My Mind Makes Noises
My Mind Makes Noises is the debut studio album by English indie pop band Pale Waves, released on 14 September 2018 by the independent record label Dirty Hit. With the exception of the album's singles "There's a Honey" and "Television Romance", the songs on My Mind Makes Noises were produced by Jonathan Gilmore, with Pale Waves' drummer, Ciara Doran, providing additional production. The 1975's George Daniel and Matty Healy produced "Television Romance" and There's a Honey" (although the songs were remixed by Gilmore and Doran for inclusion on the album).
My Mind Makes Noises
All of the songs on My Mind Makes Noises were co-written by Doran and the band's lead vocalist and guitarist, Heather Baron-Gracie. Sonically, the record was inspired largely by pop music from the 1980s, with many of the tracks making use of synthesizers and jangly guitars. The album's lyrics are melancholic and often dark, focusing on the pain of heartbreak, young love that is now lost, mental health, body image, unwanted romantic attention, and the death of beloved family members.
My Mind Makes Noises received generally favourable reviews, according to aggregators like Any Decent Music? and Metacritic. Many critics called the record a strong debut, applauding the catchiness of the record's songs and the affectivity of the songs' lyrics. The album's sonic dimension was also complimented by critics, although some reviewers did feel that the record's sound was too derivative of the 1975. Upon its release, the album debuted at number eight on the UK Albums Chart and at number one on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart. My Mind Makes Noises was supported by seven singles: "There's a Honey", "Television Romance", "Kiss", "Noises", "Eighteen", "Black", and "One More Time".
Production[edit]
Background[edit]
Pale Waves formed in 2014 when the drummer Ciara Doran met the vocalist and guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie while the two were attending the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM) in Manchester.[13][14] The two began collaborating on musical projects and eventually dubbed themselves "Pale Waves" – a reference to a painting that Baron-Gracie's grandmother had made of a ship at sea.[15] Doran and Baron-Gracie eventually enlisted second guitarist Hugo Silvani and bassist Charlie Wood,[16] and in 2015, the group recorded demos for the songs "The Tide" and "Heavenly" with production team Sugar House.[17] The band soon caught the attention of the independent record label Dirty Hit, to which the group signed in 2017,[16] and on 20 February 2018, Pale Waves released their debut EP, All the Things I Never Said.[18]
Recording[edit]
The first songs recorded for the album were "There's a Honey" and "Television Romance", both of which were produced by Matthew Healy and George Daniel of the pop rock band the 1975. Pale Waves came to Healy's attention after Jamie Oborne (the manager for both the 1975 and Pale Waves) played him the demo tracks of the aforementioned songs.[19][20] Healy was struck by the songwriting – "There's a naivety and a purity to them and an honesty to them that kind of comes through in their music," he explained in an NME interview – and he subsequently reached out to the band, inquiring if he and Daniel could produce their songs.[21] The band agreed to Healy's request and recorded the songs with him and Daniel in 2017. While talking to the University of Exeter's student-run newspaper Exeposé, Baron-Gracie explained that she and the band were delighted to work with Healy and Daniel: "It's been awesome, they're amazing producers. We felt really special that they wanted to spend their time on our tracks considering how busy they are".[22]
Commercial performance[edit]
My Mind Makes Noises was released by Dirty Hit on 14 September 2018 on cassette tape, CD and vinyl record; the record was also released on streaming platforms and as a digital download. The record charted at number five on the midweek UK Albums Chart Update,[85] and on 21 September 2018, it debuted at number eight on the UK Albums Chart, selling 7,110 copies in its first week.[86] The record was also the best-selling cassette tape of the week.[87] In its second week on the chart the record fell to number 60.[88] In the United States (where it was distributed by Interscope Records),[5] the album debuted at number one on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and number 39 on the Top Album Sales chart, selling 3,000 copies.[89]