like, “You’re such a mess but you’re always beautiful to me,” “I’ll die by your side if you want me to” and “Honey, I’ve waited so long for you / I wanna waste, waste away with you” are perfect examples of her overflowing abundance of raw emotion.

The name Pale Waves comes from the name of one of Baron-Gracie’s grandmother’s paintings. Just like that painting, the band is worth a thousand words. Going into the release of an EP with millions of streams already is an extreme test of creativity and motivation. The band will be pushed to their limits to create and cater to their ever-growing audience. The future is bright for these newcomers, and indie pop has a lot to look forward to.