Pale Waves announce new album ‘Smitten’ and share single ‘Perfume’.
Pale Waves make their hotly anticipated return with news of their fourth album ‘Smitten’, due 20th September via Dirty Hit. Fans are already buzzing with excitement for the full record due later this year, thanks to their new single ‘Perfume’ released last week.
Written between the US and UK over a two year period, Smitten finds the band reflecting upon their Northern roots. Deviating from the rebellious pop-punk sound of 2022 album Unwanted, this new record is full of vivid, earwormy hooks, thwacking snares and jangly alt-pop that sounds fresh out of Manchester, where they’re from.
Lyrically, the record is preoccupied with past lives – some more recent than others. Heather (Baron-Gracie) found herself in a headspace where she could finally breathe, and reflect, like peeling through the pages of a long-forgotten teenage diary and being surprised by what she found.
“I found myself writing about not just a certain time period, but my whole life, from years ago,” she says. “When I fall in love, I fall deep, and it’s interesting to me that you can feel so fascinated and smitten with someone and then they can become a total stranger. So I feel like Smitten really summarised perfectly what I felt for others at a certain point.”
Speaking about ‘Perfume’, Heather says: "’Perfume’ is the perfect introduction into the new world we’ve created. It's queer, feminine and romantic and it encapsulates the essence of Smitten."
Pale Waves are currently on the road in the US for a full support tour with PVRIS. The band will return to the UK for a handful of festival performances including Y Not Festival and Neighbourhood Festival this year.
Smitten tracklist:
Glasgow
Not a Love Song
Gravity
Thinking About You
Perfume
Last Train Home
Kiss Me Again
Miss America
Hate to Hurt You
Seeing Stars
Imagination
Slow