QR Music Review: Pale Waves - My Mind Makes Noises is full of pop-glazed, if familiar-sounding bangers.

4/5

Pale Waves have always been on the cusp of a breakthrough. The Manchester band took every opportunity assigned to them; from signing a record deal with Dirty Hit, playing arena-sized shows with label-mates The 1975, to playing a plethora of festival shows. All of this before they had even recorded their debut album.

My Mind Makes Noises is an ode to teenage emotion. It speaks of inner turmoil, breaking up and making up, and experiencing these for the first time. All of this compiled into 14 tracks and 50 minutes. From the first note of album opener, 'Eighteen', the listener is hit with a professionally sleek pop-rock sound. It features lyrics describing the all-or-nothing feel of young love and romance, with singer Heather Baron-Gracie chanting in each chorus: "I was eighteen when I met you / Poured my heart out, spilt out my truth / I finally felt like I could feel for the first time." This feeling is juxtaposed in the following track and debut single, 'There's a Honey', which speaks of doubting a partner's investment in the relationship. The mantra of "I would give you my body / But I'm not sure if you want me" rings as expressing typical relationship-anxiety, feeling as though partners are becoming distanced and unsure. 'Noises' acts as a poetic window into Baron-Gracie's mind, turning feelings of losing yourself instead into a hopeful message of self-endurance and understanding. By repeating "what do you see when you look at me?", Baron-Gracie builds up an understanding of herself through the help of others.

As the record continues, the band delve deeper into exploring this cumulative of emotions in a continually endearing way. It explores typical emotions through various lenses, offering revamped insights into what it means to live and love as a young person. Personal highlights on the album include 'When Did I Lose it All?', 'One More Time', and 'Television Romance.' Even in the span of these three tracks, Pale Waves demonstrate they can turn any idea into a pop-glazed banger.

It is an impressive debut album, one that has been a long time coming for the cult favourites. But the album suffers somewhat from the influence of its producers, The 1975's Matty Healy and George Daniel. The album begins to sound like an act of imitation, produced in a similar vein to the music of the former band. This prevents the band from spreading their creative wings and trying out different sounds.

But mind you, this is their first album; the band have just touched on the abundance of artistic energy within them - there is plenty of time for Pale Waves to grow and continue to prove themselves musically. And for a debut album, it sure is one that demonstrates a lot of promise.

By Jane Corscadden