LISTEN: Pale Waves Release Intimate New Single “She’s My Religion”
LISTEN: Pale Waves Release Intimate New Single “She’s My Religion”
Their sophomore album WHO AM I? is out on February 12th
Words By: Jason Russo
Highly acclaimed British based, indie-pop group Pale Waves has released their latest single “She’s My Religion” off their upcoming sophomore album, Who Am I? The track is an open and honest love letter written by Pale Waves frontwoman, Heather Baron-Gracie, that doesn’t shy away from the uglier, more difficult sides of love.
“She’s My Religion” is a genuine and heartfelt queer anthem that avoids cliché themes — unlike other queer ballads that are often over sexualized and done for the wrong reasons. While it’s common for artists to toy with sexuality through their music, but for female artists especially, that exploration is often exploited and highly queer-baited. Many critics argue that songs like “I Kissed A Girl” by Katy Perry or “Cool For The Summer” by Demi Lovato along with pop culture moments like Madonna and Britney Spears’ iconic kiss at the VMAs are less about celebrating queer exploration and more about using sexuality to sell records. Whether that’s true or not, there’s no doubt that everything Pale Waves releases is genuine. They have been queer allies since their inception, and their upcoming album is centered around themes of queerness, identity exploration, and falling in love. The band are fierce advocates for the LGBTQ+ community and celebrate the diversity within their own group as well as their fanbase. “She’s My Religion” is clearly a sincere celebration of the highs and lows of queer love that is written and performed by queer artists for a queer audience.
The opening guitar notes of “She’s My Religion” instantly transport the listener into a grunge-inspired pop soundscape that is reminiscent of some of the softer sides of iconic female led punk-rock groups like Garbage and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. “She’s no angel, but she is my religion,” sings Baron-Gracie through the chorus, acknowledging both the flaws in her lover as well as her dedication to her. Baron-Gracie describes the single as an atypical love song: “Society depicts the dark sides to a person as unloveable and tends to only focus on the positive sides. I believe to love someone and their entirety creates a love that is freeing and truthful. I also wanted to give my fans a song to find themselves in. I wish I had a song like this when I was a young girl trying to find herself in the world.” This is an interesting perspective and a fresh take on pop music that adds nuance and realism to the often unrealistic and fanciful ideas in many love ballads.
Pale Waves has proven itself to be one of the most exciting groups in the indie-pop world today. Their sound puts a grunge-pop spin on their contemporaries like The Aces, beabadoobee, and Best Coast. Their first album My Mind Makes Noises amassed over 70 million streams across the globe and solidified their status as one of the most solid indie-pop groups to date. Their songs tackle the difficulties of growing up, with themes of mental health, queerness, and sexuality present throughout their discography. There upcoming sophomore album Who Am I? continues to develop these themes with its February 12th release. “She’s My Religion” follows lead single, “Change” – a catchy, upbeat track about heartbreak and loss that, alongside “She’s My Religion”, helps creates an exciting prelude to a record would buying.
