Pale Waves are infatuated with their art on Smitten

The Manchester outfit are one of the more intriguing guitar bands around, with genre switch-ups relentlessly introduced. Smitten, deviates once again, smartly, returning to their roots, cementing themselves as a band that clearly loves the music they make.

2018’s debut My Mind Makes Noises, introduced Pale Waves as a contemporary alternative to The Cure; with sparkling synths and gothic blooms of guitar shimmer, they had all the right stuff to pull it off with utter ease. Defying these expectations however, with 2021’s, Who Am I? and the following year’s, Unwanted, the band rip-roared through a delightfully nostalgic pop-punk landscape. Songs like, "Change" and, "Without You" displayed their reverence for alt-pop heroes, Avril Lavigne and Paramore, a sound only tentatively approached on their debut. It was an interesting career move, arguably one that may have cost them some fans along the way; nonetheless, both records were a triumph of devotion and showcases of how influences can be implemented.

Smitten was announced in June with "Perfume" – a song that sums up where Pale Waves are now. The single is gloriously dreamy, with the same shimmering guitars that inflected the band’s debut material, and the same booming drums that reintroduces their late 80s and 90s inspirations. Vocalist, Heather Baron-Gracie appears to be possessed by the very spirit of Dolores O’Riordan, at moments yodelling over the song. "Perfume" is the confident statement of a band that is not afraid to retread past steps.

Other moments of wonderfully classic Pale Waves sound bites appear elsewhere: album opener, "Glasgow" sounds like a sister track to 2018’s "Eighteen", immediately launching itself into the upper-echelon of Pale Waves tracks; "Thinking About You" is probably the dreamiest moment in their discography, Baron-Gracie’s voice riding a wave of reverb-soaked guitars, all whilst paying ultimate homage to Scottish dream-pop mainstays, Cocteau Twins; and "Miss America", perhaps the only track on Smitten where the remnants of their pop-punk days come together in the ether to create something truly electrifying. Closing track "Slow" brilliantly showcases the band's perfected version of what they introduced themselves with, way back in 2018 with EP ALL THE THINGS I NEVER SAID – a definite career highlight.

Smitten is Pale Waves returning to the sound that made them such an enigmatic new face in British music. What is different this time around is the sharpness at which the band pulls off this same sound. It is crisply clear and gritty, with a lovely bout of emo-tinged lyricism. It is surely to be considered the strongest body of work of their career, only to be outdone with whatever may come next. Smitten is the sound of a band infatuated with their art, ready for the future, and excited to be a part of it.