Pop-punk can be a deceptively cathartic medium, too. Although Pale Waves’ aesthetic effectively completed its adjustment from the gothy monochrome of their My Mind Makes Noises era into full colour on Unwanted, the topics tackled – anger, jealousy, revenge – were, by a distance, the darkest and most negative of their career so far. Heather is able to see the effectiveness of songs like You’re So Vain and The Hard Way in the enthusiastic responses of listeners around the world.
“We have a very committed fanbase,” she smiles. “They’re very emotional people. They loved Unwanted so much. It really gave them an outlet for their anger, and those negative emotions for which society doesn’t really allow outlets. I forget [the influence that we can have] sometimes. I feel like every show we play, every country we visit, we have an interaction that moves me in some way: people in tears, people talking about their sexuality and how they’re hiding who they are from the people they love, or about how we’ve saved their lives in ways by writing songs like The Hard Way or She’s My Religion. It can be intense to hear, but it’s very moving. I think it allowed our fans to grow closer to Pale Waves, which in turn makes me love being in this band.”
On top of that, the personal coming of age that Unwanted heralded continues apace.
“We take things a bit more seriously now,” says Heather, unpacking the lifestyle changes that have seen alcohol consumption curtailed and a greater understanding of when to stay in and when go out. “I’m just evolving and establishing better relationships with being a musician. It’s healthier for me, both in my body and in my mind – and I actually enjoy music more for it.”
Living with songs like Act My Age – the written version of that mindset – reinforces the will to improve yourself.
“When you’re having a moment of doubt, they can remind you of the reasons you decided to do better in the first place,” she says.
Although it’s too early to talk about new Pale Waves music in any real detail just yet – there might just be a fresh cut ready by the time they hit Slam Dunk – Heather does confirm a doubling-down on themes of self-belief.
“I’ve started to really love myself, after years of neglect,” she says. “Only now have I started to realise that I should love every inch of myself. I’m a lot more comfortable and confident in who I am, where I am in life, my sexuality. I don’t mind being on show anymore. So all of my attention and energy is going into writing and recording our best album yet. Ultimately, that’s about building a world that feels like Pale Waves, while also feeling completely different to anywhere we’ve inhabited before. We’re creating another universe for our fans to explore, and for us to live in for a moment.”
But that doesn’t mean there’ll be any slacking when it comes to real-world domination, of course.
“2023 was quite relaxed by our standards,” Heather reflects with a knowing grin as we wave farewell. “I’m ready for [2024] to be completely flooded with things. From day one, I’ve had the grandest ambitions for Pale Waves, and I always will. I want this band to be the biggest that we can possibly be. For us, ‘The Dream’ is still very much the biggest dream.”
Don’t bet against it coming true.