Review Summary: It does nothing new, but it doesn't do much wrong.
Pale Waves debut record has finally released and it's pretty standard fair. I find it odd that everyone compares them to The 1975 when their writing is not nearly as provocative and the music itself is not nearly as experimental or out there - they are a simple band with simple lyrics and stay within the realms of comfort. But, while Pale Waves certainly doesn't try anything new for the most part, they don't really do anything that could be considered bad.
It's a basic debut record. A majority of it is about relationships and a lot of the songs remind me of that early 2000s aesthetic, especially some of their music videos (One More Time is the biggest giveaway). So while their lyricism and music is standard, some songs such as When Did I Lose It All, One More Time, and Black manage to keep your attention while the rest of the album is standard radio-fare. There's nothing WRONG with that, just a bit underwhelming.
The album is mostly just electronically fueled pop with some indie rock/pop influences here and there, and Heather's vocals suits the style quite well, actually. It's not very fast paced and it takes every song at a moderate pace, giving it a decent length for their full length debut. The electronic influences blend well with the guitars, and it's almost obvious that Matt Healy helped produce this record - and though they are identical with most mainstream indie rock bands like this, if they managed to improve on their sound, they could become fairly iconic with how their many styles blend on each song musically.
If they could keep their catchy style and evolve their instrumentals further, as well as improve on the fairly generic lyricism - as most songs are just about falling in love - they would be able to put out something pretty amazing, I'm sure.
Here's hope to seeing them improve on their already established sound for their eventual sophomore record.
Recommended tracks:
When Did I Lose It All
One More Time
Black
