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Who Am I? (Pale Waves album)

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Deathawk (talk | contribs) at 17:24, 16 February 2021 (→‎Recording: added that Barron Gracie was confined to the vocal booth for most of the final stretch of the album). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Who Am I?
Studio album by
Pale Waves
Released12 February 2021 (2021-02-12)
Recorded2020
StudioLos Angeles
GenreGothic rock, Indie pop
Length33:39
Label
Producer
  • Rich Costey
Pale Waves chronology
My Mind Makes Noises
(2018) 		Who Am I?
(2021)
Singles from Who Am I?
  1. "Change"
    Released: 10 November 2020
  2. "She's My Religion"
    Released: 15 December 2020
  3. "Easy"
    Released: 13 January 2021
  4. "You Don't Own Me"
    Released: 29 January 2021
  5. "Fall to Pieces"
    Released: 9 February 2021

Who Am I? is the second studio album by English indie pop band Pale Waves. It was released on 12 February 2021 by Dirty Hit and Interscope Records.[1] On the midweek UK Albums Chart dated 15 February 2021, Who Am I? was at number two.[2]

Background

In February 2020, the band's tour bus suffered from a near-fatal road accident when travelling between shows in Sweden and Germany where the bus slid on an icy road and rolled into a ditch. While the band and their crew members survived the altercation, they also came away with psychical injuries.[3]

Adding to the road accident, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant influence on the album's planned release and the content within it. With quarantine, Heather Baron-Gracie commented that it allowed time for band members to have some "space and time to process what happened [with the road accident] and heal from it".[1]

Whereas the debut album My Mind Makes Noises (2018) had been inspired by 1980s music, the band instead took greater inspiration from the 1990s and 2000s music of their childhood such as Avril Lavigne and Alanis Morissette.[4] Of the influences, Baron-Gracie noted in an interview with NME that “I know there are a lot of my fans that love Avril so I know they’re gonna dissect my album and know what I’ve pulled from Avril. I went back to my roots with this album with someone like Alanis as well. She’s just unapologetic, and I wanted to be like that in this album.”[5] With the album, Baron-Gracie, who has since come out as gay, also expressed a greater desire to discuss her sexuality after taking inspiration from bandmate Ciara Doran who is non-binary. During the recording of the first album, My Mind Makes Noises, Baron-Gracie felt that she "wasn’t confident about myself or with my sexuality" but now is "proud to own my sexuality. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders".[6]


Recording

Who Am I? was primarily recorded in Los Angeles alongside producer Rich Costey who had previously worked with acts such as Foo Fighters, Muse and Biffy Clyro.[7] The band chose to record in L.A. as Baron-Gracie felt that "it’s just a really encouraging and inspiring place because there are so many creative people". A large portion of the album was recorded with the entire band in L.A. but this changed midway through the recording process.[8] As the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, the band was forced to split with Heather Baron-Gracie and Ciara Doran remaining in L.A. while guitarist Hugo Silvani and bass guitarist Charlie Wood returned home to the UK. Silvani and Wood would record their own parts at home in the UK and sent the recordings to Baron-Gracie and Doran in L.A. to be produced and added to other track recording parts.[9][10] Due to Covid protocal The last segment of the album was recorded alone by Baron-Gracie with one other producer in the room. Due to social distancing guidelines Baron Gracie spent most of this time confined to the studio's vocal booth.[11]

Content

Described as having "a harder sound" than the groups debut,Who Am I is a pop punk album with Vanity Fair describing it as "a nostalgic mishmash of Avril Lavigne and Hayley Williams with some Brand New melancholia thrown in" [11] The album includes significant LGBTQ themes inspired by Baron-Garcia's fiancée Kelsi Luck Vanity Fair calling the album " a "love letter" to her.[11] Baron-Gracie. although aware of her sexuality during the first album, chose to avoid discussing it there. Lyrically she decided to discuss these themes after becoming more comfortable about it as well as growing frustrations with many of her fans thinking she was straight. [11]

Promotion and singles

"Change" was the first single to be released from Who Am I?, being released on 10 November 2020 alongside the announcement of the album itself.

A second single, entitled "She's My Religion", was released on 15 December 2020. On the track, Baron-Grace said that "'She's My Religion' isn't the standard or typical love song" and that she "wanted to write a song that used pronouns because for so many years I didn’t in my music, and now I realise how important that is, to normalise LGBTQ relationships in a world that needs it”[12]

The third single to be released from the album was "Easy" on 13 January 2021. In an interview with Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1, Baron-Gracie revealed that "Easy" was originally conceived to be a piano ballad but that the music on the track was changed to be more in congruent with the positive lyrics.

"You Don't Own Me" was released on 29 January 2021 as the fourth single and deals with "how society depicts, judges and criticises women on a daily basis".[13]

The fifth and final single to be released before the full release of the album was "Fall to Pieces" which was released on 9 February 2021.[14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
DIY[15]
Gigwise[16]
The Independent[17]
The Irish Times[18]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[19]
NME[20]

Jay Singh, writing for The Line of Best Fit, criticised the band for having a "habit of wearing their influences on their sleeve a little too blatantly" when they have tried to distance themselves from The 1975 to then begin "emulating Avril Lavigne isn’t exactly a foolproof plan". However, he did applaud the band for their new sound which is described as "well executed and joyously expressive".[19] Eamonn Sweeney of The Irish Times gave the album three out of five stars, writing that "Pale Waves should secure another top-10 hit and cement their position as one of the few current guitar bands that resonate with a young, 21st-century audience".[18]

Rachel Brodsky of The Independent gave the album two out of five stars, saying that "despite the album’s slick production and radio-ready melodies, one wishes Pale Waves could find a more sophisticated language to express youthful enlightenment".[17]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Change"
2:52
2."Fall to Pieces"
  • Baron-Gracie
  • de Jong
2:47
3."She's My Religion"
  • Baron-Gracie
  • de Jong
3:09
4."Easy"
  • Baron-Gracie
  • de Jong
2:54
5."Wish U Were Here"
  • Baron-Gracie
  • Suzanne Lyn Shinn
2:41
6."Tomorrow"Baron-Gracie2:37
7."You Don't Own Me"
  • Baron-Gracie
  • de Jong
3:16
8."I Just Needed You"Baron-Gracie3:06
9."Odd Ones Out"
  • Baron-Gracie
  • de Jong
3:01
10."Run To"
2:45
11."Who Am I?"
  • Baron-Gracie
  • Doran
4:31
Total length:33:39

Personnel

Performers

Pale Waves

  • Heather Baron-Gracie – vocals, guitar
  • Ciara Doran – drums, synths, programming
  • Hugo Silvani – guitar
  • Charlie Wood – bass guitar

Technical

Release history

Release history for Who Am I?
Region Date Format Label
Various 12 February 2021

References

  1. ^ a b Skinner, Tom (10 November 2020). "Pale Waves announce second album 'Who Am I?' and share nostalgic first single 'Change'". NME. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Official Albums Chart Update Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  3. ^ Smith, Thomas (20 November 2020). "Pale Waves: "I've been hiding who I am for so long now. I don't wanna do that any more"". NME. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  4. ^ Lim, Cherrie (9 December 2020). "Pale Waves' upcoming album Who Am I? is Heather Baron-Gracie's "self-confessed journey towards wanting to become a better person"". Bandwagon. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  5. ^ https://www.nme.com/big-reads/pale-waves-cover-interview-2020-change-who-am-i-2821221
  6. ^ Richards, Will (24 November 2020). "Pale Waves' Heather Baron-Gracie discusses embracing sexuality on second album: "I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders"". NME. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  7. ^ Bound, Chris (11 November 2020). "Pale Waves announce new album 'Who Am I?'". Mystic Sons. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  8. ^ Renshaw, David (11 November 2020). "Pale Waves announce second album details, share 'Change'". The Fader. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  9. ^ Kenneally, Cerys (14 December 2020). "Pale Waves to release new song "She's My Religion" tomorrow". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  10. ^ Blanchet, Brenton (25 November 2020). "Pale Waves Explain How Avril Lavigne's Music Helped Them Inspire the Next Generation". Alternative Press. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d Landsbaum, Claire. "Pale Waves' Heather Baron-Gracie Is Music's Reigning Queer Emo Queen". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  12. ^ DIY Magazine (15 December 2020). "Pale Waves Share New Track 'She's My Religion'". DIY. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  13. ^ Skinner, Tom (29 January 2021). "Listen to Pale Waves' gritty new 'song for women' 'You Don't Own Me'". NME. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  14. ^ Skinner, Tom (9 February 2021). "Pale Waves 'defeat evil cycle' of relationships on new single 'Fall To Pieces'". NME. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  15. ^ Cabré, Alex (11 February 2021). "Album Review: Pale Waves - Who Am I?". DIY. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  16. ^ Eastoe, Dillon (8 February 2021). "Album Review: Pale Waves - Who Am I?". Gigwise. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  17. ^ a b Brodsky, Rachel; O'Connor, Roisin (12 February 2021). "Album reviews: Pale Waves – Who am I? and Django Django – Glowing in the Dark". The Independent. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  18. ^ a b Sweeney, Eamonn (12 February 2021). "Pale Waves: Who Am I review – BIMM graduates aim for top 10". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  19. ^ a b Singh, Jay (9 February 2021). "Pale Waves strive towards finding themselves on Who Am I?". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  20. ^ Smith, Thomas (11 February 2021). "Pale Waves – 'Who Am I?' review: liberation and pride conquer all". NME. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
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