Pale Waves Release New Track 'Thinking About You'

Buzzy, critically acclaimed UK darlings Pale Waves have released their new track and video “Thinking About You” from their upcoming fourth studio album Smitten out September 27 via Dirty Hit. A masterclass in wistful dream-pop, “Thinking About You” follows frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie as she laments a past relationship and considers what remains in its wake. 

“‘Thinking About You’ is about a situation when someone leaves and you can’t quite fully move on yet,” shares Heather. “You know you should and that it'll be better for you in the long run, but it’s harder and more painful than it seems"

“Thinking About You” follows the release of lead single “Perfume,” which premiered as BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record. PRESS HERE to watch the dreamy, official video for the sapphic single which finds the band in a hazy, lovestruck fairytale and is reminiscent of bands like The Cure and The Cranberries. Pale Waves also recently released their single “Gravity,” a guitar-laden banger about Heather dating a woman who was struggling with her sexuality and couldn’t choose between their relationship or her religion, and their breakup anthem “Glasgow” which finds Heather lamenting about fleeing Glasgow after being jilted at the altar.

Produced by Iain Berryman (Wolf Alice, Florence and the Machine, beabadoobee) and written between the US and UK over a two-year period, Smitten blends the band’s timeless indie rock with a new wave of romantic nostalgia to celebrate Pale Waves’ newfound level of confidence, freedom, and self-acceptance while they reflect on their roots and explore themes of vulnerability, love, sexuality, queerness, finding yourself, moving on, and growing up. PRESS HERE to pre-order Smitten.

Borrowing from all of Pale Waves’ previous albums – and deviating from the rebellious pop punk sound of 2022 album Unwanted - to create something entirely new, Smitten is their realest and most grounded record to date and captures the excitement and euphoria as well as the confusion and pain of early queer relationships. Smitten is lyrically preoccupied with past lives and sees Heather Baron-Gracie reflecting upon her roots and finding herself in a headspace where she could finally breathe and reflect.

“I found myself writing about not just a certain time period, but my whole life, from years ago,” Heather shares. “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 summarized perfectly what I felt for others at a certain point.”

Recently wrapping a North American tour with PVRIS, Pale Waves will be hitting the road in October for their UK headline tour which will make stops in major cities across the country and includes a hometown performance at Neighbourhood Festival as well as a sold out stop at London’s Outernet. PRESS HERE for tickets.

2024 TOUR DATES

October 3 – The Waterfront – Norwich, UK

October 4 – O2 Academy – Liverpool, UK

October 5 - Neighbourhood Festival - Manchester, UK

October 6 – Rock City – Nottingham, UK

October 8 – Chalk – Brighton, UK

October 9 – O2 Academy – Bristol, UK

October 10 – Foundry – Sheffield, UK

October 11 – Fat Sam’s – Dundee, UK

October 13 – SWG3 – Glasgow, UK

October 14 – Boiler Shop – Newcastle, UK

October 15 – O2 Institute – Birmingham, UK

October 17 – HERE at Outernet – London, UK SOLD OUT

October 18 – HERE at Outernet – London, UK

December 9 – Bigcat – Osaka, Japan

December 10 – Toyosu PIT – Tokyo, Japan

Photo credit: Niall Lea

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