Who Am I? (Pale Waves album)
Who Am I? is the second studio album by English indie pop band Pale Waves. It was released on 12 February 2021 by the independent record label Dirty Hit. The record was produced by Rich Costey and recorded in Los Angeles. While the band's previous album, My Mind Makes Noises (2018), took inspiration from 1980s synth pop, Who Am I? was inspired by female pop and rock musicians from the 1990s and early 2000s, including acts like Avril Lavigne, Liz Phair, Michelle Branch, Alanis Morissette, and Courtney Love.
Who Am I?
All of the songs on Who Am I? were co-written by the band's lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie; others were co-written by Sam de Jong, Suzanne Lyn Shinn, Jake Sinclair, and band drummer Ciara Doran. Many of the songs on the album revolve around themes of romance, love, acceptance, and queer sexuality, all of which were partially inspired by Baron-Gracie's romantic relationship with singer-songwriter Kelsi Luck. Baron-Gracie was further motivated to focus on LGBTQ+ themes after Doran came out as non-binary.
Who Am I? received mostly positive reviews, according to review aggregators Metacritic and AnyDecentMusic?, with critics commenting on the Pale Waves's change in style. Others discussed the impact of the artists whom Heather Baron-Gracie has cited as the album's influences. Many reviews appreciated the evolution in the band's style, comparing their newer sound to that of pop music from the early 2000s, although some felt that the record was too derivative of its influences. Upon its release, Who Am I? debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number one on the UK Independent Albums Chart. Who Am I? was supported by five singles ("Change", "She's My Religion", "Easy", "You Don't Own Me", and "Fall to Pieces" – all of which were promoted with their own music videos); due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pale Waves was forced to postpone a tour supporting the album to 2022.
Production[edit]
Background[edit]
In February 2020, three of the members from the band Pale Waves – Ciara Doran, Hugo Silvani, and Charlie Wood – were involved in a near-fatal road accident when travelling between shows in Sweden and Germany.[b] The bus they were in slid on an icy road and rolled into a ditch, and while no one was seriously injured, the band members have said it was nevertheless traumatic.[3] On top of the road accident, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the planned release of the album, which had originally been slated for early 2020. Despite this setback, the band's frontperson Heather Baron-Gracie explained to NME magazine that quarantine allowed time for band members to have some "space and time to process what happened [with the road accident] and heal from it".[3]
Promotion and singles[edit]
"Change", the first single to be released from Who Am I?, debuted on BBC Radio 1 on 10 November 2020; the single's music video, directed by Johnny Goddard, was also released at this time, alongside an announcement about the album itself.[34][35] The album's second single, "She's My Religion", was released on 15 December 2020.[24] A video for the single, directed by Jess Kohl and starring Baron-Gracie and Kelsi Luck, was released on 22 December;[36] because of this, Baron-Gracie told Pride magazine that the video was the band's first in which "you really see [her] intimate with someone".[26] The third single from the album, "Easy", was released on 13 January 2021. After premiering on BBC Radio 1,[37] the track eventually peaked at number 43 on Radiomonitor's UK Radio Airplay Top 50 chart.[38] According to Baron-Gracie, the music video for "Easy", which was directed by James Slater, was "inspired by the gothic medieval aesthetic and ... Tim Burton films".[37]
"You Don't Own Me" was released on 29 January 2021 as the fourth single.[39] The music video for the song – which was co-directed by Baron-Gracie and Luck – was released on 1 March,[40] and was described by Nü Sounds music site as a "portal to early 2000s grunge; red hair, graffiti, all the works."[41] The site also likened Baron-Gracie's dress to those worn by Melanie Martinez and called the overall production "a throwback of a lifetime".[41] Following the "You Don't Own Me" video's premiere, the band also uploaded to YouTube a "behind the scenes" featurette that explored the directing of the video.[42] The fifth and final single to be released was "Fall to Pieces" which likewise premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 9 February 2021.[43] A video for the single, directed by Callum L. James, was released on 12 February.[44] A "behind the scenes" look at the making of the "Fall to Pieces" music video was also released on 17 February via YouTube.[45]
Because Who Am I? was released in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pale Waves was unable to promote the album by immediately touring. Baron-Gracie discussed this setback in an interview with Northern Chorus, saying, "We can't complain and be selfish with everything going on around us. We were lucky enough to create an album campaign and release videos, but not being able to tour was disappointing as it's a huge part of a new album release".[15] The band eventually resumed touring in early 2022, performing their first concert since 2020 in Bristol on February 11.[46] In mid-2022, the band performed several shows in the United States, both as a headliner[47][48] and as the opening act for 5 Seconds of Summer on their Take My Hand World Tour.[49]
Commercial performance[edit]
Who Am I? was released 12 February 2021, and debuted at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart (Official Charts Company),[64] selling 6,115 copies.[65] On both the Official Vinyl Albums and the Official Physical Albums Charts (OOC), the album debuted at number 2, bested in both cases by Slowthai's album Tyron. Who Am I? did, however, top the UK Independent Album Chart (OOC),[66] and by the end of 2021, Who Am I? was the twenty-ninth best-selling cassette release in the United Kingdom.[67] On the Scottish Albums Chart, the album debuted at number 2,[68] and in Ireland, the record debuted at 86.[69] In Japan, Who Am I? peaked at 142 on Oricon's Japanese Albums chart,[70] and at 88 on the Billboard Japan chart.[71]