British indie band, Pale Waves, who have been compared to The Cure and The Cranberries, kicked off their UK Tour October 1 in Kingston upon Thames, with a tsunami of tour and live debuts.

Supporting their delightful new album Smitten, the Manchester quartet performed "Not A Love Song," "Kiss Me Again," and "Glasgow" for the first time in front of an audience.

The last two were for the encore.

Formed in 2014, and fronted by the dynamic singer/guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie, Pale Waves also features Heather's best friend Ciara Doran on drums, Hugo Silvani on lead guitar, and Charlie Wood slappin' da bass.

Despite having a goth image and influences directly from the late '80s, early '90s, Pale Waves is an extremely accessible pop band. At times Smitten sounds like something Taylor Swift or Kacey Musgraves could have written if they were having a fun day driving around town with the top of their convertible down. It's fun, upbeat, inoffensive radio friendly music.

At their gig at the PRYZM in Kingston upon Thames Pale Waves gave tour debuts for "Change," "Television Romance," "Red," "Jealousy," and "She's My Religion."

The last song speaks to Baron-Gracie's feelings about how many so-called spiritual people judge LGBTQ+ communities, of which many of the fans of the band belong.

"[It's] basically a rebellion against religious and even non-religious people who disregard same-sex relationships," Baron-Gracie told Brig.

Smitten is the band's fourth album released on the indie label Dirty Hit who had a smash with The 1975 in 2013. The label also boasts deals with Jack Antonoff, Bleachers, and Beabadoobee, among others.

Pale Waves' debut album in 2018, My Mind Makes Noises, positioned them to be on the same bill as The Cure at the British Summertime Hyde Park fest. Quite a stoke for Baron-Gracie.

"Playing with The Cure was mindblowing," she told Virgin Radio UK.

"They’re my favorite band and we look up to them so much, I admire Robert Smith as a songwriter and to be able to play on the same stage as them was amazing. Seeing Pale Waves and The Cure on the same poster was something else, sharing a stage with your icons is mad."

The singer who has always embraced her queer identity, and says she knew she was gay when she came out of the womb, told Atwood magazine that writing for a fourth LP was easier to be more frank about her private life because she stopped caring so much about what others thought.

“It was me growing into my own skin and learning to love it – feeling confident enough to be so open,” she explained.

“It’s a really weird thing to be so open to strangers. But at the same time, I think people really appreciate it, and it does more good than bad. I feel like I’m at that point in my life now where I can be comfortable expressing myself and any judgment doesn’t really bother me anymore,” the 29-year-old musician said.

The Pale Waves UK tour isn't all that long, so catch them before they sail off into the rest of the world. Get your tickets on their website.

Pale Waves UK Tour 2024

10/04 - Liverpool, England - O2 Academy Liverpool
10/05 - Manchester, England - Neighbourhood Festival
10/06 - Nottingham, England - Rock City
10/08 - Brighton, England - CHALK
10/09 - Bristol, England - O2 Academy Bristol
10/10 - Sheffield, England - Foundry
10/11 - Dundee, Scotland - Fat Sams
10/13 - Glasgow, Scotland - SWG3
10/14 - Newcastle upon Tyne, England - Boiler Shop
10/15 - Birmingham, England - O2 Institute