INTERVIEW: The Pale White

The Pale White by Saint Sophie

If there’s one thing that comes across when talking to Wallsend trio The Pale White, about to release their second album, The Big Sad, it is their drive. What was once just a local collective of brothers and friends has grown into the band behind one of the most ambitious rock releases of the year thus far. This drive is apparent immediately upon meeting them. “We just want to keep running and running, working and releasing, we’ve maybe been standing still for too long, but not anymore!”

This inferno of ambition is the reason some may be surprised to learn that the upcoming record is only the second album from the band. Anyone familiar with Newcastle’s music scene should already have an understanding of how tenacious the band have been, tinkering away for the better part of the last decade, constantly writing, releasing and playing increasingly dynamic shows. And it is the scope and magnitude of The Big Sad that is set to impress.

“It’s easily the best material we’ve put our mind to.” Singer and guitarist Adam Hope told me (the band is completed by drummer Jack Hope and new bassist Dave Barrow). “It can feel pretty easy to give into the road tested rules of a rock band –pigeon holing yourself into a sound. You can be expected to cater for a certain type of rock, or whoever the powers that be are, but this record is undeniably true to ourselves.” Stepping away from a record label, The Big Sad is the independent release that sees the Newcastle trio return to Wallsend, coming home and making a record for themselves. “There’s a comfort with coming home. There’s a routine and a familiarity that helps free you up creatively. A major bonus to being home is having our vinyl collections at finger distance [and it] means we can spend all our free time reacquainting with old favourites and taking influence.”

They are influences woven beautifully throughout the record, with a passion for music as vast as it is forensic, none of the inspirations feel shoehorned or violently apparent, they are peppered in with a lust for all the nuance that made those classic records classics for so long. Evident Beatles fanatics, the inclusion of mellotrons and strings throughout are subtle nods to the sixties. “We’ve spent a long time making each sound the right one for the song, there’s maybe five or six different basses across the album, each with a different sound serving the sounds differently. You could argue we spent too long, constantly tinkering but I think it’s paid off.”

That constant scrutiny and reassessment of songs has resulted in a beautiful, textured album that hits an unexpected multitude of emotional highs. “There is all the loud, energetic moments but it’s littered with deeper moments, certainly deeper than we’ve gone before.” The songs have been recorded for over a year and the band are keen to finally be able to play them live and see the crowd reaction. “Playing them live has actually been a more emotional experience than we’ve ever had, both for us and the audience. The longer you sit on something, the more you can pick it apart, trapped in a vacuum but as soon as these songs were tested in front of a live audience you get that reassurance, that instant kick and reminder of how you felt a year ago. Then it’s back to writing, and we’ll need that same reassurance next yearand so it continues.”

If you haven’t seen The Pale White live, there has never been a better time to. With lead single Lost In The Moment acting as a new starting point for the band they are building up more and more momentum. Their latest string of shows saw them supporting American alt. rock legends Pixies on their tour, followed by opening on Frank Black’s solo tour, in which they played the The Big Sad in its entirety. “They were the first people to hear it, the people waiting for Frank, it was an insane way to get it out there. I mean, it goes without saying but they are just cool as fuck. I think we’ve all seen The Pixies 35 plus times now and they’re just one of those bands where the music speaks for itself. There are no gimmicks, no pyrotechnics, it’s just the best music played loud, night after night. I don’t think there is a better band for us to support – we owe so much to them.”

The Big Sad sees The Pale White as they always wanted to be seen. A tenacious, loud, live rock band with consistently good albums. Fully formed, coherent narratives. “We want to be exactly that, an albums band, not every song should be a single and not every track should be 30 seconds on TikTok. We all listen to albums, we devour albums. We want this one to be a grower but it’s definitely a full vision, beginning to end and that’s what we want to keep doing with everything in the future.”

As the conversation draws to an end the trio wax lyrical about each song, diving into the influences and ideologies behind each. They talk about the guitars of Manic Street Preachers, the fluidity of Danny Elfman, the swooping theatrics of Scott walker and the slightly demented “Willy Wonker” ooze of David Bowie’s Velvet Goldmine. They weave a vivid tapestry of different influences echoed throughout The Big Sad. Paying particular attention to another album track, Final Exit, which perfectly sums up the album as a whole. That feeling of coming home, learning to love the little things and reacquainting yourself with an appreciation for life.

The Pale White release The Big Sad on Friday 18th April.