PALE WAVES // KING TUT'S WAH WAH HUT, GLASGOW
EMERGING ACT PALE WAVES CONTINUE UK HEADLINE TOUR AT GLASGOW'S KING TUTS
PALE WAVES PERFORMING AT KING TUT'S WAH WAH HUT, GLASGOW - 4.3.18
PICTURE: GEORGE MCFAYDEN PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★☆
The evening began with a performance from BLOXX, whose last Glasgow show came supporting The Sherlocks at the O2 ABC. The band's performance went down well with the crowd with shoulders swaying and heads a bopping. Their song ‘Coke’ was a particular highlight, going down well with the Glasgow crowd.
With the second support band Our Girl unable to reach the venue due to the adverse weather, the evening quickly progressed with Pale Waves coming onto a warm reception. Smoke drowned the stage as front woman Heather Baron-Gracie opened the evening with fan favourite ‘Television Romance’ which brought the crowd to life as they sang back the catchy chorus. The Manchester quartet then progressed onto ‘The Tide’, a song from their recently released debut EP All The Things I Never Said. The rousing chorus was a personal highlight as it was performed with the quality of a band that had been around for years.
As the evening progressed the bands goth-pop sound made sure everyone in the crowd went on an emotional journey, with 80's keyboards and hooky guitar riffs being contrasted with Baron-Gracie’s moody and angsty lyrics. The final song from the debut EP ‘Heavenly’ brought a strong reaction from the crowd, with Baron-Gracie’s slightly shy and awkward stage presence complimenting the band and their music. Photographers flocked round the stage throughout the gig trying to capture their unique style and sound that has gained them so much publicity in recent months.
The catchy chorus of ‘New Year’s Eve’ is definitely going to be stuck in the heads of everyone who attended the gig, it’s ultimately melancholic sound drawing the crowd into Baron-Gracie’s life with her personal and intimate lyrics. The band ended their set with debut single ‘There’s a Honey’, its strong pop sound makes the influence of the 1975's Matty Healy clear: not only a friend to the band, Healy has also co-produced Pale Waves' first two songs including of course 'There's a Honey'. It wouldn't sound out of place on a The 1975 album at all.
Pale Waves are a band on the rise and that is made clear from the success they have gained without even releasing an album. Their rise to pop stardom is something I am excited to watch and judging by the performance at King Tuts, will be something that does not take long for the latest band to come out of Manchester.
PALE WAVES SETLIST: KING TUT'S WAH WAH HUT, GLASGOW - 4th March 2018
Television Romance
Kiss
The Tide
My Obsession
She
Heavenly
Eighteen
New Year's Eve
There's A Honey